Aviation Officer
Aviation Officer
Posted on Dec 2, 2017
I am looking to become an Army Aviation Officer, not Warrant. What can you tell me about it?
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I know that the position will not involve flying nearly as much as warrants, but that I will be managing soldiers. I'd like to know more about the position and its PROS/CONS. I'm not closed minded though, I would love to hear other officer positions that you think are great and why you think they are. I'm starting off in MOS 15U (aviation).
Officer
15A: Aviation Officer
15U: CH-47 Helicopter Repairer
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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A big factor is whether or not your are doing Regular Army or the Guard/Reserve. There will be ‘more to consider’ depending on the route you are taking. But I am happy to share my perspective.
If you love flying, you will wish you have pursued the Warrant Officer route. If flying isn’t that important to you, I politely recommend another branch. Although I wish we’d make every Army Aviator a Warrant first (then select the creme de la creme for leadership positions) we still need great O-grade Officers, and until I am King for a Day, the source will be mostly fresh faces. That means that even as an unsatiated O, you should still be passionate about Aviation. Flight School, annual requirements, academic retention, goggle/IFR/Night mins, AR 40-8... it’s a lot of work to maintain if it’s not something you love.
Most O grade Officers are Staff Officers. They are part of the management team, but that is a wide range of assignments and doesn’t necessarily mean you are commanding a formation of troops. In a 20 year career, if you do 2 years as a Platoon Leader, 2 years as a company commander, and top off a great run with 2 years as a Battalion Commander, you will have had 6 years of “managing troops” and the rest of the 14 years were contributing to an administrative, operations, logistics, communications, or intelligence staff function (or you went to do something outside of Aviation such as a General’s aide, School house gig, broadening assignment, etc)
Bottom line, unless your heart races everytime you hear rotor blades beating the air into submission, Army Aviation might not be what you are looking for. It is an amazing branch, and we need great people. But if it’s not a passion, if is tough to flourish.
If you love flying, you will wish you have pursued the Warrant Officer route. If flying isn’t that important to you, I politely recommend another branch. Although I wish we’d make every Army Aviator a Warrant first (then select the creme de la creme for leadership positions) we still need great O-grade Officers, and until I am King for a Day, the source will be mostly fresh faces. That means that even as an unsatiated O, you should still be passionate about Aviation. Flight School, annual requirements, academic retention, goggle/IFR/Night mins, AR 40-8... it’s a lot of work to maintain if it’s not something you love.
Most O grade Officers are Staff Officers. They are part of the management team, but that is a wide range of assignments and doesn’t necessarily mean you are commanding a formation of troops. In a 20 year career, if you do 2 years as a Platoon Leader, 2 years as a company commander, and top off a great run with 2 years as a Battalion Commander, you will have had 6 years of “managing troops” and the rest of the 14 years were contributing to an administrative, operations, logistics, communications, or intelligence staff function (or you went to do something outside of Aviation such as a General’s aide, School house gig, broadening assignment, etc)
Bottom line, unless your heart races everytime you hear rotor blades beating the air into submission, Army Aviation might not be what you are looking for. It is an amazing branch, and we need great people. But if it’s not a passion, if is tough to flourish.
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That absolutely blew me away..... I had no idea those kinds of opportunities were possible. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is the field I want to pursuit.
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Thats awesome you were a Warrant flying helos. My husband is dead set on becoming a Warrant officer. He wants to fly blackhawks or maybe a chinook. Is there any advice you would give to him? Would you go that route again? or would you suggest to go a different path? Thanks in advance
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CPT Nicholas D.
I went the National Guard route and it has been great for me. I knew what aircraft assignment I was going to have (UH-60 Black Hawk) before I packed the Uhaul for Fort Rucker. I didn’t have to obsess about the Order of Merit list, I could enjoy Flight School. I also knew I was coming “home” afterward. The NG gave me a little more predictable stability than rolling the “Needs of the Army” dice.
The cons: I didn’t have guaranteed employment. I essentially returned unemployed and found myself back in an early morning college class (German 101) surrounded by teenagers. Also, some of my Flight School friends were starting amazing adventures around the world. I just went back to my home town. So in a way, I traded adventure for Safety.
It was a good gamble. I won the career lottery jackpot and was able to get a flying AGR assignment (Active Duty assigned to the Guard) and it’s been awesome ever since. Full active duty service (pay & benefits) without the same career hurdles and I don’t get moved around the planet every 3 years. I recommend the Guard, but there is a lot more unique avenues offered by the Regular component. My state won’t be sending me to the Experimental Test Pilot school anytime soon.
All that said, no regrets. Wouldn’t do anything different. The Chinook and the Black Hawk are phenomenal machines. I loved flying the UH-60. Since I made the switch to fixed wing, I have come to enjoy the lifestyle a little more. A coffee cup and Bose Headset beats a Helmet, ALSE vest, body armor, etc. Rather than flying in a 200 mile radius, we will fly coast to coast and internationally. Every chapter of this career has been great.
If both you and your husband are looking to do this, explore the NG options in your state. I have several dear friends that did the Dual-Military Avenue in the Regular Army, and it’s been rough. The NG (or Reserves - USAR) would allow you both to meter and flow how much Uncle Sam is going to separate you two.
The cons: I didn’t have guaranteed employment. I essentially returned unemployed and found myself back in an early morning college class (German 101) surrounded by teenagers. Also, some of my Flight School friends were starting amazing adventures around the world. I just went back to my home town. So in a way, I traded adventure for Safety.
It was a good gamble. I won the career lottery jackpot and was able to get a flying AGR assignment (Active Duty assigned to the Guard) and it’s been awesome ever since. Full active duty service (pay & benefits) without the same career hurdles and I don’t get moved around the planet every 3 years. I recommend the Guard, but there is a lot more unique avenues offered by the Regular component. My state won’t be sending me to the Experimental Test Pilot school anytime soon.
All that said, no regrets. Wouldn’t do anything different. The Chinook and the Black Hawk are phenomenal machines. I loved flying the UH-60. Since I made the switch to fixed wing, I have come to enjoy the lifestyle a little more. A coffee cup and Bose Headset beats a Helmet, ALSE vest, body armor, etc. Rather than flying in a 200 mile radius, we will fly coast to coast and internationally. Every chapter of this career has been great.
If both you and your husband are looking to do this, explore the NG options in your state. I have several dear friends that did the Dual-Military Avenue in the Regular Army, and it’s been rough. The NG (or Reserves - USAR) would allow you both to meter and flow how much Uncle Sam is going to separate you two.
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SGT (Join to see)
I would like to add to what the LT was saying, if I may. I was NG for 12 years as a 15U, and in that time, I only had 4 Company Commanders and 3 LTs. There are 2 reasons that I bring this up. The first reason is to show that, depending on the unit, there will not be very many commissioned positions in a Guard Chinook unit. The second reason is that if you get a position as an LT in a Guard Chinook unit, you better enjoy flying because you will be doing it as an LT for longer than normal since the Guard runs off of a manning roster, and you will only see the next promotion if there is a spot for you.
If you choose to follow a career path with a Chinook unit, there is some very important tips that you should treat as gospel. The brief rundown goes like this.
1. The bird belongs to the FE, you're just allowed to fly it
2. Rank is less important than respect when the blades are turning.- proper communication and safety relies on this, and a good leader doesn't have to rely on his/her rank to make things happen.
3. Don't disrespect the mechanics or FEs. Every single one of us can ground the entire fleet in a heartbeat.
4. Don't be surprised when the enlisted flip you a bunch of crap. It's not done out of disrespect, it's how we break the new guys of the nasty habit of saying what an officer wants to hear instead of giving them the facts.
These tips are meant to ease you into aviation. We are a different beast than nonflight units and so it is imperative that we do not fall into the same traps that they do.
If you choose to follow a career path with a Chinook unit, there is some very important tips that you should treat as gospel. The brief rundown goes like this.
1. The bird belongs to the FE, you're just allowed to fly it
2. Rank is less important than respect when the blades are turning.- proper communication and safety relies on this, and a good leader doesn't have to rely on his/her rank to make things happen.
3. Don't disrespect the mechanics or FEs. Every single one of us can ground the entire fleet in a heartbeat.
4. Don't be surprised when the enlisted flip you a bunch of crap. It's not done out of disrespect, it's how we break the new guys of the nasty habit of saying what an officer wants to hear instead of giving them the facts.
These tips are meant to ease you into aviation. We are a different beast than nonflight units and so it is imperative that we do not fall into the same traps that they do.
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I follow; are you undergrad, ROTC, trying for OCS, and must it be Army? Have you done Amy grad school or want to? What major S are you doing ormhabe you dome? What GPAs have you had? How much hard science coursework have you dome, and/or prior aviation exposure, and, for the coursework, explicitly what subjects and their levels? There are a few things you should appreciate. First, Toulon positively MBE I!!ed reqd to get,!minimum, a !asters, even part time. Second, you'll be immed reqd to do PME, so, if your age is such that you could wait for minimum a masters to be done beforehand. I would, most definitely. Next, I think youre unduly limiting yourself focusing solely on Armu, you've left out USM, USMC, USCG, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps, which does require a !asters, but does solely science, for the most part, yet has it's own air fleet, though their nu!bets are quite small, in total, for that whole service. You'd also need to train with the other svcs, both for assignmemts, as well as for PME. If possible, elaborate thoroughly. In copious detail, the more you can relate, the more I might be able to suggest. I wasn't flight, however, I did do the !ad exam for NFO for Navy, I'd wanted USAF nav, however, they had a 20/100 vision limit, whereas NFO was 20/200.uncorrected minimum, however illogical!thatmseemd. Idmbe most eager to hear more, hope was of use and/or interest, many thanks.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
https://www.eaa.org/
Definitely look into this as a student member, they have chapters all over, I've looked into it, they also have a massivemair show annually, of read, in Wisconsin....
Definitely look into this as a student member, they have chapters all over, I've looked into it, they also have a massivemair show annually, of read, in Wisconsin....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
https://www.aopa.org/
I'd def look into student mbr for this also, some schools, I'd heard, have free demo rides, you might ask, just a thought....
I'd def look into student mbr for this also, some schools, I'd heard, have free demo rides, you might ask, just a thought....
We protect your freedom to fly by supporting activities that ensure the long-term health of general aviation; educating pilots, non-pilots, and policy makers alike.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
http://www.airframeandpowerplant.com/m/approval.html
This always interested me, I wish I'd done it in high school, manumvoc ed programs allow it not just for high school, but also for adults, it:s expensive, though could give you useful technical exposure, if you'd have any interest....
This always interested me, I wish I'd done it in high school, manumvoc ed programs allow it not just for high school, but also for adults, it:s expensive, though could give you useful technical exposure, if you'd have any interest....
Airframe and Powerplant License | FAA Approval
Obtaining approval from the FAA for a airframe and powerplant license, (aircraft mechanic license).
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Sorry for the typo in my first initial answer, I was of course trying to say decent thoughts, as to your plans, not recent, obviously. I of course think going CS for aviation a solid serious science major, by all means, perfectly compatible with other engineering, physics, math, and chem topics you could do later on, if you'd wanted. I'm on a relatively clumsy tablet, with a fairly problematicmkeygoard prone to numerous errors, and/or autocorrection, often despite my best efforts. I obviously try to find as many of the overt errors as I can, certainly, however, inevitably, I'm afraid a few get by me, no matter how hard I try to fix all of them, I'm afraid.
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lol, im sure thinking about it. Care to tell me more about why youre so excited about it??
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SGT (Join to see)
Im not aviation, or an officer. I decided to pursue corporate america after college. However aviation is the best branch imo. Every other branch in my opinion looks pretty miserable and under paid. Just remember it wont be navy or air force... i bunked with pilots in a crappy hut when i was in southeast asia for a partnership mission.
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SGT (Join to see)
If you are smart enough (their flight appitude tests are much harder) navy or airforce aviation will provide you a way higher quality of life. Army and marine aviation= soldier/marine first then aviator which means
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I definitely see what you're saying. So many people have told me that as well. It's more of a following in my family's footsteps kind of thing, but I've definitely thought about the Air Force. My husband has been researching it a little and we have done practice tests. If it's anything like them, then I'm sure I have a good chance at passing. Thanks for the input!
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