Army Guard

[paulumbo]

I'm thinking about joing the Army Guard and was curious as to what pitfalls there are. My main reason for joing is that I've always wanted to serve in the military and let my parents talk me out of it in my younger years and I'm now about half way through a degree program and need some money to push the flight training along. I'm sure I'll take all kinds of crap, but yes it is an aviation degree. The big issue is that the university does not directly operate the flight school and there is a HUGE barrier in the financial assistance available to those of us who wish to fly. Does anyone have any experience with this? How long does it take to get the cash to the school? Do they require it to be a part 141 school? Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[puck_11]

I am confused by your post. Are you joining the guard just to pay for your flight training? If you go Army guard expect to be deployed. Why not join the guard to fly, then you don't have to pay for your flight training, and you'll be flying something cooler and making more money.

 

[paulumbo]

I don't want to fly rotorwing, which to my knowledge is all the army guard flies except for one outift down in Va. So yes, I'm joining to pay for flight training.

 

[Jafo73]

There's also an army guard or reserve unit at Fort Hood that flies Citations...

 

[Slim]

Here's what I did...

While in the ARNG, I committed to another six years of service in exchange for Montgomery GI Bill benefits. Chapter 106 pertains to benefits for flight training. I had a B.A. at that point. I don't know how flight traininng benefits would be paid in conjunction with your degree program.

Most, if not all, approved schools are Part 141. This is due to the fact they have already been federally approved for Part 141 training and have pretty strict syllabus requirements.

Don't knock RW flying. I know several ARNG/USAR types who fly helicopters. They're good pilots. In some cases, it's easier to get a helicopter training slot than a fixed wing slot via the ANG/USAFR. This is because flying RW vs. FW isn't "as sexy."

I've come across this bias at several airlines.

Good luck...fly safe!

 

[paulumbo]

It's not that RW flying isn't "as sexy" to me, I just prefer flying fixed wing-it's a personal preference for me. What hoops is there to jump through to get the educational benefits? I've heard the horror stories and would like to have an idea of how to keep the process moving as quickly as possible.