Which is the best branch to get a pilot slot?

[PilotLevi]

I want to serve my country as a pilot. I believe I am more of a AF type of guy but they from what I hear you do not always recieve training for what you want to be. Army on the other hand does. So I figure If Sam accepts me as a pilot in the army, they do not want to send millions and use me for a laundry specialist or something. Maybe the ANG. I do not know, im lost. I don't have much information about this so excuse me if i sound stupid. I'm open to about anything.



Thanks in advance,

Levi

 

[C-141/C-5]

You Are SO WRONG

The ARMY not Air Force will use you to do other things but your job. I served in both services. Just look at the recruitment troubles in the Army. There is nothing more frustrating than pulling weeds when your a fully trained soldier.

Do yourself a favor get your PPL. Find a Af reserve or Air Guard base with a resume and explain your interest. Get good grades, take the AFOQT. Go to baseops.net and look at for units hiring.

 

[stearmann4]

The ARMY not Air Force will use you to do other things but your job. I served in both services. Just look at the recruitment troubles in the Army. There is nothing more frustrating than pulling weeds when your a fully trained soldier.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm an Army aviator(warrant officer), and I've never pulled weed one. Furthermore, I've never had(nor will have) any jobs, such as a staff job like our Navy,AF counterparts. Granted, you are a soldier and the Army views pilots as another transportation specialty, so you won't get rock-star status like our sister-service fixed-wingers.

However, you wil fly helicopters alot, and you will wear military wings on your chest which brings a lot of credibility. As for the Army's recruiting woes, it's true, but they can't fill their ground specialties, aviation isn't a problem. Plus, you can get accepted into Warrant Officer Flight Program (WOFT), and get flight school guaranteed before you ever leave home. The program still doesn't require a degree, but it's probably coming sometime in the distant future.

Anymore questions, just ask.

Mike-

 

[kingsize]

What makes you think the Army has its pilots flying but not doing additional duties or assignments? I'm an Air Force guy, but have worked a lot with the Army (including living on an Army base), and have some AH-64 buddies. Any Army pilots here can clue you in better than I can.

They have warrant officers and officers flying. From what I see and have been told, the warrant officers do the flying practically their whole careers. The officers fly, but over their careers it is much less. They get pulled out of the cockpits all the time for staff assignments.

So you could join as a warrant officer, but that means a little less pay than if you're an officer.

In any case, I think Air Force pilot, as a whole, is the best military profession. That's where the service puts its money. In other services, aviation is second tier to other weapon systems. In the Air Force, you are the man, others are there to support the flying mission. There is no limit on how far your career will progress (if you care about that kind of thing). If you want some stability, look into guard/Reserve. You will probably deploy a lot, like active duty, but can stay at the same base your whole career if you want.

If I didn't join the Air Force, I would have looked into Navy or Marine Corps to fly.

 

[pilotyip]

apply to every service, figure out which offers a deal and take the best one you can get. You will never regret it after you leave.

 

[tomgoodman]

Contingency planning

apply to every service, figure out which offers a deal and take the best one you can get. You will never regret it after you leave.

And read the deal carefully....especially the part about what kind of commitment you have in the event you wash out of pilot training, develop a grounding medical condition, etc.

These things do happen, so if serving your country in a non-flying capacity is absolutely unacceptable, think twice before signing up. Good luck!

 

[NorthShore]

As a retired US Army Warrant Officer, I can say that as a WO, you will fly almost your entire career, read 95% of it. Now the problem is that, over a lifetime, AD and retirement taken into account, you will lose a small fortune by not being commissioned. As a Commissioned Officer you will fly less however.

That being said, go into the Air Force. All other services base their plans on leaving their "home" behind and fighting the war. The Air Force is all about going "home" at the end of the day.

Just kidding. But the Air Force is the place to learn to fly the stuff that makes the $$$$ when you get out. Helicopters are a hoot, but they don't really pay all that well, and fixed wing can be tough to get in the Army these days.

Like the folks above already said, check them all out and see what works for you. Don't forget about other avenues as well USCG, Homeland Security, etc. I have no idea what they hire and how they train, but do the research.


Ahhhhhh, to be young again!!!

 

[pilotyip]

This subject has been gone over a bunch of times; you can do a search. Remember you do not join the military service to fly, you join to serve your country to fulfill the needs of the President by flying. You serve at the pleasure of the President. No matter what you think of the President you will do his bidding. You will not fly that much in the Military unless you go to a conflict, Although Army WO's does stay in the cockpit more than any other service, and there is tons of office duties and family separation. In 11 years of Navy Active duty I got 2500 hours, 800 in 6 months during Vietnam, then averaged under 200 hrs a year. I was gone from home for nearly 4 years. Saw my son for about 11 months between his birth, which I almost missed, and his third birthday. If you go into fly, you will have a 10-11 year obligation, which as an officer will include at least 3-4 years of not flying and doing office duties, or standing phone watches at a command center evening and weekends. It is not a lot of flying.

 

[stearmann4]

Since the above posters put it out, I'll have to add; The Army does not respect their aviators like the rest of the services. You will fly helicopters, and that's the extent of the Army committment to you. You're basically a high paid enlisted guy. " A private with a club card" I'm told by some commisioned guys. So, you will get paid less, live in somewhat inferior conditions to the sister services, but you will fly, and it's not nearly the arduous selection process of the AF, Navy, etc. As Yip said, apply to all, and see what turns up.

Oh yeah, good paying helicopter jobs are scarce.

 

[Falconjet]

Two words:

Coast Guard

FJ