Woft

[Mud Eagle]

THIS is the guy who deserves to get his a$$ eaten for lunch for things he's said on the internet.

If you don't think that things said online can hurt you in real life, go search the Military Flying forum at studentpilot.net for the escapades of a guy named "Animal". This was a good-hearted dude with a strange sense of humor who made the mistake of putting his bizarre brand of humor on the internet for all to see -- including his OTS instructors. They didn't see his commentary in quite the same humorous light that he intended it.

He was drummed out and, as far as I've heard, is a civilian today.

D. Morris, if you don't un-f*ck your act here in short order you might end up the same way.

There are some very knowlegeable and experienced folks on this board....read and heed their advice and you might be flying the big iron like you want someday.

 

[jurisj]

completing school

Finishing college while on active duty is a piece of cake. I'd venture to guess that over 90% of the infantry guys I worked with while an ALO were working on either undergrad or graduate degrees. From what I saw, if you're enrolled with an "accredited" university, the Army will give you 2 to 3 "duty hours" a day for coursework (I think it replaces "platoon sgt time") and will guarantee that you're released from duty in time to make your classes.

It's possible, yes, but definitely not a "piece of cake" for an aviation warrant to complete his degree while in. Many people have done it, but an aviation warrant officer does not have sergeant's time like the infantry that Zulu had contact with. You don't have a couple of hours set aside like that.

Your chain-of-command will expect your priorities to be to make RL1 first and foremost so that you can fly missions as a PI (essentially the copilot). Second, you will want to work towards making pilot-in-command. Third, you will want to take care of your assigned additional duties which range from something as basic as filling the snack fridge to taking care of NVGs to being in charge of your unit's COMSEC gear. If you have any time left after all of that, go ahead and go for your degree. I, honestly, do not have the time as an RL1 WO1 Blackhawk pilot in the 101st Airborne. Maybe I will in the future, but I cannot imagine trying to take some night classes now.

I'm not sure how much tuition they paid -- you'd have to talk to a recruiter for that.

Currently the Army will pay for 100% tuition. There is, of course, a catch (or two). One, if you must complete the course or else reimburse the cost of the course to the Army. Two, you owe an additional two years Active Duty Service Obligation to the Army upon completion of the course. However, you will already owe the Army 6 years upon completion of flight training, and the ADSO's can run concurrently. In other words, as long as you owe the Army more than 2 years, you can take a course without additional time being added on to your service.

Just some constructive criticism for d.morris from someone who has just gone through the WOFT program and is now a young, inexperienced Warrant in an active duty Army Aviation unit... humility will go a long way. People tried to help and you flipped out on them. Just be humble and listen to what they have to tell you. In a unit, they will eat you alive with that kind of attitude. Best of luck to you, and let us know if there are any more questions we can answer.

Cheers,

- Juris

 

[d.morris]

bye

bye

 

[Chickenhawk]

You guys are too nice...I thought the first page was much more fun.

Any military flying job is nice right now. However, my rotor wing friends are having a little trouble with "options" right now. The fixed wing time seems to be a little more valuable trying to pick up guard/reserve jobs. A huge generalization, but it's true where I am. (i.e. get the degree and go to OTS)

If all else fails, there are "gay for pay" films that don't require you to be "on bottom". You can make up to 15,000 per film if you are properly equipped, and it beats hetero porn (only @ 500/film). You may want to retaliate to this, but I just read about it in last months "Spin" magazine....I'm truly trying to help. One film would pay for a semester of tuition, and you only have to say more Christian things like "Do you want a piece of my ####".

Hope this helps (and livens the thread back up)

AETC jerk (My mission is attrition)

 

[jurisj]

Re: to everyone

since you have already been throught the program, how hard did you find it to be?

When I went through Warrant Officer Candidate School and through flight school, I was 27 and I already had my B.A. from Boston University and had about 5 years experience in the work force. I'll comment more on that later.

I found that WOCS was as hard as you made it. I tend to worry a lot about little things, so I really stressed about inspections and academic exams and stuff like that, whereas others felt it was a breeze. Then again, I had some Army Rangers tell me it was one tough school to complete. I guess it depends on your class and who your TAC Officers are. Regardless they'll get you in great shape and you'll be proud to get your appointment.

As for flight school, I felt that each phase tends to be heavily front loaded. The first couple of weeks of each phase (primary, instruments, basic combat skills, NVGs, etc.) were tough. Once you have a solid grasp of the material and adequately memorize the necessary information, you can slow down a bit and enjoy yourself more. You can never completely back off of studying, though, because there's always a checkride or academic exam coming up in a few days.

Again, it depends on how much you apply yourself. If you take it seriously and study hard, you'll have your pick of aircraft to fly in the end and a better selection of duty assignment. If you just cruise through, your final aircraft assignment will be left up to chance and you may not have a say in it.

ive had alot of guys emailing me, saying the army is really hurting right now for pilots. they say the time to go woft is now. how do u feel about that?

I agree. Acceptance rates into the program are at an all time high. As long as you meet the prerequisites and can make it through basic training and WOCS, the Army will give you a shot at flight training.

and what exactly does a wo do besides fly?

Everyone gets "additional duties". The traditional additional duty given to the newest WO1 in the unit is the infamous "fridge bitch". In the Air Force they call it Snack-O. Basically you're responsible for filling the company's snack fridge with soft drinks and goodies.

In my company, at least, additional duties are partially assigned by need and partially assigned by other skills. I used to have 7 additional duties, but as more new guys show up at the unit, I've been able to cut the number down to just the ones that I really like to do. I've been kind of lucky. I'm pretty good at computers and commo equipment so my company commander named me the Company Information Management Officer, the COMSEC custodian, and Commo officer. I basically work with the battalion commo shop to ensure that my company can utilize our radios securely and to their fullest extent.

and one more thing. does anyone think i will be able to make the january 13th board, i think it's the 13th, if im taking the afast wednesday and the flight physical after that? i dont want to have to stay at this college any more than i have too. anyways please keep the info coming and thanks again.

It took me approximately 4-5 months to completely process my application. I'm not saying that it's impossible, but there's a lot to do and you've got to find a recruiter that knows how to process the application and is willing to work with you. You will make 2 trips to the flight surgeon and each one takes up about a whole day. You also need to complete your secret security clearance and take an official DA photo. You will also need to interview with a board. I don't think you can make it in time for January 13th because it usually takes a couple of weeks to complete each one of these individual items, not to mention the fact that a willing and competent recruiter is difficult to find for this program.

Here's a couple of useful links:
http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/
http://www.goarmy.com/job/warrant/

Good luck,

- Juris

 

[Pistlpetet]

This is info for other people besides you Morris, but thanks for the entertainment factor of exposing your true colors.

This for "KingAirFan"

Kingairfan
If you have not lived the life a helo pilot in the army, how could you ever make an accurate or educated statement. Your talk about flying around in Cobras is proof of not having a clue about the current situation of Army Aviation. The cobra is history. Also it is extremely rare for any 18-21yr old to go to flight school today (average age is 27) with max being 29.

Morris you are still not worthy, but hopefully other more sane people have learned from your mistakes.

ALBIEF15...Apologies

 

[Chunk]

Say there dmorris, how do you justify putting "military" in your profile?

What a choad. You'll go far.

Chunk

 

[Skyrunner]

WOW!!!!

Albie's comments went way over your head.

UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!UNCLE!!!!

I give. Ya'll have a nice life and career.

Adios,

SR

 

[boxcar]

Pistlpetet:

Some people speak with tongue firmly in cheek.
You might consider enrolling in a "Recognising Sarcasm 101" class.

 

[d.morris]

bye

bye