Figured since I brought this up in the LE section, I'd mention it here. First of all, jbehuniak and Dustoff22, both members on this site, have been VERY helpful in this process and I can't thank them enough. I did a little over 6 years in the Marine Corps reserves infantry out of Fort Devens, with one deployment to Helmand in 2011. I got out late 2014 to start law school, and decided my 1L year I was going to go back into the military. I had considered aviation before (I actually started talking to a recruiter in 2012 when I got back from overseas), but 2 years ago I was toying with going back into the USMC as a grunt or even lat moving to intel. I forget where, but I saw in a thread that jbehuniak was a Guard aviator and I started picking his brain that spring, and got in touch with a recruiter the following fall. I also was in touch with Dustoff22 who beat me by about a generation (or two), but who has had a very impressive career and still has great connections in the Army. And also is, of course, a wealth of knowledge. There are also some other good online resources for prospective military aviators.
To be clear, this is a competitive process and I have not yet had my board or been selected. The Guard selects applicants based on that individual units needs. I don't know who my competition is or how many vacancies they are looking to fill. On the active duty side the Army (and all branches for that matter) are really hurting for aviators. If someone is a qualified applicant for the Army, even with no military experience, they are VERY likely to be selected to fly. By qualified I mean can pass a flight physical, do well on the various tests (ASVAB and SIFT), have a clear moral and medical history, etc. Some of the boards which are held every other month have been accepting ALL applicants, most select 80% or more. Guard is not as sure of a thing, especially as I'm applying as an outsider to that unit. Bottom line though: If you want to be an Army pilot, now is the time. Commercial aviation is also facing a shortage and competition from overseas carriers, so they are becoming a well compensated career again, regionals are paying more, they are offering helicopter to fixed wing transitions programs, etc and as a result are getting a lot of military pilots, again driving up the needs of the military.
I'd love any input from any other military aviators. I'm also happy to answer questions on the process for going from a civilian no longer in the IRR to getting a packet set up and submitted to the Guard. Huge disclaimer, I have not been selected yet, but I've become intimately familiar with the Guard side process, and less so with the active duty process. I had to figure out a lot of stuff for myself in this process to get my packet assembled as the recruiter was unfamiliar with how to get a non guard member through the process.
A huge thanks again to those two NESers who have been immensely helpful in this process.
Mike
To be clear, this is a competitive process and I have not yet had my board or been selected. The Guard selects applicants based on that individual units needs. I don't know who my competition is or how many vacancies they are looking to fill. On the active duty side the Army (and all branches for that matter) are really hurting for aviators. If someone is a qualified applicant for the Army, even with no military experience, they are VERY likely to be selected to fly. By qualified I mean can pass a flight physical, do well on the various tests (ASVAB and SIFT), have a clear moral and medical history, etc. Some of the boards which are held every other month have been accepting ALL applicants, most select 80% or more. Guard is not as sure of a thing, especially as I'm applying as an outsider to that unit. Bottom line though: If you want to be an Army pilot, now is the time. Commercial aviation is also facing a shortage and competition from overseas carriers, so they are becoming a well compensated career again, regionals are paying more, they are offering helicopter to fixed wing transitions programs, etc and as a result are getting a lot of military pilots, again driving up the needs of the military.
I'd love any input from any other military aviators. I'm also happy to answer questions on the process for going from a civilian no longer in the IRR to getting a packet set up and submitted to the Guard. Huge disclaimer, I have not been selected yet, but I've become intimately familiar with the Guard side process, and less so with the active duty process. I had to figure out a lot of stuff for myself in this process to get my packet assembled as the recruiter was unfamiliar with how to get a non guard member through the process.
A huge thanks again to those two NESers who have been immensely helpful in this process.
Mike
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