attn: all here who are chopper aviators or were at one time....

[Floyd S. Werner, Jr.]

I haven't read the responses to this but I'll give you my two cents.

The WOFT course is a lot of fun. Hard work but fun. If you have ever wanted to actually fly then this is a great way to get there. Right now they are looking for pilots.

I was a crewchief, albeit on airplanes (U-21/C-12 and OV-1s), and it is fun but nearly as much fun as being a pilot. I love my job every day. I may not always have liked who I worked for or where I was in the world but I always enjoyed my day at the "office".

I recommend that you go for it. If you try and for whatever reason you don't make it so what you tried. A police officer once said, "Many hear the call, but few can answer". Time to get down:soapbox:

Floyd

[hawkwrench]

Listen to what these guys are saying!If you don't do it now,you may not get another chance.I know from experience,I've wanted to fly army helos since I was little and when I got into the army,I started my WOFT packet but never finished it.Now its too late and all I can do now is envy these guys who fly.There is an old saying that applies here:Dreams plus action equals Reality!!!

[ski6502]

\

How do you become AO/gunner in USMC? is that an MOS, or extra duty. How often do you get to fly? Do you have to be in an airwing MOS or could it be any job? I mean, could I be an infantry sniper and be a Aerial gunner as well? Do you still get to go the the aircrew crew school and earn the wings of gold? If I couldn't be a crew chief, then I would definately pursue that route. I can see why you wouldn't want to start over after being in so long too.

I am waiting on nothing I guess... I just can't make a decision. I'm an E5 in the USAF and The Marines told me I would have to come in as an E2 no acceptions. Army warrant would be about a $1000.00 per month pay raise.

Thanks,

Ben

Unless you come in under an aviation contract, specifically UH/AH engine mechanic, it will take some time before you are permitted to start your AO/Gunner syllabus. Most occupational specialties will not permit you to fly unless your quals in your specific MOS are up to speed, but school trained Crew Chiefs go through aicrew candidate school at NAS Pensacola, FL (also a somewhat lengthy process). Were you to join the Marine Corps, you are looking at no less than 13 weeks of recruit training, 4 weeks of Marine Combat Training, and several months at Pensacola before you even see your first hour of flight time. It seems to me that having a prior aviation background, and understanding the fundamentals of aeronautics, you should just cut out the middleman and look into the army WO program. Just my two cents....

[GoBlue96]

I have a slightly different perspective but I wanted to throw in my two cents anyway. My dad was a career Army aviator as a warrant officer (he retired in 2000 and is flying for a police outfit until he retires again next year). All he ever wanted to do was fly and that's what he did. A lot. A whole lot. He didn't spend a lot of time shuffling paperwork. He has always said that being a WO was the best of both worlds. The Army was pretty good to him (as the services go) and growing up I couldn't imagine any dad in the world having a cooler job. As a kid, I couldn't imagine doing anything other than what he did, except my eyesight just didn't keep up its end of the deal. I've found a career that I love (and still manages to involve aircraft) but I still sit and listen to his stories with some amount of envy.

My point being, if you want to do it and are qualified (it certainly seems you are), then go for it. I never heard too many of my dad's friends say they regretted their career decisions.

Incidentally, here at my desk I have a picture of my dad leaning on the stub wing of a Cobra in Viet Nam in 1970. Next to it I have a picture of him in 1991 in Saudi Arabia leaning on the stub wing of a... you guessed it, a Cobra. ;~)

Edited July 23, 2008 by GoBlue96

[SuperCobra]

Try this forum:

http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.c...hp?showforum=32