Army Aviation
 

I realise that there are Warrant Officers that are Helo pilots in the Army. But are there also commisioned officers that fly in the army? Or is it only Warrant Officers?

Thanks.

Yeah, they fly, just not that much in a typical army unit. It's rare, I think, to find an instructor pilot among the officers. O's in the Army are considered career types who are expected to learn, advance, be in charge. That requires a broader range of duties than just straight flying. Most of the career helo pilots in the army are WOs, and they're typically the instructors, flight leads, and mission commanders. That being said, I met some officers in the 160th that were straight up awesome dudes, especially on the MH-47 side. One of them gave his life in Afghanistan, a former pitcher from USMA. The guy sticks out to me b/c he was the "Battle Captain" at K2 when I met him, non-flying gig, but he stuck out to me as a guy who had his crap together, was confident, friendly, but chewed butt when he needed to, and ran a tight ship. He also seemed to have the respect of the other guys in the SOAR, which is saying something. Long story short, yes, you can fly helos as an officer in the Army, but if you really want flying to be the focus of your career, look into becoming a warrant. Also, if you're young enough, I knew several AF helo pilots who started out as Army warrants, got the degree if they didn't already have it, and cross commissioned to AF 2LTs with the stroke of a pen.

Thanks for the quick reply. I start college next fall, so Im still a good ways off from fully deciding what I want to do. But are there any Warrant Officers that have college degrees?

I can't say for sure b/c my interaction with WOs is limited, but I'd bet that most of them have degrees. If not when they first start, definitely by the time they're higher rank.

DJR, I had a very long reply typed out covering your question as pertains to my experience with Marine Corps WO's and some Army WO's. I'll spare you the long reading and me the long retyping.

Yes, WO's can and often do possess degrees. It would probably be more rare to find a WO that -didn't- pursue some kind of higher learning. They are normally the type of people who will pursue degrees just for the sake of expanding their knowledge on a given subject.

If you want to fly helo's then apply for the Army's WO Rotary wing aviation positions. If you want to be an officer -and- fly helo's then join the Marine Corps or Air Force, but I would suggest the Marine Corps. Not just because I am one but because we have more options when it comes to the type of aircraft you can fly. Some flyboy can correct me if I'm wrong but I think the AF is limited to the Pavelow and I'm not sure if they have Blackhawks or not. In the Marines we have CH-53 Super Stallions (Pretty much a base model Pavelow with no ECM), UH-1N Hueys (Or Iroquois if you must), AH-1W Super Cobras, and CH-46 Sea Knights (Don't ever get on one if it ain't leaking something). Not to mention you could always fly jets, Hercs, or even Harriers ;)

AF helos are UH-1, HH-60, and MH-53 Pave Low. You can also track to the CV-22 these days. You can count on starting out in Hueys or HH-60s, but Paves USED to be guaranteed at some point in any helo pilot's career. The Pave is on the way out, though, so I wouldn't count on that these days. There are rumors that AFSOC is going to buy some MH-47s, but we'll have to see about that. My experience with the Pave community has been pretty positive, though nearly all of the top-notch guys I've met in that community are former Army WOs. I will tell you that if you want to fly helos in the AF, AFSOC is the way to go. Many of the top commanders in AFSOC are Pave Low guys and they've done some serious kick-a** missions the past few years.

I was an army commissioned aviator for 7 years. Much like these guys say, the warrant officers do most of the flying. As a commissioned guy, you'll fill the leadership roles of platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander. You'll also get more than ample opportunity to serve in staff positions such as personnel officer, logistics officer, operations officer, intelligence officer - in other words, jobs for which you have had and will not get training, thankless jobs, and while in these jobs, if you get to go fly once a month you're doing well.

Of my 6 years in line units, I spent 2 years as a platoon leader and 4 years as a staff officer. If I had stayed in, I would have commanded, probably only for 18 months, and then it would have been off to another series of staff jobs for the next 5-6 years.

Bottom line - if you want to fly, go warrant or go another service.

I served in the Army as a commissioned officer for 12 years; then in the National Guard as a warrant officer. I was one of the lucky commissioned officers to go to the IP course while I was on active duty. I was a platoon leader, company commander, company and BN operations officer in the 160th.
Commissioned officers fly more now than in the past. Army Aviation realized it is not a good idea to take someone out of the AH-64 for 4 years, then throw them back in a unit as the operations officer. So while in the past an Aviation officer might go be a comptroller for 4 years (a military accountant), then come back and fly helicopters, that does not happen very much any more. Once you become a comptroller, you will never fly a helicopter again.
It's also born of necessity. If you have two pilots per airframe (not counting staff), and the airframes are flying 135 hours a month in combat... something has to give. Staff must fly. Still not as much as WOs, but still about 200-600/year in combat.
As a WO in the Army your primary job is flying and flying related jobs. Instructor pilot, maintenance officer, safety officer, battle staff (kind of an adviser to the commissioned operations officer).
As a commissioned officer you will be expected to perform your flying duties, and other duties as well. As a brand new 1LT out of flight school you will be put in charge of helicopters, pilots and crew chiefs. When I did this it was 5 helicopters, I think it is less now.
The Army has as many helicopter options as the Marines. You have the LUH (light utility helicopter, mostly in the National Guard at this point), UH-60, OH-50D (scout attack), CH-47, AH-64. Also, if you eat your Wheaties, study hard and do well, you can apply for the 160th where you can fly the MH-60, MH-47, MH-6. The helicopters are normally much younger and in better shape than the Marine helicopters. Nothing against those maintaining the Marine helicopters- they do a great job. Just gets tough to keep a CH-46 going after 40+ years.
The other advantage of flying for the Army is that you will fly with some VERY experienced pilots, especially on the reserve/National Guard side. Since we use warrant officers, you have pilots who stay in flying assignments for 20+ years. My co-pilot in OIF was a Viet Nam pilot with 18,000 rotary wing hours. You just don't find that anywhere else.
Also, with the Army, you have the opportunity to apply to the 160th after your first tour. Ask anyone in Special Forces, SEAL, Ranger, Green Beret, Pararescue, who they would want picking them up if the chips where down and the response will be unanimous. The 160th. NSDQ.

Came in with a BA Business Administration. Am retiring shortly (over 20) with a Masters in Aeronautical Science.

I took the tests for RLO but decided against it because I wanted to fly; and that I did. No regrets!

Best of luck to you in whatever way you decide to go.

DJR,

I couldn't agree more with Spartan07. If you want to fly a lot and be a real officer (as the Army puts it) then I would go Marine Corps or AF. The Marine Corps' sole mission for helos is to support the grunts on the ground. I flew the CH-46 for 6 years and it was a lot of fun while I got to also lead Marines and learn other critical skills that goes beyond just flying. Feel free to PM me and I can give you my take on the Marine Corps aviation. Also, you can always go C-130s or Jets too if you want where you cannot do this in the Army.