what would be the odds of getting the contract to fly the herc's down at antarctica at mcmurdo with the coast guard?

 

Pretty much a standard all around physical. You'll get the whole 9 yards on vision (depth perception, interocular tension, etc), EKG, and the rest. If you can pass your Academy physical, you shouldn't have any problem with a flight physical IMHO.

 

I don't know how many herc contract guys we have right now. We do have a contract Falcon pilot. I wasn't aware our fellas were making regular trips that far south. Sorry, can't help you too much on that one.

 

Any idea what the limitations are for the DCA? IE, time in service, commissioned service, etc? What is the obligation if you are accepted into the DCA? Do you apply and then find out aircraft and duty station, or can you apply for a specific airframe and location as part of the process?

Is the only FW aircraft at EC the C-130, or do they have Falcons there too?

 

sorry, my bad. i meant to say how hard would it be to crossover from the air force to guard and fly the hurcs down at the south pole. i don't fly them for the airforce, but i might have around 300 hours. recieved on my own time,not through the military. heck, i might get my private and let the coast guard pay for the training. dunno the process.

edit, there is a division where the coast guard is contracting for some research down there. they fly scientists and stuff for a short season once a year.

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

I'm not 100% up to speed on all of the DCA requirements/obligations. Most recruiters know I think 1-800-GET-USCG. I know if you're an O3 you move down to O2 and W's move to O1's as far as the rank swap goes. I don't think you are going to find out airframe/unit until you are already in the process, but if you are fixed wing you will stay fixed and same with rotary (part of the reason we like DCA's to save on the training costs).

E-City is all C-130's for fixed wing. There are a few Falcons there but they are on the maintenance side and are not operationally flown.

 

Sorry to say that without military flight time I don't think you'd qualify for the DCA program. Never hurts to ask the recruiters though.

 

The only contract flying in the Coast Guard at the South Pole is helicopters; and they are flying off the back of our Polar Breakers. The C-130's that fly down there on skids are Air Guard Hercs. New York ANG I think. The C-130's in Kodiak, AK are now doing Arctic missions, but they started that mission after I left AK.

The DCA Program is only for military aviators. There is another program called AVCAD that would be for civilian pilots to enter CG aviation. Even if they were ATP rated, with tons of hours, the AVCAD program is an officer commission with a guarantee to attend Navy Flight School, so you would go to OCS, then spend 1.5 years playing flight student again, then go to an operational unit. If you google the Coast Guard Recruiting Manual, it will list the different pilot programs and how to apply.

As far as contract pilots go, we have limited opportunities. We do have a Civilian Contract Pilot program, but you have to be a prior CG rated pilot. We are using reserve pilots on extended active duty contracts to fill Pensacola and Corpus Christi Flight School Instructor billets. The CG does NOT have flying reservists, but we are looking at creating a program that mirrors the Navy program to allow reservists to do our flight school instructor training. We are so critically short in fixed wing aviators that we can't afford to give any to Flight School, but are required to if we want a higher student throughput. Catch 22 that we are having a hard time fixing.

 

Herc, I'm an army FW driver with 26 months left on my commitment. I fully intend to apply on the DEC 09 DCA Board. I've heard fantastic things about the CG but am always interested to hear more. As an branch officer and not a warrant officer my flying continues to slow down more and more and I am less and less interested in being a staff officer. I understand that in all military services staff work can not be avoided but in the Army I can not freeze my career at a point where I am happy. Were I to stay in for my 20 I would be forced up and out of the positions that I find most appealing.

Were there a typical CG career progression for someone desiring to stay in for 8-12 years, what would it be? What opportunities are there for becoming an IP and progressing through the standardization ranks. At what point would you expect most aviators to get pulled from the flight line in favor of a desk, and are those moves to staff temporary for professional development or permanent as normal career progression.

Thanks for any information you can provide. I am also interested in any information on missions. Currently I'm interested in the 130 and think that the Alaska flying or the iceberg patrols out of EC would be exciting.