Well, I'm just sayin' I haven't been at 50' AGL on NVGs, but I did have a LAT qual for 100' AGL on NVGs at 480kts...

I wasn't trying to measure pee-pees with my comment, but if you really want to... hope you realized that tactical jets use NVGs also, and it's not really for flying high level... as it is, I'd take a daytime trap anyday over "great" night flying in terms of pure flying enjoyment

My original intent in the comment was "to each his own..."

 

That sounds like the guy I was talking about. Seems we might have walked some of the same halls at the same time.

USMCFLYR

 

Career long MC-130 guy here, so no time at 650 kts, but...if I had it to do over again, I MAY have gone helo route. I was passing gas to MH-53s at 500' in Afghanistan back in 2001/2002 while they were hauling door-kickers to some bad guy's backyard. I remember thinking at the time I was in the wrong airframe! I would've loved to park in some dude's driveway, hand delivering America's most precise weapons. The CV-22 follow on would be pretty cool, too. Either way, to each his own.

 

I'm new to USAF helos from the jet world. In the USAF, your college degree doesn't matter unless you want to be a test pilot someday. My buddies with history and Political Science did just as well as Aero Engineers. Your choice of degree may help in the selection process, but not past that point.

In the USAF, you will compete with your 30 pilot classmates for track select, one being rotary. Rotary is actually competitive after the introduction of UAVs. Rotary track guarantees you won't fly a UAV, at least early in your career.

As for service, all the stereotypes are true. In the Navy, you will spend half your time abroad or at sea, in the Army as a warrant, you will fly, but also deal with long deployments and lower pay, active Army officers don't fly much. In the USAF, you are a step child, and will deploy often in shorter (4 month) deployments. There are always exceptions to the stereotypes (Guard, Shore duty, training environments)

Like everyone has told you, get good grades and the degree first...good luck

 

Dude, that has to be one of the single, most-cool thing I have done being a rotor-head. I have been on everything from 12 person pinpoint assaults to (literally) a dude's backyard, as well as 500 person man-drives to flush out entire cells of insurgents. Even done a Medevec mission or two because we were closer.

I think the funniest and most memorable pick-up I have been on was after a pin-point assault to a certain persons Qalat and they called for exfil early just before detonating a rather large weapons cache which, to date, is one of the biggest found in the history of the area. We were headed to the original grid when the JTAC called in an audible in the air. It sort of went like this:

"Hey guys, I don't think we'll need to mark the LZ."

"Oh really?? Its (&^%ing dark out here! I think we'll need some type of illum."

"give it 10 seconds, and tell me if you still want the illum"

"Uh, ok. No Problem."

While holding at the RP, I saw the biggest flash and plume of smoke and that I have ever seen under the tubes. BOOM! Cool. Just cool.

"Hey (JTAC), I'm guessing that was it?!"

"Yes, Sir. Land Stag-Left, 200m north, landing direction west."

"....3 minutes."

Since then, nothing else has come close.

I maintain that it is a different war at 200AGL than it is at the flight levels. I am pretty confident in saying that we have seen more in your face "combat" on a day to day basis than your run of the mill jet driver. Driving a Helo is the epitome of awesome, period. The war in Afghanistan is being fought and won by rotor-drivers from all the services. Anyone that says different can come on down from the flight levels and get dirty with us while taking RPK fire and see if their tune changes.

 

I remember being over a very long firefight in NE Afghanistan a few years ago, doing the coordination and hand off to a pair of AH-64's on a TIC we were working, trying to clear a path for some medevac helos. We were requested to stay on station until bingo for support (no kidding bingo to pavement, not a tanker), and I watched as they unleashed a volley of death that was just awesome. Over and over again. I was sitting in an F-18 looking down, thinking "I'm in the wrong airframe right now."

 

True - but each has their part to play.
It is also a different war at 0' AGL.

USMCFLYR

 

That may have been true ten years ago. If you want to contribute to the warfight in a meaningful way, go Army. If you think you can lead men, become a commisioned officer. If you feel a constant need to blow your own horn, go marines. If you like salt air and scraping paint, go Navy. If your into obscene luxury and shameless self-congratulation, ... need I say it?

 

Your jealous of the Dress Blues aren't you

USMCFLYR

 

I like the ostrich feathers and the mother-of-pearl swords.