I am an enlisted reservist rigger, Rw fo. Currently working with an Officer recruiter for an Army fixed wing slot. What should I watch out for?........When I enlisted the recruiter was not "wholly forthcoming", so would appreciate all intel.

 

Direct entry into Army fixed wing huh?
I didn't even know they did that.

 

Yea....Branch Aviation. Atleast that's what on my packet.

 

Yeah I thought army FW was not doing well these days.

But if he's applying for a specific reserve unit that flies FW, then it would make sense.

For the OP, the big potential gotcha with taking a flight slot is what happens if you don't complete training (medical, performance, drawdown, whatever)? There is often a service commitment doing whatever they need you to do, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem since you're already a reservist. Just make sure you understand how that works.

Also make sure you are getting a guaranteed flight slot, not just an OCS slot with an option to apply for flight training (and most likely get rejected). That's also a dirty trick that's been seen before. Of course even a "guarantee" is subject to the needs of the service, but it's better than nothing.

Also be sure you've completed a flight physical and the cognitive tests...otherwise your guarantee isn't worth much.

 

I think I understand the fact that your branch will be aviation - but will you be Army National Guard like rickair suggests or are you talking to an active duty recruiter?
As far as opportunity, I don't know that many Army pilots, but of the ones I have met, or worked with, I don't remember any of them going to straight to FW. It was a transition that they all put in packages for down the road - often times senior WOs.

It sounds like a great opportunity if it pans out for you. No matter what - if you are afforded the opportunity to serve in army Aviation (or any form of service), you will find it a life changing event.

 

I will be scheduling the SIFT (no more AFAST) and physical on Mon at Bragg. My reason for posting is know all my options (not just what the recruiter is telling me).

@ FLYR by the way this is a reserve officer recruiter and totally understand he has his quota to fill. I am a little suspicious (may be thats a little too strong a word) of ODC straight to FW. Since I ETS in may, I can always pull out if the try to make me a Dentist or a 42 series.............right.

Nothing wrong with a dentist or 42, it's just not for me.

 

The FW thing still raises red flags to me...you need to understand EXACTLY how, where, and in what order you will complete training, and what unit you will be going to. If any of that can't be explained, you're probably being suckered.

 

If he is a reserve recruiter, he can indeed put you in a fixed wing slot. Reserve units are like guard units, in that they have an assigned airframe. So if he is slotting you to a unit that only flies C-12's, then you are essentially guaranteed a fixed wing slot. Mind you, you will still go off to Rucker and spend a year going through the ENTIRE rotary track first (Primary and Instruments in the TH-67, Warfighter Skills in the OH-58, then an advanced aircraft course, the UH-60A/L more than likely since its the shortest advanced course). Then and only then will you get your wings, and then you will attend a roughly 3 month follow-on course to get checked out on fixed wing. You'lll start in a Cessna, move up to a Beech Baron, do a little aero in a Zlin, then move on to the C-12. It's run by Flight Safety international, and more than half of it is in the sims (They don't have any actual C-12's with glass, so after you get an initial checkout in the old school C-12 you will finish everything out in their C-12V sim, which is glass).

Hope this helps.

 

thanks cascade