Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 10/13/2006

Question
Dear Col.

  Ever since I joined the Army Reserve, I cant stop thinking about becoming an Army Aviator. Im studying a couple of books right now on helicopter flight. Also I am currently a college student, and performing my weekend drills. But I am willing to do whatever it takes to attain my goal in becoming a pilot for the United States Army. My question is how possible is it to become an Army Pilot? What should I be doing in my community, school, work, whatever the case may be to increase my chances in being selected in front of the board? Lets say I score a 90 on the AFAST test. And pass my flight A1 physical. Would that be the golden ticket right there? Or is there more to it than that? Thank-you for any knowledge or advice you may give me. I am really looking forward to an answer.

Sincerely
PFC Epstein

Answer
Dear PFC Epstein --

There is no golden ticket to becoming an Army Aviator.  However, you are on the right path.  To get there, you will want to perform your Army job to the best of your abilities, show aptitude in mechanical and spacial reasoning, and also demonstrate the quick decision making and fast reflexes required of an Army Aviator.  

As you already know, you must pass a flight physical and an avaiation specific test.  Then you must decide whether to apply to become a warrant officer, or a commissioned officer, and then go to their officer training school.  You must do well enough in this officer traininig course to be qualified to attend flight school.  Then you must pass basic flight school, and then the flight training on the specific aircraft you will fly.  Only then will you be an Army Aviator.

Another route you could take is joining the Reserve Officers' Training Course, and then apply to get a commission into the Aviation Branch.  You would not have to attend Officer Candidate School, but you would have to do all your ROTC training to receive a commission, and then compete against all the other interested graduates for seats in the Aviation Officer's Basic Course.  If you did not qualify and get selected as an Aviation officer, you would still owe the Army time (up to 8 years) to pay them back for your officer training.  There is no guarantee that you will be selected for Aviation, even if you pass your flight physical and your FAST test.

Finally, you could wait for re-enlistment time, and make OCS and Aviation riders on your enlistment contract.  Again, there will be caveats on your performance in OCS (warrant or commissioned) that will dictate whether you continue on to Aviation training or not.  

In all these routes, one of the best indicators of your future success in a demanding field, is your performance of your current mission.  The best way to impress the board is to be diligent, reliable, trustworthy and passionate about your job and being the best at it that you can be.  Knowing where you want to be in 5 and 10 years also impresses the board when you have a plan to get there and are working toward that plan.

I wish you much success in your current and future roles in the Army.