If not aviation, then what?

[Mustard]

Last year I joined the CA Army National Guard, under the premise i'd be an officer and branch into aviation. Generally speaking, my recruiter + chain of command at the time didn't discourage me from that idea. The path was described as "go to basic, commission as officer, get into aviation". No aviation specific testing, boards, or physicals between now and commissioning were mentioned.

Months to a year later, I'm beginning to hear from various sources (chain of command and other) that branching aviation at my age is close to impossible (cutoff is 32,i am older than that), and that i should have had tests/ boards/ physicals done.

Despite this new and discouraging perspective, i'd still like to try to get into aviation, and i'd rather be told "no" wherever the buck stops, rather than accept the word of my chain of command.

Does anyone here have experience getting into CAARNG aviation with no prior flight/ military experience, and would you be willing to share that experience with me?

Also, I'd like to open the floor to suggestions besides aviation. Give me the elevator pitch on what other branches have to offer; bonus points for job/ career options with geographic flexibility upon getting out (I.T. for example)

[Unit74]

You got Rick rolled by the Man. Seriously. When I went through, I had to do all the aviation testing at MEPS up front. I suggest you use the VA benefits after you get your private if you still want to fly. The big green weenie strikes again, sucker. And the jokes on you.

[Mustard]

You got Rick rolled by the Man. Seriously. When I went through, I had to do all the aviation testing at MEPS up front. I suggest you use the VA benefits after you get your private if you still want to fly. The big green weenie strikes again, sucker. And the jokes on you.

Haha, wondered how long it would take for a reply like that to come through.

Yeah, figured on using benefits for flight school as a backup, even though i'd miss out on the experiences flying for the military

[M1NM]

even though i'd miss out on the experiences flying for the military

Most of those are really bus driver jobs. Very few where the fun in in direct proportion to pounds of fuel burned.

[Oceanbob]

[sbo80]

The majority of Army aviation is rotary, and a good majority of Army flight crew are Warrant officers, not Commissioned officers. I was the wrong branch, but I've never heard of anyone "ending up" in aviation in the Guard that wasn't already on that track to start - as in had your medicals, testing, OTS scheduled ("Officer basic" is a totally different school than "regular basic"), and flight school scheduled. Now there is a waiver for everything, including age, but you'd need some major pull to get one. Such as getting hired/recruited directly by an existing aviation unit that wants to sponsor you through school.

[Mustard]

I see the logic, but I don't see how my age makes me non-flight worth. I could just as easily bail out of the service as a youngin' vs as an old man. But then again, who said the army is a logical place?

The majority of Army aviation is rotary, and a good majority of Army flight crew are Warrant officers, not Commissioned officers. I was the wrong branch, but I've never heard of anyone "ending up" in aviation in the Guard that wasn't already on that track to start - as in had your medicals, testing, OTS scheduled ("Officer basic" is a totally different school than "regular basic"), and flight school scheduled.

Yeah, I was expecting rotary. I agree the aviation track starts somewhere, but I was led to believe that one place it starts was through what I was doing; Warrant Officer was something I was told I should get if I wanted to keep flying instead of getting promoted into a desk once I/d reached O-3.

OTS? Do you mean OCS, as in officer candidate school?

Now there is a waiver for everything, including age, but you'd need some major pull to get one. Such as getting hired/recruited directly by an existing aviation unit that wants to sponsor you through school.

Now we're talking solutions It sounds like networking is my next best option.

[Snoopy47]

The path was described as "go to basic, commission as officer, get into aviation".

Are you at least an OFFICER?

If so count your blessings.

Didn't you have a unit and Branch you were going to go into as an officer. Where did you think you were going to end up? I thought every NG and USAR officer KNOWS what unit they are going into and they are placed in a slot on the Unit Manning Report.

Now, I understand you might not know what I'm talking about, but still, there must have been a unit that was working with your recruiter to get you to OCS. What kind of unit was that? Was it at least an Aviation unit?

************

That all said I'll presume you are a 2LT now and have not gone to BOLC yet. If you did go to BOLC then that's that, that's your branch until you make CPT.

So if you are a 2LT in a unit they have you sitting in a slot, what branch is that slot? I think you have a hard road ahead trying to get into another branch that is outside of your unit. They will be annoyed enough you want to move from your slot before BOLC, but if at least the branch slot you want to go to belongs to your higher commander at least you won't fall off his roster.

*************

Now, what I have observed (in the reserves anyway) is there is no preferred Branch or MOS. The OPTEMPO of you unit is what's going to drive your insanity. There is also a danger of being placed into a position of visibility that carries a lot of operational planning, mission execution and no support to get it done correctly. You'll spend all your time hoping the house of cards doesn't collapse on your watch.

I'm spending my career focus trying to avoid getting crushed while at the same time navigating into positions that are cake, but on paper look good and follow career progression and promotion. However, that carries risk as well because command teams change. The army pulls individuals for mobilizations and you can still find yourself down range completely out of your depth and no where to run.

***********

So if you find yourself in a boring position, but still able to knock out your professional military education required for promotion, able to pass ACFT, and get regular meets the mark evaluations count your blessings.

The only places that are easy to transfer into are usually the ones desperate for company level leadership and have a high OPTEMPO. There you will get chewed up and spit out until the next starry eyed LT rolls out of OCS/BOLC.

[Snoopy47]

Now we're talking solutions It sounds like networking is my next best option.

Who are you planning on networking with? The Gov?

Waivers are going to be given in proximity of how much you bring to the table. A guy over age with zero flight training probably isn't going to get a waiver without some astronomically high intervention way outside the regulation guidelines.

It will have to be your singular focus and mission in life to become a military pilot.

***********
I got a waiver because of my age. I needed it for 6 months, but by then I cleared all the medicals, all the selection boards, met all the education commission requirements and I was going into a Branch that was greatly undermanned.

All the boxes were checked. All I literally needed was a waiver to close the issue of my age. Selecting me didn't push anyone else out of the slot, because they were never going to fill all the slots anyway. The risk was minimal to the USAR.

[Milsurp1]

Are you already commissioned? What slot are you in currently?

[Mustard]

Not currently an officer. Currently in OCS.

I did not/do not have a unit with the NG besides the unit I drilled with twice before I went to basic, and my current OCS class.

Networking: I have one POC I've known for years who's in the NG. Not aviation, but at least I can trust him and his experience. Also there's another officer candidate who is doing the aviation route (successfully), so I can talk to him.

As far as bringing things to the table, I have engineering degrees, and I'm not a PT train wreck like it seems so many others are, and fairly flexible in terms of time commitments.

Honestly, my impression is that there's been very little interaction with me regarding career progression (i.e. scheduling boards, physicals, other foundational stuff) besides 1) go to MEPS 2) go to basic 3) go to OCS. Hand wavy optimism is mostly what I get, and since I don't know the process I trust people who are supposed to (recruiter). I learned the concept of AIT on my own, and only recently have I even heard the term BOLC.

[Snoopy47]

Hand wavy optimism is mostly what I get, and since I don't know the process I trust people who are supposed to (recruiter). I learned the concept of AIT on my own, and only recently have I even heard the term BOLC.

Holy Christ.................

OK, I'm USAR and can't say I know NG, but I suspect you are on someone's personnel roster.

If you fail out of OCS someone is going to have to account for that. Who is that commander that cares if you pass OCS or not?

If you drilled with a unit previously, and you got PAID while with that unit, and you SIGNED an attendance roster that had a printed space with a line next to your name to sign you didn't hand jam your name THEN YOU ARE ON THEIR BOOKS that is your unit.

You need to find a NG officer mentor. I'm not that guy because I'm USAR.

ASAP

I'm am guessing once an NG officer gets out of OCS and returns to his unit, that unit will be in a rush to send said 2LT off to BOLC ASAP. Otherwise, a 2LT that goes more than 1.5 years without BOLC misses the 1LT promotion time line, and at 2 years without BOLC they can be kicked out (USAR anyway, maybe the CANG is more lax).

What I'm getting at is I highly doubt you are going to find an aviation path before that deadline for BOLC comes up.

Without BOLC you cannot be deployed. You have no branch or any professional qualifications to call yourself a qualified leader. Yea, you have rank, but you are non deployable without BOLC, and no one is going to waive that. They will kick you out first.

*******
Finally............ if you truly don't have a Branch and slot currently, then you better hustle to find one. I'm betting once you get out of OCS and to a unit it's going to be picked for you.

Commanders are not going to wait for you to float around without completing BOLC.

[Snoopy47]

This is a complete failing of your unit.

I must remember to not push this kind of stuff back on the "new guy".

I am the sponsor for a brand new college grad 2LT from ROTC, and he doesn't even have a military ID CAC, nor a military e-mail. So I'm constantly trying to be ahead of this guy's needs because he doesn't know what he needs.

Last thing I want is him showing up to BOLC (oh crap, he doesn't even have a Government Travel Card and he cant get a flight to BOLC without one, so it's just another thing that he needs) without uniforms, without CAC ID and without a Military E-mail.

[kwest10]

Like Unit74 said in so many words...
Get your private pilot lic on VA benies. Get some flight hours and look into CBP AMO (Air Marine Ops). Running surveillance or interdictions all day

[Mustard]

Snoopy47, PM sent.

Like Unit74 said in so many words...
Get your private pilot lic on VA benies. Get some flight hours and look into CBP AMO (Air Marine Ops). Running surveillance or interdictions all day

I can dig it.

In the mean time, I wonder if I should drop out of OCS because why put myself through all the hassle if I don't get my career of choice, or let it play and see where it takes me but take comfort that I'm only in for 5 more years + 2 IRR. I do see some valuable experiences, learning opportunities, and personal development by finishing OCS, but I'm running out of f---s to give about that kind of stuff. I was looking up MOS's yesterday and saw 12D Diver, which sounds cool because I scuba dive, but then I saw some random review by another 12D say "I picked it because I heard it was hard" and without giving it anymore serious thought I was like "nope".