Enlisted needs advice about going pilot

[wannabeapilot]

I am currently have a year and a half left on my 6 year contract of being a Fire Controlman. I want to get out, attend college and get a business degree. And then attend OCS with a follow on orders of aviation schools. By about that time I will be around 27 or 28. I have pretty good record and awards as an enlisted. I plan to get a decent enough GPA in school. I am also pretty physically fit so I could get a 300 on the PFA. I was also thinking about starting my private pilot license when I get to school. The question is what about how to go about to lock in a billet for pilot and other useful pointers that would help. Thanks very much.

 

[VarmintShooter]

Why on earth would you want to get out (and pay for school yourself), then go to OCS?

I was also an FC and applied for NROTC (before everyone had to go STA-21, which is a better deal now anyway). My suggestion is to apply for STA as many times as you can for the next year and a half, once or twice I guess. If you don't get picked up in that time, then consider getting out and doing OCS. Think about it financially ... you can be paid while attending college or not. Why not take the pay?

Perhaps you have some better deal going that I am unaware of, so maybe your plan is best. How to lock in a pilot slot ... not sure when taking the OCS route (someone here should be able to give you the gouge), but as for STA you'd just have to get good grades, do well on the test, and hope that the selection gods favor you.

Be persistant with your applications if you want to be successful ... took me several times to get the application in and accepted.

Post or PM if you've got questions, but I've been out of the application loop for 6 years now and may not be all that much help. You can also try searching the threads here for more info (http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/search.php?). I suspect some more recent applicants will chime in too.

Good luck!

 

[Mayday]

Where are you thinking of going to college?
Do you have any accredited education so far?

1. Don't play around with age. Get a counselor to help you plan out the semesters so you can graduate by the time you're 27. Period. Being prior enlisted doesn't help much if at all if you really want to get out before applying.
2. Good luck getting a Navy slot.
3. The Army will PAY you to get a 4-yr and end up in their chopper pipeline, depending on which school you go to.
4. The Marines have a few vacancies for aviators (jets, props, or helos) for '07 thru '09. No idea what it'll look like after that. You've gotta really want to be a Marine on top of wanting to fly, to go that route.

 

[fc2spyguy]

FC1 here, just picked up for STA-21 pilot option. If you have any questions regarding STA-21 let me know and I'll be happy to answer as best I can.

 

[AirHawaii]

Hey, I just got out... days ago as an FC2, I'm currently pursuing a business degree at HPU in Hawaii. Do yourself a favor, if you want to be an officer, get as much school as you can WHILE YOU ARE STILL IN. Also APPLY FOR STA-21!!! It sounds like you could be competitive, but if you don't apply YOU WILL NEVER GET PICKED UP. It is a much sweeter deal. DON'T GO BACK AND FORTH ON IT. Get with you CCC and drop a package THIS YEAR. I decided to go the route you're talking about, and I'm wishing I had used all of my options while I was in. I am confident that I will make it because I am determined, but if you have a chance to do it while you're in, the worst that can happen if you don't get picked up is that you follow your original plan of getting out and going to OCS. College is expensive, the Navy will pay for a lot. I am now trying to get back in to BDCP, but if you go STA-21, you will never have to deal with a break in that support. Like I said, ask yourself: "WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?"

 

[wannabeapilot]

Me again

Well one of the BIG reasons I am wanting to get rather than doing the Sta-21, is because I am currently forward deployed in Japan. I am going to spend 4 straight years on this ship. With being underway at least 8 months a year. I am a little burned out and need some time off from the Navy. But I do love the Navy. And everything it has to offer. Any other advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[bch]

DO NOT GET OUT. Being a STA-21 is just like being out of the navy. The ones at my unit were just normal college kids, who had a lot of extra cash and were accuring time in service which counted for pay and retirement.

One thing to think about, if you are getting tired of the navy, flight school is 2 yrs of BS that will make you, at least once, start to question why you are doing it. Make sure that the navy is something you really want to make a career out of... if the answer is yes, DO NOT GET OUT.

 

[KBayDog]

Amen.

Here's a Marine's perspective:

I went MECEP (similar to STA-21). Going to college on either of these programs is by far the greatest deal in the military. You stay on active duty. They PAY YOU to go to school. Your time in school counts towards retirement, tenure raises, etc. You get a college degree. THEN, you get commissioned, get another raise, and go on to do great things. You simply cannot beat it.

No, going to college while on active duty is NOT like being in the regular Navy/Marines. Sure, you have to do NROTC drills, but you have to do them if you pick up a scholarship anyway. Other than that, it is just like getting out and going to college. (The fact that you are active duty, and your grades matter, will motivate you to get better grades than you might as a civilian...)

You just have to remember that you are an active-duty military member, and conduct yourself accordingly.

 

[fc2spyguy]

Another thing not mentioned here is trying for a slot. I can't say for certain but I'm pretty sure that the pilot slots for NROTC/BDCP are very tough to get. As far as STA-21 I don't think it is much easier but FY05 of the people selected for STA-21 about 16% were pilot slots. That worked out to be about 25 of us selected for pilot.

Now, if you plan on applying for college you probably have to take the SAT/ACT anyways so you might as well go ahead an do that. Eventually you're going to have to take the ASTB as well so again, you may as well go ahead and do that too. Keep in mind there is some pretty good gouge on this website regarding the ASTB so take a look at it. You should be able to get with the recruiter on base there (you in Yokosuka?) by the taco bell and find out a time to take the ASTB.

Ok, here is what the next 3 years of my life will look like. I will be finishing up NSI in July. From there I will be reporting to the NROTC unit at UW-Madison. I will start school in the fall semester. Yes, I have to do the drilling and all the NROTC stuff but that's really not a big deal. All of my college expenses are being paid for by the Navy. Plus! I still get my E-6 pay and benefits (roughly 40k a year including bah/bas). Now, I don't know about you but being one of the few on campus that doesn't have to worry about money and where it is going or coming from will be a very nice benefit

 

[bch]

something else to mention... when it comes to selection, the pilot slots are filled from academy & NROTC, then OCS. While it is tough to get in in the first two, it will be harder to get in the later.

 

[usmcegan]

Just to throw in my support for staying in (I was also a MECEP, and am now headed to advanced pilot training at corpus), you can't beat getting paid to go to school, especially since you'll still get BAH and COMRATS, plus base pay, plus there's scholarships for active duty attending college. When I went there was no STA-21 all Navy people were ECP or NECP, but I guess it's pretty similar. You're not really active duty, but you still accrue TIS AND you're still getting paid.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[wannabeapilot]

I get the picture everybody is trying to tell me. Try to go STA-21. If I am not able to go that route, is going pilot through OCS with less than a 4.0 a reality or just a dream? To answer some of the questions. I am stationed in Sasebo Japan on an amphib. I am thinking about going to Oregon State U. I have about 2 years worth of electronics credits. Along with some PACE credits and some CLEP credits. Since I am planning on majoring in Business, most of the electronics credits won't help. Thanks for your reply's. They are very helpful.

 

[perchul]

As someone who went through college without gettinh paid by the military perhaps I can provide some insight on the benefits of not doing a program like STA-21....nope I can't

 

[Physicx]

Does the navy have a program where you don't have to go to college just straight to the cockpit.I know they did in the mid 90's.

 

[makana]

Does the navy have a program where you don't have to go to college just straight to the cockpit.I know they did in the mid 90's.

That was the original Seaman to Admiral program...the sweetest deal of them all! The program has evolved several times (to save the Navy money) and it is now STA-21. It is still a good deal and the end result is still the same: commission.

Just to piggyback on what everyone else has said, DO NOT GET OUT!! Even if it means re-enlisting, stay in and let Uncle Sam pay for your school while paying you a decent salary. My 3 years in STA were great. You'll play some of the NROTC games once or twice a week but other than that, you are essentially a civilian. And when you really analyze it - your full-time job is to go to school. It's a win-win situation, you are getting an education (and getting paid while earning it), 3+ years of shore duty, then the icing on the cake is you go back an O (O-1E) making more $ and living a better life. If you are serious about making the Navy a career and honestly feel you are competitive, stay in and keep applying (i.e. don't take "no" for an answer). They accept a lot more into the program now than they did when I got picked up so your odds are better now.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.