Im not young, but Ive aged well and am not ready to resign myself to a desk. Unlike pilot deployments that can be as short as a couple of months, engineer deployments are usually 6-12 months. Just like privates do certain tasks, junior warrant officers perform certain work as well, and I've personally seen a few folks not being able to deal with that change. I don't know too many that would care to be told to mop the floor of the pilot's office, fill the refrigerator, go help wash the aircraft the things that junior warrants typically do when they are new to a unit out of flight school. If I am reading this correctly, this applies to officers that attend initial flight school after October 1st 2021. My formation barely ever conducts social events. (USASOC) Commissioned and warrant officers who enter flight training starting in October will incur a 10-year service obligation once they become rated Army aviator s, according to guidance. Aviation: dude it's a 10 year ADSO, so I hope you like aviation, cuz you ain't going anywhere else. That's my issue (age waiver). If ATPs are granted, I'll be the first one to sign up as a warrant officer. I retired in 1998. The extended ADSO is intended to increase Army pilots retention in the future. There's definitely a balance issue, and I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side. There are also discussions within the Army aviation community of additional changes that would make becoming a warrant officer even less appealing. However, has he really had a better home life than them? There are a lot more BCTs, SF groups, SFABs and NG/USAR units than there are CABs. You make an excellent point..I'm a twice retired CW4 (did a voluntary retiree recall three years after my first twenty). It wasn't approved. Another anecdote, when I was deployed there was a desire to have experienced cockpits on higher risk/higher visibility missions usually two pilots with 1000+ total hours. Whatever path you end up taking, please consider taking a UPT slot when offered. You can post now and register later. What if you transfer from being an officer with 8 years of service (including enlisted time) to being warrant aviation? As a good mentor, I knew to ask lots of questions and take the time to dig down to the primary factors motivating this line of thinking. BrADSO - I signed for one, but then I know for a fact that it wasnt required/taken but its still on my iPERMS. Lasting solutions must come in the form of quality of life and quality of service improvements. That's what the Army was counting on. No additional time added with a BRADSO. Im scheduled to graduate, 1st or 2nd week of September. The Armys blind spot with retention data is further highlighted by comments made by Brig. And yet, theres a certain logic to questioning that 10-year commitment. This means that a BCT that goes to a CTC once a year always demands CAB support. It is the cheapest method for increasing retention rates, delivers a long-term investment in human capital, and provides a more predictable model for pilot production requirements. People have no time to actually live their lives. If hed gone to UPT right after college, its more likely that hed get a lot of his deploying done before his kids were that old, or even before they were all born. It is extremely frustrating to see some officers and senior NCOS make such short sighted decisions to solve complex issues without finding the cause, and not conducting any type of research. Gen. Michael McCurry, the director of Army aviation for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7,who said in September, One question I often get asked is, are the airlines impacting your shortfall? They just can't have over 8 years TIS without a waiver. However, Army aviation should not be compared with the other military branchesnot least because of the widely varying costs of producing pilots. I like the idea of the Ultimate career path because it still allows you to earn a 20-year military retirement.. So now the prior Enlisted must do at least 11.5 years and advance to the grade of W3. In recent discussions with some USAFA cadets, Ive encountered several who actually turned down pilot slots because of that 10-year ADSC. Air defense branch offering $60,000 bonus for warrant officers, New aviators to incur 10-year service obligation, New Aviators to incur 10-year service obligation. Our young NCOs want to become warrant officers and get out and fly. 10 is a big commitment either way. Like it or not, you need to accrue that experience one way or another. As several others have said, this policy fails to address the root problems high OPTEMPO, poor quality of life, irrelevant mandatory training, etc. I believe you must pass SERE and another leadership course before phase 1 flight. It's not about harassments, it how things get done. Well see that the Active Duty option is still a good deal, that the overall difference isnt so great, and well see why youre better off pursuing either than trying to fulfill a non-pilot commissioning commitment before trying to pursue the Ultimate career path. Army Pilots put up with less Army BS and get paid more. If Stan becomes an engineer in the Air Force, hed probably have to attend some sort of training right after graduating from college. Id always wanted to be a pilot and didnt know anything else, so I said the Doolie equivalent of Shut up and take my money! (There was a lot more Sir and Maam involved.) The Army has more career Enlisted soldiers willing to cross over for the opportunity in being an Officer, pilot and increasein pay for their families, with or without a degree. I don't know how common my situation is, but I'm sure there are plenty of people like me who barely flew, while there are others flying until they drop. The extended ADSO is intended to increase Army pilots' retention in the future. (Yes, they say ADSO instead of ADSC because the Army and the Air Force refuse to do anything the same since they divorced back in 47.) This doesnt exactly seem legally right. I have a high schooler who is applying to engineering programs for school and is interested in an ROTC path that might include aviation. Lets assume though that Stan can get hired by a unit, and is scheduled to start UPT as soon as his regular ADSC is up. Traditionally, the Army has not struggled to recruit pilots. If pilots today are so unhappy that they are leaving in numbers higher than expected, why would prospective pilots accept a much longer service obligation for that same experience? Not sure. It will harm recruiting and we will continue to bleed talent into the civilian aviation market. That 10 year obligation doesn't start until you finish flight school. Why or why not? Check this post out on Reddit:https://www.reddit.com/r/Armyaviation/comments/gxcx3o/10_year_adso_is_official/. If you graduate after 1 Oct 2020 expect a 10 year service obligation. As a Guard or Reserve pilot, you may need to find a full-time flying job in addition to your military flying (full-time Guard/Reserve pilot jobs are available, but you should join with the expectation of needing civilian employment in addition to your military flying). Unfortunately, it probably wont exist long enough for it to achieve the desired effects. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. That is not a good thing. After AFIT, Stan would owe a payback for school and might have to serve longer than his 5-year non-pilot ADSC. That will solve our retention problem!" Fiscal Yr 2021 starts Oct 1, 2020. I just signed my WOFT contract at MEPS on Thursday with the idea of a 6 year ADSO. I am a former Aviation Officer and when I got out after my ADSO was complete I was surprised that no one questioned why or tried to get me to stay. 10 U.S. Code 2114: Graduates of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences incur an ADSO of at least 7 years. A 10 year ADSO on a guy that already is a senior E6/E7 probably didn't make a lot of sense at the time as well. I'm in better shape today than I was 10 years ago. , I knew to ask lots of questions and take the time to dig down to the primary factors motivating this line of thinking. Expand The 10 year ADSO will actually prevent all but the youngest street-to-seaters from making the jump, I graduated flight school right after turning 24 and the AF won't take you after 33 without a waiver. They can surely find that amount in the Enlisted ranks if WARRANTED. Also, it ap-plies to the Regular Army and Reserve Component officers (Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve) ordered into aviation service by the Secretary of the Army and applies to all commissioned and warrant officers who are training for or have Army aeronautical ratings. Flying helicopters looks pretty dope though. And finally, the Army will likely find that it should increase flight pay beyond what has already been offered. NO WOFT POSTS. Did ROTC, then Aviation, allegedly 6 years upon completion of flight training. Warrant Officer Candidate School is a five-week program. If I am a scholarship Cadet, I understand that upon completion of my initial 4 year ROTC ADSO, I . Over the last few years, Army senior leaders took steps to address the pilot retention challenge. You get to the airlines sooner, and you spend more years at a major airline. That's the Army's ace in the hole. Next, hed go to his first assignment. This is the second part of a series about choosing between military and civilian career options. We dont have good measurements out there right now to tell us why an aviator is getting out of the force. Without useful data, the Army cannot implement targeted retention solutions. If you accept tuition assistance, 2 year ADSO. All in all, this track has the potential for less family stability than his Active Duty pilot counterparts. The US Army recently changed its aviation Active Duty Service Obligation, from 8 to 10 years and created an absolute uproar. Starting in October, all personnel selected to attend the Army's initial entry aviation training will incur an ADSO of ten years upon graduation from flight traininga dramatic increase from the previous six-year commitment. When discussing any big-picture career options, I always make sure to follow Simon Sineks advice and Start With Why. is working as an Admission Liaison Officer for the USAF Academy. Stan is likely to do plenty of TDYs as an engineer and isnt impervious to the threat of deployment. , this is far from guaranteed. reenlistment document. It's not exactly friendly but this is the military. The Army only draws between 300-400 non prior WOFT applcants yearly. Army and Air Force use this pay. However, after spending a few more minutes thinking about how these career paths might compare, I decided Stans idea might not be as advantageous after all. The Army says it needs the UH-72 for training because it teaches the use of glass cockpit and other advanced technology. New ADSO order goes into effect 03JUN saying: "Hey, buddy, you wanna fly? We are always either training or deploying. The US Army recently changed its aviation Active Duty Service Obligation from 8 to 10 years and created an absolute uproar. It will give you a recruiting advantage because a person out of high school or a year of college could position themselves for later on in life. amp, I got out because I wanted to fly, but kept getting stuck in staff positions where I either couldn't fly, or had limited opportunities to fly. Other branches have had 10 year ADSOs for a long time. That evens the odds even more. Deployments are great flying, but terrible on a family. The big gotcha of the Active Duty pilot career path is that on the day you earn your wings, you also get hit with a 10-year Active Duty Service Commitment (ADSC). You must understand, the Army has an ace in the hole when filling the Warrant Officer aviation pipeline. There is still an aviation bonus for mid career tracked guys, and while some success has been had with that, I dont know if theyve gotten the response desired for the blood money though. Think they will pay the bonuses and flight pay like the other branches? Ive also called this the, Stans idea (Do 5 years as an engineer, then fly for the Guard or Reserve), Looking at these side by side, its clear why #1 is the Ultimate option. I dont agree with this decision at all but mean forcing people to stay helps retention because you know, they are forcing you. Reading this in Jan 21, after 10 months of pandemic lockdown. Apache course end? Well, the short answer is, we dont know. It seems the 10 year ADSO is now official. No products in the cart. This is not going to end well until leaders finally understand that there has to be a work/life balance. There are also a lot of great flying opportunities that you can only do on Active Duty. Also if you have any time in the army at all, youll probably stay until 20 at that point. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I wish thiswasa little more clear. They might be stuck on Active Duty slightly longer than Stan, but hed have to spend at least a couple of years at a regional airline to even start competing for major airline jobs. Theres no debating that the military has a near monopoly on the most exciting aviation available to humankind. self refer to ASAP, mental health, yea you can get out but you're not going to fly on the outside. The Ultimate Military Pilot Career Path is to get hired directly by a Guard or Reserve unit and let them send you to UPT. More than likely the Lts selected will be lower on the Order of Merit List. They require more time for people to gain experience. WASHINGTON -- Starting in October, commissioned and warrant officers selected for initial entry flight training will be required to serve at least a decade once they become an Army aviator, according to an all Army activity message published Aug. 12. If the civilians don't want to join, not a problem. Ultimately, the Army needs to focus on the retention of quality talent; not on retaining mediocre talent for a longer period of time "because they can mandate longer ADSOs.".