Due to the extreme demand produced by the GWOT, ground formations are insatiable with their demand for aviation support. However, we have to look at more than just the number of years involved. The US Army is missing the boat by not letting seasoned professionals into flight school. Fiscal Yr 2021 starts Oct 1, 2020. More money for tents and rifles, I suppose. Anyone who does a modicum of research will quickly discover that our aviation culture is objectively inferior to the other services. The BRADSO and PADSO portions of CSP remain in effect. As a Guard or, There are also a lot of great flying opportunities that you can only do on Active Duty. Ideally, you should enlist with one of those units as soon as youre old enough and serve part-time while you complete college. Stan was worried about his Active Duty career path (Option #2) because it would ensure several years of moves and deployments. This is not going to end well until leaders finally understand that there has to be a work/life balance. In my first year and a half after flight school I flew over 500 hours. Branch of Choice: Your BRADSO obligation runs consecutively with your flight school ADSO and your commitment will run out to about the 10 year point. The future of Army aviation depends on retaining the pilots in whom it invests so much. I'm retiring in two years and it's not even to go to the airlines! Sometimes that's necessary, but there's got to be some balance. What are a few of the issues which the Army could resolve for aviators? Full disclosure, I was a street to seat Warrant that served for 24 years. Theres no debating that the military has a near monopoly on the most exciting aviation available to humankind. The Army must also capture the opinions of those it can still retain. That's not what I am talking about. Although I like to poke my Active Duty friends in the chest by asking, What do you love about military aviation that you cant also get in the Guard or Reserves? Ill admit that there are some benefits to Active Duty military service. Yes, , and its important to get there as quickly as you can because, . The Army, by contrast, could only say that Army senior leaders recognize there are growing civilian opportunities for Army pilots. Your flight school ADSO is based on when you graduate WOBC and pin on your flight wings. If anything it hurts recruiting new pilots. For example, if there are 100 ROTC Aviation slots, only 20 can receive the Graduate School Option. From this mid-grade officer's perspective this constant obsession with readiness is actually detrimental to readiness. Another disparity is the pay inequality between the militarys pilots. The consensus seems to be that if you graduate flight school inFY 2021, you accrue the 10 year ADSO. For the next decade of your life, you will deploy a lot and have little or no control over your assignment locations. However, I dont think its worth passing up a nearly guaranteed Active Duty. You'll be a WO for three-ish years. If you havent already read, Welcome back to Part 2 of our series about career progression for Air Force pilots, from the pilot perspective. While I completely understand the desire of people to fly, there is more to it than that. That will solve our retention problem!" Aviation continuation pay 2 . Not difficult for the Army in finding 300 additional NCOs for the WOFT program if need be. Back in the 1950s, the Army ask for a waiver in not paying flight pay for its pilots. This is usually a 1-year assignment, though it might be two. You can post now and register later. The same goes for great deals like going to Test Pilot School, flying the E-11A BACN, and much more. The US Army recently changed its aviation Active Duty Service Obligation from 8 to 10 years and created an absolute uproar. Also get's a TS which is money, but dealing with army IT infrastructure is frustrating. Thereafter, the ADSO incurred pursuant to the Army Branch for ADSO Program will be served concurrently with any other non-statutory ADSOs. The best pilots I have served with were prior NCOs. Im would bank on that being the flight school start date officially. Once Stan finally gets qualified in his aircraft, hed get seasoning orders with his Guard or Reserve unit. In my next 6 years I flew a total of 50 hoursAnd it's not for lack of trying, I was just in assignments (that I didn't ask for and tried to get out of) where there were no aviation units around. There's the technical expertise that goes along with it as well. c. Officer Candidate School (OCS) graduates accepti ng an appoint in the Regular Army or a Reserve Appointment with a concurrent call to active duty incur a 3-year ADSO (see AR 350 . June 5, 2020 in General Military Helicopter Discussions. With this data, the Army can tailor solutions to address the issues that cause pilots to leave. Typical Army of not addressing the real issues. Deployed Civil Engineers https://www.dvidshub.net/image/491088/deployed-civil-engineers. At first, his idea sounded reasonable to me. 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. His administration's definition of readiness was turning maximum amount of red chicklets on spreadsheets to green, sending people over and over to the field and CTCs without any break, and endless rotations to Korea and Europe. This eventually allows you to retire a full four years earlier than any other military aviator. Plus, you will also be earning full GI Bill benefits AT THE SAME TIME. Signal: The IT department of the Army. You cannot paste images directly. This ADSO will likely cause a sharp decline in recruiting among cadets selecting their branches and enlisted soldiers and civilians interested in becoming Army pilots. It never ends. That's my issue (age waiver). Fly them that way through the instrument phase, and then conduct a rotary wing transition. The impact on warrant officers may be as severe as the impact on would-be aviation lieutenants. Like many personnel issues though, the age limit is probably ripe for a re-look given that people now live healthier, more active, and longer lives. Especially since TN he Chinooks are B Co 2-104 from CTARNG and I was the CDR and PC sitting in the left of the Chinook in the foreground on the left. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Were you part of the 6 year or 10 year ADSO group? My formation barely ever conducts social events. We should approach our congressmen to change the re-entry rules to allow ATPs. There are a lot more BCTs, SF groups, SFABs and NG/USAR units than there are CABs. Stan is likely to do plenty of TDYs as an engineer and isnt impervious to the threat of deployment. If you accept tuition assistance, 2 year ADSO. Nope. Moving to a random Air Force Base for less than 1 year while Awaiting Pilot Training (APT), Moving to a base for 6-10 months for initial aircraft qualification. While a longer ADSO may help from looking solely at the numbers, it won't be effective at retaining quality talent. The AvB is used to offer bonuses to aviators with critical skills or MOSs. Display as a link instead, Just so we know I'm not a whiny do nothing: seven deployments, six combat for a total of 70 months and 66 months respectively. Well look at three cases: Although each of these career paths has potential for almost infinite variation, this diagram represents likely versions of each: Looking at these side by side, its clear why #1 is the Ultimate option. While the goal of the CSA's program was a well intentioned effort to make up for a dearth of aviation experience at senior ranks, it wasn't well received and Congress bit back. Now that Im older and wiser, one of my many side-hustles is working as an Admission Liaison Officer for the USAF Academy. The. 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. Were you planning on doing it for less than 10 years?, His answer was, Of course not. They require more time for people to gain experience. When discussing any big-picture career options, I always make sure to follow Simon Sineks advice and Start With Why. How do Warrant Officers get promoted? Although its less common to get more than 6-12 months of your ADSC forgiven under this program, that still gets you off Active Duty sooner than expected. ADSO is completed. More than likely the Lts selected will be lower on the Order of Merit List. I crushed the SIFT, passed my flight physical, have a great OML standing, etc., so I should have a good chance of getting my top pick. Thoughts anyone? USMA graduates accepting an appointment in the Regular Army incur a 5-year ADSO (10 USC 4348). How is my list for OCS? : r/army - Reddit On this career path, Stan is most likely to leave young kids at home with his spouse while he deploys. Traditionally, the Army has not struggled to recruit pilots. People have no time to actually live their lives. Were looking at troops selected for flight training in the fiscal year 2021 and beyond.. Additional Duty Safety Officer Course brings added - United States Army That is not a good thing. If you receive the Grad School option, the option costs you nothing because GrADSO runs concurrent with your flight school ADSO. The Army says it needs the UH-72 for training because it teaches the use of glass cockpit and other advanced technology. Hed probably get 2-3 years at that assignment, but if he did a good job the Air Force would offer him the chance to get a Masters Degree through the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright Patterson AFB. Having looked at these options, lets go back to our original thought: If you missed your shot at the Ultimate Military Pilot Career Path are you screwed? He was thinking about turning down an Active Duty UPT slot and fulfilling the alternative 5-year USAFA non-pilot ADSC as an engineer or something, then pursuing a UPT slot with a Guard or Reserve unit. They wont, we already dont get the congressionally authorized flight pay. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://thefrontlines.com/comics/army-pilots-beware/. With survey data in hand, the Army will likely find that it needs to continue to invest in its aircraft fleet to ensure pilots receive adequate flight hours to remain proficient. I at least expected a survey or something from the Aviation branch to ask why I was leaving, but again, nothing. While the ADSO goes into effect in October, its effect on retention wont be felt for at least six years after the first ten-year ADSO class graduateslikely not until late 2027. The consensus seems to be that if you graduate flight school in FY 2021, you accrue the 10 year ADSO. Army Aviation: Alternatives to the 10-year Service Obligation Excerpt from your enlistment contract which every one of has (or will, if selected) signed. Your previous content has been restored. Why not allowing retired personnel to do what they always wanted? Why or why not? This of course will do nothing to fix the problem of toxic leaders, poor assignment choices, or any of the other issues. There's definitely a balance issue, and I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side. arent bad, and patriotism also factors in for most of us. 9 month rotations are followed by field time, followed by gunnery, followed by EIB, followed by a CTC, etc. The service should find a better way of addressing its shortage of pilots. The U.S. Army Aviation Center Survival Escape Resistance and Evasion (SERE-C) course. Serving on Active Duty has plenty of advantages, and even offers some highly-desirable opportunities that you cant get anywhere else. I am planning on staying in anyway but that 10 year also looms big if everything sucks and you hate it. Expect to get yelled at for shit you have no control over. The Modern War Institute does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published. The report included a figure showing that the Army faced a shortfall of 330 warrant officerswho comprise 70 percent of the Armys pilot ranks. ADSO stands for Active Duty Service Obligation. Graduate School Program: Only 20% of the Aviation Branch allocation for ROTC and West Point can receive the Graduate School Option. Then 10 year service obligation put me right at 20 so Im not too worried about that. Aviation has always been a highly desirable branch, and gaining a slot has been a matter of performance or differentiation from peers (whether OML or via a competitive application process). That is completely and totally gone. Powered by Invision Community, https://www.reddit.com/r/Armyaviation/comments/gxcx3o/10_year_adso_is_official/. Regarding the future Army Commissioned Lts in wishing to branch aviation, that will be an issue next year. 10 years is a good rate of return for the experience needed in being a pilot. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. To create a mission-ready helicopter pilot, the Army invests between six hundred thousand and one million dollars during approximately one year of flight training. Branch of Choice: Your BRADSO obligation runs consecutively with your flight school ADSO and your commitment will run out to about the 10 year point. Required fields are marked *. But ifonline discussions are any indication, this ADSO will turn away a lot of prospective pilots. How to Join and Requirements Scholarship Opportunities Cadet Life , Network, As the COVID-19 crisis continues to drag on, I cant help asking my crystal ball how things are going to shake out. For most, Top Gun played at least a little bit of a role. The US Army recently changed its aviation Active Duty Service Obligation, from 8 to 10 years and created an absolute uproar. Proponents of the new ADSO have suggested that the Army is catching up with the Air Force and the Navy by matching its pilot obligation with theirs. The B-2 about to get fuel: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5765915/b-2-and-boom. I bet less than 400 WOFT selected are non prior service on a annual basis. This doesnt exactly seem legally right. I was enlisted for 6 before I moved over. The US Army recently changed its aviation Active Duty Service Obligation from 8 to 10 years and created an absolute uproar. It's kinda like a Yelp! 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. Actually, the option to revert to Warrant Officer does exist. 10 years after flight school graduation. Your email address will not be published. I remember similar drama during my Fourth Class (freshman) year at the USAF Academy as we were forced to sign a paper accepting a similar ADSC increase in case of getting an Air Force pilot slot. Privacy Policy. Up to $15K per year payable to officers drawing Optometrist Regular Special Pay who have completed initial ADSO for education and training, and who execute a 12-month active duty service agreement. 2-4 more moves for assignments during his Active Duty career. After AFIT, Stan would owe a payback for school and might have to serve longer than his 5-year non-pilot ADSC. BrADSO - I signed for one, but then I know for a fact that it wasnt required/taken but its still on my iPERMS. It further acts as a disincentive to those who would like to do the mission, but are unwilling to sacrifice a decade of their time in the event they don't like the lifestyle. Press J to jump to the feed. However, increasing the service obligation of new pilots is the wrong course of action. im hopeful the army can fix this problem ASAP. army aviation 10 year adso. It does have the potential to get him to the airlines more quickly, and hed do all of his military flying in the Guard or Reserve (with Quality of Life far superior to Active Duty, in most cases). As long as hes getting a lot of flight time, Stan should have enough hours for a, When discussing any big-picture career options, I always make sure to follow Simon Sineks advice and, For anyone facing a 10-year military pilot ADSC/O, this means asking yourself: What is it about, For most, Top Gun played at least a little bit of a role. Looks like I'll be doing 10 years insteaddang. Press J to jump to the feed. Welcome back, fellow aviators! Although its easy to feel stuck on Active Duty, there are also options for getting out early. I wouldnt put it past B Co to drop incorrect information and later say we didnt say that.. Although its easy to feel stuck on Active Duty, there are also options for getting out early. Not difficult for the Army in finding 400 additional career minded E-3 to E-7 for the WOFT program if need be. So here I am, considering branching aviation when all of a suddenBAM! Did ROTC, then Aviation, allegedly 6 years upon completion of flight training. There's a regulation whose number I can't recall at the moment that specifies when it starts. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Army is trying to get payback for their costs, but that will be increasingly hard to do if airlines are hiring. Its shocking that the Army doesnt have any institutional memory about what causes pilot shortage, which are primarily two broad topics: quality of life in the Army, and economic opportunities outside the Army. These investments set the Army apart from all the branches, he said. 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.) So the recruitment piece has not historically been our challenge, it has been capacity and production. But what if the new ADSO invalidates this assumption? It doesn't matter that theWOFT contract I signed this week states that it is a 6 year ADSO - the Army can do and change what it wants. The report focused on the unmet demand for pilots in the commercial aviation sector that has attracted military pilots. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. That's what the Army was counting on. The Army will continue to honor all GRADSO contracts for officers from YGs 2006-2013. A chief warrant officer 3 with eight years of service earns $5093.70 per month, whereas a captain with eight years of service earns $6435.00 per month, a difference of $1,341.30 in favor of non-Army pilots.