coast guard

[denn454]

thanks for asking. I'm going to college now paying for it half way out of my own pocket, the other half with loans. i'm working on my pilots license and hopefully if things go according to plan, and those plans don't change i'll end up as a commercial pilot.

the other day i was again thinkin about getting my helichopter add on to my license when i get it and look into the coast guard again. maybe i'll wait till i get my degree first that way i have a better chance at actually being something. so basically i'm still concidering it just as another job once i get out of school.

and pablo, sorry i was wanting to get oppinions; thoughts from other people who have been there and done that. no i didn't want to just jump right in head first and hope for the best. sissy? i guess if thats what you call someone that wants to concider every possible option before commiting several years of my life to something, then fine i'm a sissy.

 

[gordyzx9r]

Just in case your still not fully committed yet let me offer an alternative that haven't been mentioned yet.

From you sig line and posts it looks like your very interested in aviation. As fate would have it, the Army still has a program that allows for people to apply for Warrant Officer Candidate School and flight school straight off the street without the need for any college or flight experience whatsoever. It is commonly referred to as "high school to flight school", but the only thing really holding anyone back would be age, GT score, and AFAST score. There is a packet that must be completed (which can be found the Warrant Officer Career Center site). I went through flight school with a few 18 year olds. Myself, I was enlisted for a little over eight years before I finally applied (maybe I shouldn't have waited that long but I believe my enlisted experience made me a better officer).

After your finished, you can work towards completing your degree on your own time. I've recently finished one degree with Chaminade University of Honolulu and now I'm working on another through Embry Riddle, with my experience,military education, and CUH associates degree I was credited about 90 semester hours towards the degree.

Your not required to have a degree at all during your entire career (it helps for promotion but it's not required unlike the O grade side of the house...I've known people that have made CW3 and CW4 with nothing more than a GED).

My advice would be to apply for flight school, finish up a degree while your on your commitment to the Army, then apply for the Air Force or Coast Guard...personally, I like the Army and I've only got six years till I'm eligible for retirement (and I use the term eligble loosely). While I don't have the numbers to back it up, it's my opinion that we're hurting for pilots...it can't hurt to try. And if your interested, don't talk to a recruiter about it (unless it's a Warrant Officer Career Center recruiter from the WOCC), chances are a regular street recruiter would tell you that you can't apply for flight school until after your enlisted for a certain period of time...which isn't true. You will have to go to basic training, and during that time you'll be paid as an E-5 (you won't wear Sergeant Stripes though until the day you graduate basic...not that it matters since as soon as you get to Ft. Rucker you'll be wearing Warrant Officer Candidate rank) up until you graduate from Warrant Officer Candidate School at Ft. Rucker and be appointed as Warrant Officer One, then you go through flight school. 24 months after being a WO1 you receive your commission for Chief Warrant Officer Two.

For what it's worth I've enjoyed my service in the Army, I've done three tours so far but the experience has been rewarding in it's own way. My brother is in the Coast Guard and while he doesn't care for it, he admits that the education he has received will be a launching pad for a career with the DEA or ATF.

 

[denn454]

i wish i would have heard about that earlier, it actually sounds like a pretty decent way of doing things.

but right now i have some stuff going on in my life that i won't give up, so that rules out anything military, with the possible exception of national guard... the last thing i want to do right now is get stuck traveling around the world, or even the country for that matter.

thanks for the idea though, i'll pass it along to some people i know. any idea on how to find a wocc recruitment place?

 

[gordyzx9r]

Any idea on how to find a wocc recruitment place?

They don't have offices per say, IIRC they travel every so often to various military posts to recruit from the ranks...but, the packet and contact information are on their website. Like I said before, a typical enlisted recruiter either isn't aware of the program or they will just flat out deny it as someone else mentioned, they have quotas to meet and going the route I described doesn't count towards their numbers.

 

[dragonational]

Go AF i am in right now i have been in for 6 +years and love it. Be a 2T2X1 its my job and a good job if you need any info on the AF shoot me an E-mail.