Trying to get back in -- USMC infantry to Army Aviation

On the army note, I guess the MA guard is looking for qualified (potential) aviation mechanics to the tune of a 20K signing bonus. Whatever you decide to do, if it is the MA guard route my recruiter is genuinely a good guy who has been very helpful, so I'm happy to put you two in touch.

As far as USMC to Army... different world. I'm also going from Infantry to Airwing, so the only way to get more extreme would probably be go USAF or Coast Guard or something. I try not to wear being a Marine on my sleeve too much, I'm really here to learn. I'm obviously happy to be wearing the uniform. In some ways I think they are on to something -- there seems to be less needless yelling and discomfort. On the other hand there is significantly less "combat focus," but bear in mind I come at this as a former grunt.

I think your mileage may vary a lot depending where in the Army you wind up. Army infantry seems to be much more similar to the USMC spanning from marksmanship to military customs and courtesies to PT.

None of this is meant to knock the army. There are some great people in the unit I'm currently with, and the atmosphere is MUCH more collegial. A lot more people stay in as it's a lot more sustainable, and because it's State based, a lot of these people have been around one another for 6-10-20 years. It seems like a bunch of friends who do their militia thing rather than a bunch of 18 year olds getting hazed by a handful of SSgts training for war counting down the days until they get out. And I don't mean this in a bad way. Definitely happy I made the jump.

The TLDR of it is: it's a different animal, and I'd expect you to see quite a bit of variation depending on "where" in the army you end up. The branches have their differences. I don't think you should toss what you bring to the table as a Marine, but it's not the Marine Corps and there is a difference between contributing to an organization and trying to change it.

Mike
 
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Also remember the Guard is NOT the Army. Whole different vibe. (I did both years ago) My son did 8 in the guard But yes the Army is not the USMC. LOL. Congrates on getting the slot and good luck with the WO school and flying.
 
Thanks. And I'm cool with that. Seems to be a great group of people with ample opportunity for good training and overseas service. What more could I ask for lol.

Mike
 
Also remember the Guard is NOT the Army. Whole different vibe.
While the vibe is different, from active Army to USAR to ANG, they are ALL "the Army". After all, it's the Army National Guard.

The militia is not the Army, and the militia is not the National Guard, but the National Guard and all its equipment belong to the U.S. Army, and to the Commander in Chief any time he says so.
 
Also remember the Guard is NOT the Army. Whole different vibe. (I did both years ago) My son did 8 in the guard But yes the Army is not the USMC. LOL. Congrates on getting the slot and good luck with the WO school and flying.

Speechless I tell you. Tell that to the NOT Army, Guard non real soldiers operating in central and east Africa among other places.
 
Speechless I tell you. Tell that to the NOT Army, Guard non real soldiers operating in central and east Africa among other places.
My son deployed to Iraq with the guard, and yes they are not the regular Army. Are they doing the job Yes. I was addressing the culture, If you can't separate the 2 I don't know what to tell you.
 
congrats on the WO1 anyway, when I was guard I was looking at a gunner slot on the cobras in westfield but no guaranteed training slots. I would have had some flight training as a gunner (for limp home mode if pilot was incapacitated. ) same old hurry up and wait.
 
Just got home from WOCS as a new WO1. That sucked. Now just waiting on dates for our PCS for flight school. Hopefully sometime later this Summer, but I'm told it could be even later than that. Semper Gumby I suppose.
You should hope to start in September or later.

Have you ever been to Alabama in the summer?

Oh, and congratulations, Mister Crazymjb!
 
Congratulations Mike! For the most part the BS is over and the meat of the matter is ahead. When I went through WOC training it was 50% BS along with academics and 50% flying. Once flight training begins for you the BS should pretty much be non-existent. It's a good thing.
 
Thanks all! And special thanks to Dustoff22 for writing me a letter and helping to get me in touch with the right people a ways back.

You should hope to start in September or later.

Have you ever been to Alabama in the summer?

Oh, and congratulations, Mister Crazymjb!

Thanks! Either way I'll be down there for 14-16 months, so they'll catch me at least 1 summer. I have not been there in the summer, but it was in the 90s and 100% humidity up through when I left this Wednesday. I was at PI in the summer back in 2008, I remember that being hot as well, but at least it was on the water. Also spent some time in 29 Palms in the summer, but dry heat is waaaay better as long as you can find some shade. I am absolutely loving this weather back home now!
 
Here's our class video from WOCS. WOCS is like a more "fun" version of Boot Camp. It's really not fun, but it has it's moments. The instructors are much more "mentors" than drill instructors at boot camp were, except for the first week or so. Class leadership is more or less responsible for running the class/platoons, but still plenty of early mornings, games you can't win, rules you can't remember, etc.

 
Here's our class video from WOCS. WOCS is like a more "fun" version of Boot Camp. It's really not fun, but it has it's moments. The instructors are much more "mentors" than drill instructors at boot camp were, except for the first week or so. Class leadership is more or less responsible for running the class/platoons, but still plenty of early mornings, games you can't win, rules you can't remember, etc.



Wow..............just a whole lot different than it used to be! Much better today than yesteryear! Then again, when I went through it was balls to the wall trying to create enough helicopter pilots to accommodate the very quickly expanding helicopter war going on in Vietnam.........my WOC training was 1966-1967 graduating in April '67.

Once again, congrats Mike. Warrant Officer rank is, in my most humble opinion, the best rank in the military. In many ways I regret having accepted a commission whereas it diminished the flying part of my job and accentuated the BS part. Shoulda coulda woulda.
 
Every service needs warrant officers. The ones I served with in the army epitomized competence and professionalism. The other services were idiots getting rid of them.
 
Here's our class video from WOCS. WOCS is like a more "fun" version of Boot Camp. It's really not fun, but it has it's moments. The instructors are much more "mentors" than drill instructors at boot camp were, except for the first week or so. Class leadership is more or less responsible for running the class/platoons, but still plenty of early mornings, games you can't win, rules you can't remember, etc.


JC, my knees ache just watching that. [rofl2] Congrats.
 
Thanks... right now I'm finding the most success at the age old game of "hurry up and wait" as the army tries to decide when I'm going to flight school. Hoping I can get some ADOS orders in the interim... the pay +BAH up here aint too shabby.
 
ADOS?
I'm a Marine, ignorant on many Army acronyms.
Do all Army WOs come from the enlisted ranks like in the Marines?
 
It's a reserve/guard acronym. Basically temporary active duty operational support for a guard unit. They had it in the Marine Corps reserve as well.

Sort of. There are pretty much 3 paths to warrant in the Army (that I know of). On the technical side you pretty much need to be an experienced NCO in your field, and you submit a packet. The aviation side is a mixed bag with kids (and adults) right off the street who get accepted to fly, go to basic, straight to WOCS as an E1-E2, then straight to flight school. Also, many aviators revert from the commissioned ranks back to WO to pursue aviation as a WO.

CID is also a special animal, and I think you can go directly into the army as a CID WO assuming you meet other background requirements that allow you to skip the enlisted side.
 
So current update... still waiting on flight school dates, but I am currently on active duty working directly for the Officer and Warrant Officer recruiters in MA. So if anyone has questions about programs I can try to get you answers.
 
So current update... still waiting on flight school dates, but I am currently on active duty working directly for the Officer and Warrant Officer recruiters in MA. So if anyone has questions about programs I can try to get you answers.

Mike.......any of your Marine buddies potential candidates?
 
One of my closest friends may be coming with me! We'll see. I've definitely put out feelers. Unfortunately the USMC has this uncanny ability to leave a lot of people jaded about the military.
 
Looks like I'm leaving for flight school at the end of the Winter unless an earlier date pops up. They called me with 3 dates, one was in a couple weeks which didn't leave me with enough time to get my shit together, one was gonna have me in SERE when my wife is due, so I had to go with March.
 
Hmmmmm.

SERE, or the ninth month of my wife’s pregnancy?

That’s not as easy a choice as it seems...
 
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