153A aviator question

wrote:

Hello

I am a 32 year old private fixed wing pilot. An army recruiter
promised to get me into Fort Rucker if I joined. Here is the problem -
after the boot camp I will still be an E3, to go to WOFT one must be an
E5 or better. Question-- can they put in my contract that I am going to
Fort Rucker upon completing boot camp?


I am currently serving with the Army as a AH-64 Apache armt dawg. I am
28 and also a fixed wing pilot with 288 hours. I joined the Army to go
WOFT but had to go enlisted first because I need to be a US citizen and
I am doing the military naturalization thru Army service, long story
short, ask me anything you want to know about the Army, MOS 153A and
flight training program. Who told you that you have to be E5 for WOFT?
That is wrong info. 153A is the only MOS that doesn't require prior MOS
related experience. Why do you want to go to Fort Rucker? You can only
go to Fort Rucker for AIT if you are 15P or 15Q MOS series, that is
flight ops and air traffic controller. Furthermore, not to make you
upset or anything, WOFT age cut off is 32 at this point, but also the
recuiting website says if you didn't turn 33 by the time selection board
convenes you are good to go. You can still do an age waiver on the other
hand, provided you are an excellent soldier. Can they put Rucker in your
contract, if you are going for 15Q or 15P yes that will be in your
enlistment contract.

I spent 17 years in the military, 6 years Navy and 11 years Army. While
in the Navy I went to an Army aviation post to cross over services into
the WO flight program. I was told that I had to be an E5 minimum to
qualify (I was), as well as take a battery of tests on flight. The stack
of study books they gave me stood several feet tall lying on their side!
As far as the argument about recruiters - if you ask questions, they
will give you appropriate honest answers. If they do not, they are far
more liable than the average grunt. Recruiters are held to a much higher
standard than most of the rest of the enlisted, precisely because of the
generalized opinions like have been stated here. Misleading
prospective recruits can result in very severe penalties, including
article 15 bust. I was never mislead by recruiters, and in fact they
were very helpful in getting me what I wanted. It is in their best
interests to do so - you are more likely to be a happy camper and sign
up/stay in/ not be a problem in boot, etc. If you talk to a recruiter
and he intentionally misleads you, you have a number of options to
pursue, none of which will result in a pleasant ride for the recruiter.
And as far as salesmen; if it weren't for them, how would you buy
anything? There are unscrupulous people in every profession that exists,
but they are in the very tiny minority. You only hear about them,
unfortunately, because all the honest ones aren't "newsworthy".