If I am a scholarship Cadet, I understand that upon completion of my initial 4 year ROTC ADSO, I . West Point graduates have a 5 year commissioning ADSO. A regular Active Duty pilot career path. 1 Sacknuts93 3 yr. ago Probably not. This! Within the company we tried to level out flight time to give the senior guys some rest, but the battalion/brigade leadership was too risk averse and pushed back. The 10 year ADSO was based on whether or not you pinned WO1/2LT by a certain date, not by when you started or graduated IERW. , I worry that Ive done people a disservice by making the Active Duty pilot career path seem too unattractive. Is a 10-year Active Duty ADSC so terrible that its worth passing up? The army has never been good at personnel management. I dont agree with this decision at all but mean forcing people to stay helps retention because you know, they are forcing you. I ended up discovering that Stan was most worried about frequent moves and long deployments stressing his family during an Active Duty flying career. Think about approving some ETPs. Aviation Bonus Program - FY2023 Program - United States Army However, on the surface, we see that Stans plan is likely to get a pilot to the airlines a couple of years before his peers. Well, when you have a system that initially punishes critical thinking, then requires it later on down the line, you're creating your own problem that ends up causing its own problems. I'm in better shape today than I was 10 years ago. When discussing any big-picture career options, I always make sure to follow Simon Sineks advice and Start With Why. I've been in the Army for a long time, and it's never been worse than now. More than likely, the aviations slots will be filled by personnel lower on the OML. I ended up not joining because they increased the ADSO. Because honestly put the lifestyle sucks nowadays. Although there's a max of 8 years TIS that can be changed in a New York minute. 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. The earlier you can, INTERVIEW PREP PACKAGE (eCourse + 1-on-1's), 1 HOUR INTERVIEW PREP ADD-ON (Add'l 1-on-1 Coaching for eCourse & Package Customers), 1 HOUR APP REVIEW ADD-ON (Add'l 1-on-1 Coaching for eCourse & Package Customers), https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3982524/f-35-sky, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4798866/f-22-europe, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5765915/b-2-and-boom, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/491088/deployed-civil-engineers, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6100141/c-17-air-drop, The Ultimate Guide to Earning a Pilot Slot in Air Force ROTC, Part 1, As Stan would be finishing up his 5-year ADSC, hed need to be shopping for Guard and Reserve UPT board announcements on. Yes, they will retain aviators when the quality of life increases for aviation, not just grinding us into the ground until a new command comes along every 12-18 months and does it all over again. I wonder how this will effect street to seat recruitment for WOFT. 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. Increasing the ADSO, though, does not require datait is guaranteed to increase retention. If anything it hurts recruiting new pilots. Given the pandemic's direct and indirect effects on the aviation industry, is that even going to a concern going forward. It seems the 10 year ADSO is now official. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. These investments set the Army apart from all the branches, he said. Anyway, I just clocked 20 years, 5 1/2 years of that has been spent in the Middle East and for what? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://thefrontlines.com/comics/army-pilots-beware/. Press J to jump to the feed. Before Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy signed a memorandum for the change in June, the Army had bumped up its incentive pay for aviators in January. 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. army aviation 10 year adso - kestonrocks.com I dont think I wouldve taken the 10 Year ADSO, considering that Id just now be ALMOST complete with 10 yrs aviation service. Furthermore, for cadets who may want to pursue a civilian career after a stint in the Army, the opportunity costs are higher the longer they stay. I wouldnt put it past B Co to drop incorrect information and later say we didnt say that.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The increased ADSO only harms this effort further. With a 10 year ADSO and an 8 year max time in service requirementit significantly reduces the in house pool as well. Stan figured that even spending 5 years in a non-flying job, this track would make him a military pilot well below the USAFs current age limit (33 years old), and would actually get him to the airlines sooner than his Active Duty pilot peers. The UH-72 costs twice as much to operate as a TH-67. Even if the increase in commitment lowers the civilian WOFT applicantnumbers, the in house career Enlisted pool will fill the void. Army rescinds COVID-19 vaccination requirements, $84 million contract awarded for Excalibur replenishment, Army officer part of newly resumed cooperation for International Space Station, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Sarah Stone is just one of four, Army CIO speaks at Army Europe and Africa 2022 Cybersecurity Summit, Transcript: Media Roundtable with Mr. Douglas Bush, ASA for AL&T, July 27, 2022, Transcript: Media Roundtable with Dr. Raj Iyer, Army Chief Information Officer, and LTG John B. Morrison, Jr., Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-6 June 09, 2022, Vietnamese-American service members parallel paths to the American dream, Bengali chief warrant officer finds the American dream through serving, Soldiers inspire new Army directive on parenthood, pregnancy and postpartum policies, U.S. Army STAND-TO! Think they will pay the bonuses and flight pay like the other branches? Instead, the aviation branch has proposed to boost aviation career incentive pay, or flight pay, which can retain more qualified aviators, he said. (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. Not difficult for the Army in finding 300 additional NCOs for the WOFT program if need be. The 10-year service obligation is the result of a numbers-related calculus related to Army manning and will not address the problems that make Aviators leave. 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. 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. I'm thinking Army will start pushing dates to the right as much as possible to achieve its newfound maximum retention. I honestly don't believe that the way out of this is getting more people to fly that have less time available left in their military careers. The Palace Chase program exists specifically for Active Duty pilots willing to make an early commitment to continue their service in the Guard or Reserve. is working as an Admission Liaison Officer for the USAF Academy. DOCX Navy At the same time it could drive a shortage of Aviation Officers, but if they're going to leave the Army anyway. After working several years in the corporate sector in various strategic positions, I recently came back on active duty due to the strong desire to serve. There are also discussions within the Army aviation community of additional changes that would make becoming a warrant officer even less appealing. What are a few of the issues which the Army could resolve for aviators? At first, his idea sounded reasonable to me. Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may However, we have to look at more than just the number of years involved. The earlier you can Palace Chase, the less difference there is between a regular Active Duty pilot and someone following Stans plan. This 10 year commitment will definitely dissuade him from the Army. Suddenly, Active Duty isnt looking that bad, right? You make an excellent point..I'm a twice retired CW4 (did a voluntary retiree recall three years after my first twenty). Anyhow, a 10 year ADSO is an ungodly amount for a branch without a proper Aviation culture. Well, the short answer is, we dont know. (Well assume a move to the Guard or Reserve after completing your initial 10-year UPT ADSC. Theres no debating that the military has a near monopoly on the most exciting aviation available to humankind. For the next decade of your life, you will deploy a lot and have little or no control over your assignment locations. Thereafter, the ADSO incurred pursuant to the Army Branch for ADSO Program will be served concurrently with any other non-statutory ADSOs. 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. F-22 crew chief: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4798866/f-22-europe. Often times these decisions being made do more harm than good, and cause a tremendous amount of work (just look at our administrative packet processes). Upload or insert images from URL. review for a restaurant or somethingonly those who either #LOVEDIT or #hatedit:( ever write reviews, so it's hard to know what the experience is like for the average man. 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. I ended up discovering that Stan was most worried about frequent moves and long deployments stressing his family during an Active Duty flying career. However, Army aviation should not be compared with the other military branchesnot least because of the widely varying costs of producing pilots. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. One year dedicated to reset, one to training, one to deployment. A reduction in accessions will turn a long-term solution into a short-term problem. These figures do not include initial trainingthey solely account for the time and cost associated with the platform-specific training. I would never have signed a 10 year ADSO for army aviation. The future of Army aviation depends on retaining the pilots in whom it invests so much. There's a regulation whose number I can't recall at the moment that specifies when it starts. Especially if they view retention as a big enough problem to justify an additional 4 year commitment from aviators. 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. He is the author of thejumo brief, a free weekly newsletter for Army leaders. What is the real answer? Whether you elect the Branch of Choice or Graduate School Program, there are slight differences to your commitment for those who branch Aviation. There is no reset. The report included a figure showing that the Army faced a shortfall of 330 warrant officerswho comprise 70 percent of the Armys pilot ranks. 10 year ADSO started FY21. Extra 4 years would NOT make a difference. The Army is the only service which allow non college graduates in being Officers and pilots as we know. 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? 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. This may be because the Army has not undertaken the same in-depth approach to understanding this problem as other services. Your link has been automatically embedded. Hopefully with the new 10 year ADSO aviation will assess more senior NCOs. Like it or not, you need to accrue that experience one way or another. That hesitation will open up slots for others further down an OML or with less stellar accomplishments, potentially creating other issues related to performance or aptitude. What if Stans 5-year ADSC runs out as the next SARS/Swine Flu/COVID-type pandemic puts hiring on hold? 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. That's my issue (age waiver). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The articles and other content which appear on the Modern War Institute website are unofficial expressions of opinion. I'm good at doing Army things and I enjoy them too, but I don't know if I can commit so much of my life before I've even had my first real taste of being an officer. Aviation Bonus (AvB) Program. Other branches have had 10 year ADSOs for a long time. While a longer ADSO may help from looking solely at the numbers, it won't be effective at retaining quality talent. Very true. On the reset year, units focused on team building, socializing, individual skills, and professional development. Well also see some advantages of Active Duty and some options for cutting your time there short. In the current COVID crisis, those years may soon make the difference between having a great job and. Additionally, because of rules that the Federal Aviation Administration has put into place over the last decade that make hiring civilian pilots difficult, many regional airlines have created rotary-wing transition programs that substantially ease the transition for Army helicopter pilots. And yet, theres a certain logic to questioning that 10-year commitment. It doesn't matter that the WOFT contract I signed this week states that it is a 6 year ADSO - the Army can do and change what it wants. The change comes as the cost and requirements for aircraft have increased across the board, Kearns said. Some of the impacts may have directly affected [Soldiers] ability to pursue [their] goals of working for the commercial sector, especially the airlines.. arent bad, and patriotism also factors in for most of us. Posted on . 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. Also new is that time in grade for WOs doesn't start until you graduate flight school. 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. Across the force, warrant officer recruiters are actively on the lookout to fill their ranks. I was enlisted for 6 before I moved over. im hopeful the army can fix this problem ASAP. I feel that part of the problem is that the Army assessed too many senior NCOs into flight school, which helped get them into this box that they are in. For anyone interested in becoming a warrant officer, individuals should contact a warrant officer recruiter or visit the Armys Warrant Officer Recruiting website. If youre worried about frequent moves disrupting your family life, picking a community with few basing locations is a viable option for Active Duty. 10 Year ADSO : r/Armyaviation - reddit 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. NO WOFT POSTS. 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. The Army has had pilot shortages off and on ever since I can remember. Why or why not? Gen. McCurry also said, People still want to fly. It only increases your overall training costs because typically you have less time available to retain these people. There are many complexities in these advanced helicopters, which translates to increased costs in flight hours, maintenance, and training requirements, Kearns said. This global pandemic has made unprecedented impacts on the worlds economies and our way of life, Koziol said. United States, and the U.S. Army Re-serve, unless otherwise stated. However, has he really had a better home life than them? Stans Active Duty pilot peers would have spent 8-11 years since graduating from college flying for the military full time. army aviation 10 year adso. It's not exactly friendly but this is the military. U.S. ARMY RECRUITING COMMAND > In-Service Opportunities > U.S. Army Having been out of college for at least 5 years at the start of UPT, its more likely that Stan will have a spouse and kidsmaking the very busy year at UPT even more challenging. This of course will do nothing to fix the problem of toxic leaders, poor assignment choices, or any of the other issues. The Army has more career Enlisted willing to cross over for the opportunity in being an Officer and increasein pay for the family, with or without a degree. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Subject to the needs of the Army, newly rated aviators should be used in operational flying duty positions immedi-ately after their successful completion of Army aviation flight training. The Department of Defense released a report in July 2019 that laid out the challenges the military faces with pilot retention and included plans of action from each branch. 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). New ADSO order goes into effect 03JUN saying: "Hey, buddy, you wanna fly? , I knew to ask lots of questions and take the time to dig down to the primary factors motivating this line of thinking. Even if the increase in commitment lowers the civilian WOFT applicantnumbers, the in house career Enlisted pool will fill the void. Ideally, you should enlist with one of those units as soon as youre old enough and serve part-time while you complete college. Your flight school ADSO is based on when you graduate WOBC and pin on your flight wings. The Army only draws between 300-400 non prior WOFT applcants yearly. Not sure. 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). If you want to. 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. Can you hear the roar of approval erupting from Army doctors across the globe serving out their decade plus commitments? That will solve our retention problem!" A Leaders Guide to Conducting Research Staff Rides, Report to Congressional Armed Services Committees on Initiatives for Mitigating Military Pilot Shortfalls, Government Accountability Office reported, Creating a Sea Change: TF 76/3, Adaptation, Experimentation, and the Joint Force, Podcast: The Spear The Strategic Lieutenant, Book Talk: Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century, Frank Sobchak Joins MWI as Chair of Irregular Warfare Studies, Announcing the Modern War Institutes 202223 Senior and Research Fellows, Call for Submissions: Civil-Military Relations and Modern War, Call for Applications: MWIs 202223 Fellows Program. You are likely going to be on Active Duty Status for about 7 years once you finish command as most officers command a company around their 6th year of service. That's what the Army was counting on. If the civilians don't want to join, not a problem. Fixed wing is cheaper. June 5, 2020 in General Military Helicopter Discussions. Deployments are great flying, but terrible on a family. While its not impossible, and, BogiDope can absolutely help you get there. The U-2 and B-2 are both single-location aircraft, and they go through so much trouble getting their pilots that youd have to try to leave. Starting in October, all personnel selected to attend the Armys initial entry aviation training will incur an ADSO of ten years upon graduation from flight traininga dramatic increase from the previous six-year commitment. If the civilians don't want to join, not a problem. 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. Serving on Active Duty is also the only way to get an overseas flying assignment. Anyone who does a modicum of research will quickly discover that our aviation culture is objectively inferior to the other services. That being said, they let you fly as your primary duty and fly cooler airframes. 10 is nuts. (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.) 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? Prospective warrant officers can see that the Army is having trouble retaining pilots, and they can also see that increasing the service obligation by four years works against their best interests. 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. 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. But Army aviation is better than sitting behind a desk and possibly dying of boredom. We need better leadership courses that foster problem solving, the importance of critical thinking, and using surrounding talent to identify the cause of issues/solutions. I'm roaring and ready to go. Yes, , and its important to get there as quickly as you can because, . 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 . Army Aviation Leaders should. The Army should be able to meet their quota through CAREER Enlisted personnel ONLY if they must. You don't have to have a college degree to apply or be accepted into it, he said. 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. However, if you missed that boat youre far better off taking an Active Duty UPT slot than trying Stans way and doing 5 years as in a non-flying job. F-35s in feature image: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3982524/f-35-sky. The Army likes to have a balance between the two but they can change that over night. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. What I would propose is to change the flight school is conducted to make it cheaper and make it easier to increase throughput. This is anecdotal, of course, but nowadays there is no appreciable down time. I just want to stop leaving my family all the time! I would be inclined to say that your contract is still 6 year ADSO. How do Warrant Officers get promoted? As long as hes getting a lot of flight time, Stan should have enough hours for a Restricted ATP rating and a shot at a regional airline job a couple of years before his Active Duty pilot peers. Thoughts anyone? The disparity grows as pilots continue service, with a difference of $1,560.80 per month in favor of a major with fourteen years of service compared to a chief warrant officer 4 with fourteen years of service. Theres a two word solution to this, age waiver. There are also a lot of great flying opportunities that you can only do on Active Duty. 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. If he didnt go to AFIT, hed have to move for a second assignment anyway. This is the amount of time that an officer must serve on active duty. 10 years after flight school graduation. Stans family has still moved several timesboth as an engineer and as a pilot. Anything and everything related to or affecting US Army Aviation. This doesnt exactly seem legally right. 10 is a big commitment either way. Many aviators got tripped up by it in the last few years in the push to get to the airlines. Although its easy to feel stuck on Active Duty, there are also options for getting out early. Unlike pilot deployments that can be as short as a couple of months, engineer deployments are usually 6-12 months. I like the idea of the Ultimate career path because it still allows you to. Fly them that way through the instrument phase, and then conduct a rotary wing transition. By policy, the Army must review the AvB program quarterly to determine the program's effectiveness. Paste as plain text instead, I'm about to retire from the Air Force as an engineer, O-4, mostly dest and staff job. This could be a few weeks TDY, or a multi-month move. Yes, that is 11 combat stripes. Its a lot to ask.