Military Aviation Options

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

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Jaybird180
I was talking with a buddy that feels he may have missed his calling as a military pilot. He's 40 with 7 years prior service and a pilot ticket. He said he talked with an ANG recruiter who said that he couldn't get in a pilot slot due to his age and they don't do waivers.

I thought it was strange and my own experience with recruiters is that you really need to do your own research because some of them are not well informed.

Is it possible that he can consider regular services or another states ANG? He wants to fly fixed wing, but I don't know if he would do rotary if that's all he could qualify for.
 
Never heard of waivers for AF or Navy / USMC. Army NG he could get one. Depends on how desperate that particular unit is for pilots. I had a 40 yr old NG student when I used to instruct...oh he was bad.:mad:
 
Art VanDelay said:
Not at that age.
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This.

Anything is 'waiverable', but at that age, they would have to be extremely desparate to take someone that old.

Think about it this way. Most AD guys are putting on O5 by the time they are age 40. Not that many O5s in the cockpit unless they are CO/XO.

Military flying is a young person's game.
 
As an Army aviator I can tell you that age IS waiverable as stated above, but those waivers are currently being denied. We are getting smaller as a force.
 
I worked a long time in military recruiting - 40 is way, way past any serious consideration. I know of connected/celebrity types in the past that got waivers, but no one that far over the age limit.
 
RJM62 said:
My godson is a Coast Guard aviator. A few months ago he mentioned that they have enough of a need for both fixed-wing and helo pilots that they're raiding the other services. Whether or not they'd be interested in 40-year-old civilian aviators, I have no idea.

Rich

EDIT: I found the answer, and it is No.

http://www.gocoastguard.com/active-...nities/programs/direct-commission-aviator-dca
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I heard DCAs make up almost half of total CG Aviators. I visited a buddy of mine flying HH-60s earlier this year. He's former Army, and the two other pilots he introduced me to were former Army and USMC respectively.
 
RJM62 said:
My godson is a Coast Guard aviator. A few months ago he mentioned that they have enough of a need for both fixed-wing and helo pilots that they're raiding the other services. Whether or not they'd be interested in 40-year-old civilian aviators, I have no idea.

Rich

EDIT: I found the answer, and it is No.

http://www.gocoastguard.com/active-...nities/programs/direct-commission-aviator-dca
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It only makes sense when you consider how long military pilots spend in initial training. The cost to train a pilot is not insignificant and consequently, they want to get their money's worth.

It isn't like airline flying. You don't see many 50 year olds in the cockpit.
 
As a taxpayer I don't see the value of investing a **** load of money (training) into a 40 year old, unless its one of those that look like they are 25 and have a superbly clean medical history.

That is the whole point of beginning age limits isn't it?

My brother has been in the AF since he was 17 and came upon the cutoff limit a few years ago and gave it a shot. He kept passing out in the centrifuge and flunked. Kinda ironic that he is a Aerospace Physiologist so specialized in human factors, interfaces and accident investigation:rofl:.
 
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Fearless Tower said:
You don't see many 50 year olds in the cockpit.
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Not sure if it's the norm but my neighbor around the corner has been in the ANG for 30 years, he still flies a KC-135 as a Lt. Col... maybe that's for training purposes though. Assuming he's around 50.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Not at that age.
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Fearless Tower said:
Anything is 'waiverable', but at that age, they would have to be extremely desparate to take someone that old.
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:yeahthat:

You have to meet the selection board before your 29th birthday and have to start training before age 30. I have seen an age waiver but they only missed the cutoff by a year or two. Definitely not 40.

Fearless Tower said:
It isn't like airline flying. You don't see many 50 year olds in the cockpit.
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Very true. But for the few that are, I am impressed. I have seen some O-5, O-6s and wondered where they are hiding their oxygen tanks under their flight suits. I remember one old Lt. Col. in pilot training that looked like I would break him if I bumped into him, yet watching clips, the guy can fly a T-38 like it's nobody's business. Seen A-10 pilots of the same caliber.
 
Jaybird180 said:
I'll pass it along, but I didn't see a definitive "no" as you did.
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His link is for direct commission officer (DCA). That's for current military aviators from other branches that go CG. That cutoff is 35 yrs old.
 
I can pretty much give you a definitive "no" for a civilian applying as a Coast Guard aviator at age 40.
 
Sundancer said:
I can pretty much give you a definitive "no" for a civilian applying as a Coast Guard aviator at age 40.
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Are you a CG recruiter or have some other credentials that would make you the authority on this?
 
Well here's one down. Question 117. Pretty much what Gucci said above.

http://www.176wg.ang.af.mil/questions/topic.asp?id=1604

I can tell you Army is 33 but a waiver is allowed. Had several students in their mid 30s that had both age and PRK/LASIK waivers. That was height of GWOT though when we were pushing them through. I agree with Bill above, word on the street is waivers generally aren't getting approved these days. Still, doesn't hurt to apply.
 
I think the horse has been sufficiently beaten on this one. He has no chance at that age, in any service. I'd argue to stick with it and check out all the options if he were 30, but as was previously said, 40 is well outside the realm of possibility.
 
One last issue, I doubt any of the services are hard up for new candidates right now. When the door is wide open the 'waiver' likelihood is a lot higher.

Of course the real skinny comes from the individual officer/pilot recruitment programs. The particulars are always changing, what may of been 10 years ago could of changed three times already.
 
Jaybird180 said:
I'll pass it along, but I didn't see a definitive "no" as you did.
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He'd be out on two counts: (1) The program is for current military aviators from other branches; and (2) The age cutoff is 35.

Hey, maybe they have some other program. But I seriously doubt it. They seem to have a pretty good idea who they're looking for, and it's not middle-aged civilian pilots with no military experience.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
He'd be out on two counts: (1) The program is for current military aviators from other branches; and (2) The age cutoff is 35.

Hey, maybe they have some other program. But I seriously doubt it. They seem to have a pretty good idea who they're looking for, and it's not middle-aged civilian pilots with no military experience.

Rich
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prior service as stated in OP. Agreed, this horse is numb from the pain.
 
Jaybird180 said:
prior service as stated in OP. Agreed, this horse is numb from the pain.
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My apologies. I either misunderstood you or phrased my answer poorly. I should have said no military aviation experience, which is what I thought you meant when you said he "missed his calling" to be a military pilot.

But yeah, the horse stopped kicking a while ago.

Rich
 
He could always go CAP and pretend to be a military pilot (not a knock on CAP, maybe just a poke at certain members of it).
 
Auburn2002 said:
He could always go CAP and pretend to be a military pilot (not a knock on CAP, maybe just a poke at certain members of it).
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Or the CAF - they now require folks to wear flight suits when operating CAF airplanes.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Are you a CG recruiter or have some other credentials that would make you the authority on this?
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Semi-authority, I think; I worked for Coast Guard Recruiting Command for some years, through 2013. Built the business rules into their software for CG's 33 progams of accession, for enlisted and officer programs. Most admirable folks, and they walk it like they talk it. Still in touch with friends there, and while I imagine it is possible, it is unlikely they are now accepting middle-aged civilian pilot applicants. Heck, even some DCA's had to step down a grade to come on board.
 
OkieAviator said:
Not sure if it's the norm but my neighbor around the corner has been in the ANG for 30 years, he still flies a KC-135 as a Lt. Col... maybe that's for training purposes though. Assuming he's around 50.
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That's not unusual. It's the starting age that counts. Most cut off is age 26 to be in flight training.

I got in just before age 26, flew active duty for 15 yrs until I was assigned a desk job. Retired before I got back to the cockpit.

Tankers are one thing, fighters and low level bombing at night on NVG is a young man's game.
 
I was selected to be an Army helo pilot as a Warrant Officer in 2009 at the age of 35 while deployed to Iraq. Messed my knee up 2 weeks before going home and was laid up for 1.5 years. I was 37 when I returned to inprocess and was told that my birthday cost me a slot and that I should return to my old job. It all depends on the needs of the branch at the time really and I missed the lean times.
 
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