Pilot Slots at West Point

renegaderaider

renegaderaider

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I have an appointment from USMA and USAF, and I am still waiting to hear back from USNA. I want to know what my odds are in securing a pilot slot out of USMA. I am aware that the needs of the Army are often put over the individual, and that USNA and USAF have a significant number of pilot slots, but I am really leaning towards West Point after attending SLE over the summer. At the end of the day, though, I want to make the best decision for my career rather than the school experience.
 
My dh branched aviation out of West Point. I have no idea how competitive it is nowadays (it was when he was there), but the medical requirements are a big factor for aviation in all of the services.

A couple of things he loved and hated about Army aviation: Loved: the community. He is still really close to a lot of the aviation guys he flew/were stationed with. Hated: the fact that he didn't fly much after making Capt. WO do the flying and officers do the leading. We have good USMA friend that got out and came back in as a WO so that he could fly more. He loved being a WO.
 
This year, 97 out of 1028 were branched aviation:

www.westpointaog.org

West Point Class of 2024 Celebrates Branch Night

West Point firsties celebrated Branch Night on November 29 where the class of 2024 opened their envelopes to receive their U.S. Army branch assignments.
www.westpointaog.org

In contrast, coming out of AROTC the last three years, roughly 150 cadets per year have been branched aviation out of more than 3000 per year:

FY24 Branch Commandant Ratings AROTC

Curious if anyone has branch rating intel. Some branches give out Most Preferred rating sparingly, almost a 1:1 ratio, and others more like 6:1. For the branches with the latter description, can the comments indicate the level of most preferred, ie not all MP are created equal? And, can anyone...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/ROTC/comments/xpjyl2


This would suggest that the odds coming out of WP are far greater than they are coming from ROTC. But that still doesn't quite answer your question since we don't know the denominator (number of top choice requests) from WP. Off the top of my head, though, it's the best I can come up with.
 
99Gold said:
We have good USMA friend that got out and came back in as a WO so that he could fly more. He loved being a WO.
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In the lead-in to the Army/Navy game this year, they did a story about a soldier who did the same thing. He was a WP grad, Ranger, etc., and he resigned his commission to take a warrant and fly. He was then assigned to the Army's special ops aviation regiment and, unfortunately, was killed late last year. Anyway, I guess based on your friend's story and this story, that must be a more common path than I ever knew.
 
Maybe someone who knows how it shook out on branch night this year can chime in, but apparently as a result of the lengthened commitment, there has been a corresponding decrease in competitiveness for the USMA aviation slot. My yuk, who I believe to be middle of the pack rank-wise, was indicating over break that he was feeling fairly good about his chance of getting aviation. Not sure if that is an accurate statement based on how it went this year but would love to hear from someone who might know.
 
Iwutke said:
If you want to fly, be sure to research the types of airframes in each service. The Army flys mostly helicopters. Is that what you want to fly if you ever decide to leave the military?
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Great point - also check out the mission(s) of each branch and how their aviation community serves that mission - are they flying in and out of the theater of combat, aggression as a fighting force/threat, protection, troop transport, medevac, VIP delivery between ship to shore, search and rescue, refueling, doomsday/ sub hunting, air combat, intelligence gathering and mission coordination, etc. Even within Army, the type of helicopters and technology can vary greatly (or you could fly jets. etc.) As was pointed out, it's mostly about the needs of the service, though at least at present there is a reward for top performance amongst one's training cohort to have a better chance to fly the airframe you desire.

Also if it matters look at the training pipeline and delays for each branch and location. there may be a longer wait for some training - even different weights for the same training at different locations - Milton vs Corpus Christi for the navy for example.

If you can afford it, I recommend getting a class 1 flight physical by an FAA medical examiner who also does these for the military as through that battery of tests you could learn if you already have any medical conditions (astigmatism, heart condition, color blindness etc.) that might present risk to perhaps DQ you from serving as an aviator for the military. Eyes/ health conditions can change between when you sign up and when you go through a flight physical for the military - so still some risks, but it does provide peace of mind to rule out other concerns you may not know you have.
 
franknd said:
In the lead-in to the Army/Navy game this year, they did a story about a soldier who did the same thing. He was a WP grad, Ranger, etc., and he resigned his commission to take a warrant and fly. He was then assigned to the Army's special ops aviation regiment and, unfortunately, was killed late last year. Anyway, I guess based on your friend's story and this story, that must be a more common path than I ever knew.
Click to expand...
I didn't know it was possible until he did it. It makes sense to keep those guys and let them transition since the Army's already paid for their training. Our friend basically said he wanted to be a WO or he'd get out. Pretty easy decision for the Army. My dh didn't love flying enough to pursue that route. He liked it fine but it wasn't something he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
 
Iwutke said:
If you want to fly, be sure to research the types of airframes in each service. The Army flys mostly helicopters. Is that what you want to fly if you ever decide to leave the military?
Click to expand...
It is possible to cross from helos to fixed wing after getting out. Helo job opportunities aren't as abundant or lucrative outside the military as fixed wing (at least that what dh found when he was transitioning).
 
Most Naval Aviators (pilots) are also rotary/helo btw.

I think USAF has by far the greatest % of fixed-wing pilots
 
I came up with some different numbers for the Navy/Marine Corps --

"However, helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft make up a much larger fraction of DoN’s [Navy and Marine Corps combined] fleet, representing 34 percent of its total fleet compared with just 3 percent of the Air Force’s fleet." So according to this, combined they are 66% fixed wing.

 
Big Navy has told us students several times while I have been in Pensacola for Navy flight school that over half of USN Student Naval Aviators will end up selecting/being assigned rotary at the end of primary
 
99Gold said:
My dh branched aviation out of West Point. I have no idea how competitive it is nowadays (it was when he was there), but the medical requirements are a big factor for aviation in all of the services.

A couple of things he loved and hated about Army aviation: Loved: the community. He is still really close to a lot of the aviation guys he flew/were stationed with. Hated: the fact that he didn't fly much after making Capt. WO do the flying and officers do the leading. We have good USMA friend that got out and came back in as a WO so that he could fly more. He loved being a WO.
Click to expand...
Excuse my ignorance, but can you elaborate or share a link about the med requirements?
 
franknd said:
I came up with some different numbers for the Navy/Marine Corps --

"However, helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft make up a much larger fraction of DoN’s [Navy and Marine Corps combined] fleet, representing 34 percent of its total fleet compared with just 3 percent of the Air Force’s fleet." So according to this, combined they are 66% fixed wing.

Click to expand...
Navy's helo fleet maybe 34% but you need two pilots per aircraft vs 1 for fighters.
 
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