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Army Guard Competitiveness
Hi everyone,
I’m sure we’re all aware of how extremely competitive Air Force Guard and Reserve pilot slots are. I hear that one spot can have hundreds of applicants. How does the Army National Guard compare? I am assuming it might be a little less competitive because of the lack of fixed-wing, stories of lower QoL, and overall it just seems like Army is the last branch people would think of flying for since branches like the Air Force and Navy exist.
Does the Army also get hundreds of applicants for a couple of pilot slots in the National Guard? From pilots I have talked to, Army NG sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
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9 Replies
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I currently fly UH-60s for a guard unit. From what I’ve seen the Army doesn’t seem to be nearly as competitive with pilot slots. That’s not to say it’s going to be easy to snag a flight school slot. Many guard units won’t let you apply unless you’re already a member of the National Guard in their state. There’s generally still a lot of networking that has to happen to get selected. That being said I think the Army National Guard can be a great option. Helicopters are amazing machines and we fly some really cool missions.
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Have you found it easy to get orders as an army aviator? My biggest concern is finding a job once training is over.
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Flying in the reserve or guard and having a worthwhile civilian career while maintaining your flight hours, let alone proficiency, is a challenge. The only guys the can really make it work live close to the facility, are unemployed or own their own business where they can dictate their schedules, or work a military-friendly job like airline pilot, fireman, police officer. Throw in wife and kids and a fair amount of pilots fail to hit semi-annual mins. I wouldn’t depend on orders to make money. You can come in and fly as much as you want, you can even fly for points if you run out of AFTPs. But don’t count on orders for your income. If you want that go active duty or AGR.
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I was in the guard and was tempted to go army aviation for a minute, and ultimately chose not to for… reasons. But to answer your question: I think you’ll find the Army side is much less of a formal process than the Air Force. Meaning, don’t expect for anyone online to know what units are hiring or when. As far as I’m aware such a site doesn’t exist.
Your best bet would be to have yourself or a very close friend be already in the guard/reserve and start asking around unit leadership. Other than that, you might be stuck relying on a recruiter to at least get the unit names/info for who is flying in your state. From there, I recommend working with a recruiter to get MEPS cleared/ take ASVAB, SIFT and then start sending introduction emails to leadership at flying units, including your SIFT, civilian resume, and maybe a personal statement.
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If there is a state you are interested in, please let me know. I have quite a large network and can connect you. I also recommend checking out the Army Aviation courses I developed. They might help answer more questions or just book me for a 1 on 1.
As far as the orders, you will likely come back from flight school and jump on 2-3 months of progression orders. From there it really just depends. But I’ve realize that full time possibilities are definitely there for those that work hard and show out. I would not make in your short term plan A though.
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How does the army reserve pilot process compare to guard process for S2S? Is it more challenging to get a foot in the door compared to guards?
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Nope! Just have to know the right person in the unit to contact. Book me for a 1 on 1 and I’ll work on connecting you.
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Army Aviation Q&A session tonight at 9 PM EST, link below:
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I’m applying to all kinds of open aviation slots. I live really close to the UH-60’s at Rickenbacker and would love to fly there if you have any insight!
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