Posted on Jan 24, 2016
Should I go to DSS, OCS, Flying Warrant, or Walking Warrant?
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I am a SPC. I've been in 6 months. I PCS to Ft. Drum in March. I have Bachelors Degrees, and quite a bit of extra college education. I've been told I will be packing up and heading on a deployment in June. I love my MOS, not sure I want the possibility of reclassing. I know I can't drop walking warrant packets yet- but I figured I could take schools or volunteer for Drill Sergeant in the meantime.. So many things to consider..
OCS
Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS)
Drill Sergeant
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 47
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You've been in 6 months. All training I presume. I know when I went to 15T school my training from Basic to AIT completion was about 6 months in length.
It's great that you're trying to look towards the future but maybe take a moment to relax and realize that you haven't even given your MOS a chance yet. In fact, unless you've gotten to your unit you haven't actually performed your MOS yet. What you do in the schoolhouse just lays the very basic groundwork for your job.
Once you get to your unit you'll have more information that will help you determine what you should do. Maybe you'll love working on the Apache and want to become a Warrant doing that. Maybe, you'll realize you should have chosen to work on Black Hawks - especially since then you could be a real crew chief ;) and actually fly in the helicopter without having to be the one flying it.
I've had a lot of people tell me that I should have submitted a packet to fly. This was while I was still in AIT. Well, a few years down the road - I absolutely LOVE what I do as an enlisted member. I have no desire to be a pilot and no desire to be an officer.
It is possible to be a leader as an enlisted person and quite frankly, the leaders who have had the most impact on me have of course been my Squad Leader and my Platoon Sergeant.
Anyway, Aviation is an awesome branch and it doesn't sound like you're even giving things a chance.
It's great that you're trying to look towards the future but maybe take a moment to relax and realize that you haven't even given your MOS a chance yet. In fact, unless you've gotten to your unit you haven't actually performed your MOS yet. What you do in the schoolhouse just lays the very basic groundwork for your job.
Once you get to your unit you'll have more information that will help you determine what you should do. Maybe you'll love working on the Apache and want to become a Warrant doing that. Maybe, you'll realize you should have chosen to work on Black Hawks - especially since then you could be a real crew chief ;) and actually fly in the helicopter without having to be the one flying it.
I've had a lot of people tell me that I should have submitted a packet to fly. This was while I was still in AIT. Well, a few years down the road - I absolutely LOVE what I do as an enlisted member. I have no desire to be a pilot and no desire to be an officer.
It is possible to be a leader as an enlisted person and quite frankly, the leaders who have had the most impact on me have of course been my Squad Leader and my Platoon Sergeant.
Anyway, Aviation is an awesome branch and it doesn't sound like you're even giving things a chance.
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SPC (Join to see)
Oh I love Abiation though, Sergeant! That's why I'm so torn. But I will step back a little!
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Any of those options are going to be great in there own aspects and fields. Do you want to be in a command postion? OCS. Do you want to fly your entire military carrier? Aviation Warrant. Do you want to be a technical expert at what you enjoy doing? Technical Warrant. They are all awesome and will all take time to achieve. Me personally, aviation all the way. =)
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SPC (Join to see)
I haven't decided what I'd like to do. I'm an effective leader, at least in the civilian world l, and that's all that I know. I think I'd really enjoy flying, but I have my reservations about whether I'm suited for that position. I've been told by my instructors that Id do well commissioned, but they recommended I wait until after a deployment.
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CW2 (Join to see)
Lots to think about. I saw in other posts that you have concerns about your eye sight. You can get surgery and if you just need glasses they will issue you some. I don't know your circumstances, but there are options. If you have never flown in a helicopter, got to a local flight school and take an intro flight, just to see what it's like. I'm confident you will get the "flying bug." Warrants are leaders too. You will get the opportunity in either role. Any questions about Army Aviation, and the Warrant life, feel free to ask.
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LTC Dallas Powell
Actually, commissioned officers are more likely to be staff officers with the opportunity to command. And depending on the branch, those opportunities are getting rarer and rarer.
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I would say step 1 would be to get to your unit and see how you adjust to the actual army outside of AIT. You have so much of the army arena to learn about, but as you do I am sure you will get a better idea of what you might want to do. The best advice I can give you is to find a mentor at your first unit, and try to observe the Soldiers in the positions that you speak of (Aviation Warrants, Technical Warrants, Officers, and Enlisted). Your degree(s) will be powerful tools for advancement and open many doors for opportunities... it will be up to you to pick the door!
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
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CW2 (Join to see)
I was enlisted first. I spent the first 2-3 years of the Army like a person in college... When I re-enlisted the first time I realized it would take me almost half-way to 20 years. From that day on I put serious effort into my job and tried to learn everything I could about my field from anyone who would teach me (I still do). Many times I had to teach myself on certain aspects of the job. Looking back now, there are many people who were trying to steer me in the right direction and set me up for success...but I was hard headed. I had/have many great mentors, and even some not-so-good ones, but watching both types helped shape me into who I am today.
The decision making process was rather easy. While being an NCO was awesome, I wanted more responsibility and wanted to run my own program...something that would've taken probably another couple of years to happen if I stayed enlisted, and even then I still might not have been doing what I wanted to. So I applied and was accepted and can honestly say it was the best decision that I have made.
The decision making process was rather easy. While being an NCO was awesome, I wanted more responsibility and wanted to run my own program...something that would've taken probably another couple of years to happen if I stayed enlisted, and even then I still might not have been doing what I wanted to. So I applied and was accepted and can honestly say it was the best decision that I have made.
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SFC James Welch
You haven’t been in long enough to make an evaluation of the service yet. Get through your training and do the job a while. Then take another look at things!
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