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element123
03-27-06, 02:28 PM
my name is Josh DeLeon, I am currently a depper awaiting shipment to boot camp. My goal is to become a pilot and my mos is Aircraft Maintinance. I'm wondering what would be the best route to go to make it to my goal. If anyone has suggestions I would like to hear from you.

dscusmc
03-27-06, 05:59 PM
Any of the commissioning programs are good. You have to decide which one is best suited for you. You can basically either get some college while on active duty and apply for one of the enlisted commissioning programs, or do four years, get out and go to college, and then apply for the PLC or OCC. I think there might be an age limit for pilots, so you might want to look into that when deciding which program to pursue. Also, you have to take a flight physical and Flight Aptitude Battery. I haven't taken the Flight Aptitude test, so I don't know much about it. I guess that's one more thing for you to consider.

I see you've only got about two weeks until you ship, but I'll let you do the research on the various commissioning programs.

Either way, my advice is to survive boot camp, graduate at the top of all your schools, get to your unit, and get enrolled in college courses as soon as possible. I know of at least one aircraft maintenance Sgt. that is now an officer learning to fly helicopters.

My first duty station was Okinawa. I had signed up for college classes within a few days of reporting to my unit. You can't beat tuition assistance or the GI Bill.

Bottom line: there are bunch of different programs, take a look at them, and decide which one fits your goals and even academic background. Either way, I recommend getting to your unit and using every cent of tuition assistance that the military will give you. I took classes from the University of Maryland University College while I was on active duty. There are a couple of colleges that offer night classes and online classes to Marines. Find out where the education office is as soon as you get to your unit and check them out.
http://www.umuc.edu/mil/mil_home.shtml

Hope that helps some. Feel free to pm if you have any questions.

element123
03-28-06, 08:50 AM
Thank you dscusmc. I'll check into it as soon as i get back from boot.

GuitarNineteen
03-16-10, 07:28 AM
When i was at el toro there were a few guys, enlisted,who took civil aviators and passed to get they're civilian pilots liscence.That might be a good thing to try to see how it feels to you first.Good luck,maybe you could be the next Top Gun with those new fighters...SF.

Quinbo
03-16-10, 07:36 AM
Guitar19 fails basic math. His calendar is stuck on 2006. He gets the trophy for reviving the oldest thread.