PilotPoe
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Posts posted by PilotPoe
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Daniel, heard yesterday that we do in fact have some openings in the LM section here in Charlotte. If interested or want more information, get in touch with MSgt Parsons at recruiting. His number is 704-391-4204. Play dumb like you dont know they have slots and ask. Your best bet would be to visit the unit and you'll be able to talk to both him and the Load section. I know you're not in the area but if you're serious, might not hurt to make a trip up to Charlotte. We (and most of the AF/ANG) is going through some "force reshaping" and we may lose/gain slots and the enlisted rank structure will be effected too. Drill weekends are usually the best time to visit as everyone is around and you could probably go out to an airplane to see what all goes on. Let me know if you need any more info.
Ryan
Ryan
Hey man, thanks so much for all of the work and help for me. I greatly appreciate it. In your advice/opinion, do you think I should shoot for the NCANG now, or join a unit that is more local for the time being, finish school, then apply for a UPT slot with them? Basically, does it matter if I was in another unit gaining that military experience vs being in with NC? As I mentioned before, that is where I wanna be after school, flying as an officer. As for now, I would prefer to stay a little more local I guess, but still open to that idea as a LM with NC. Just seeing you thoughts on that. Thanks again!
-Daniel
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College distance varies for some guys. When I was in the MOANG, I was about 45-50 minutes to the base. While in the NYANG, I was about 30. Both were fairly convenient.
As far as max distance, there are a few factors there. Some units, especially in positions that require you to show up more than one weekend a month like to hire guys in the "local area", which is usually within an hour or two. Keep in mind, going in off the street, you'll probably be an A1C (E-3) and even if you flew a double, you might make $100 after taxes. Do the math, living in Florida and driving to Charlotte fairly often would not be financially conducive. Not sure if you are willing to relocate because of school at this point...
We do have some guys that live out of state though... DC, SC, a LM that even lives in Seattle. We also have a pilot who is an airline guy that lives in Hong Kong. Yes, Hong Kong. Because he is an airline guy, he is able to come back to Charlotte to fly some but we don't see him very often (shocking). How can he make it work? He's a Major and has a good airline gig with flight benefits. If you're serious about joining a unit while you're in college, it would probably be a good idea to do your homework as for transfer possibilities or a unit closer to home...
There are some units in Florida beyond Patrick, Maxwell, and Savannah. Someone else might pipe in with the info but there are some SpecOps 130 units in FL. Here is a list of units: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lockheed_C-130_Hercules_operators#.C2.A0United_States
Some of those are active duty, which obviously don't play into your decision. Don't rule out the AF Reserves either. If you have a desire to fly with the 156th in Charlotte, look into schools here. UNCC is a HUGE school and alot of our college going LMs go there. Go to UNCC's transfer credit advisor and find out what you would get credit for if you did move and transfer: https://selfservice.uncc.edu/pls/BANPROD/ywsktrar.P_Disp_States
I'll ask tomorrow if our Chief LM is in about how many open slots we have. I know we are pretty full right now but another LM and I are leaving for AMS/Nav school in the next few months so that might open up some slots. Let me know if you need any other info on the unit/LM section. Hope this info helps.
As far as transferring to UNCC or any other state school in NC, how much would the Guard cover? I would be out of state tuition for at least the beginning. I'm about a year out from getting my AA Degree at the local community college I'm at.
The main goal for the NCANG is to get a pilot slot. As far as being a LM, that makes a lot of sense as far as the money that would be made vs. the money that would be spent in getting there. With that said, I'm still completely open to doing it, and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to talk to the Chief LM.
Thanks again Ryan.
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Daniel, got your PM but saw you were curious about other things so thought I would respond here in case the information was useful for someone else...
As far as the work load, I'm sure this has been covered somewhere but I'll try and cover it briefly. The thing about being a flyer in the ANG is there are about 10 ways to get paid and it can get really confusing. You have your UTA's (drill weekends) that equate to 48 pay periods per year. Each period is 4 hours and equals one active duty day. So a 2 day drill weekend (16 hours) is 4 pay periods of that 48 equaling 12 months.
Additionally, you have 48 AFTP's (additional flight training periods). It's alot like UTAs but are used for flights. You can burn 12 a quarter (48 for the year) but can max out at 16 a quarter if need be.
At least in the herk community, I haven't seen many units giving you your "2 weeks a year" because your on active duty throughout the year equaling more than 2 weeks. You will have the opportunity to go on trips, some work out great for college students (Friday-Sunday, etc), some don't (a week or longer). I got through my undergrad and graduate school as a Loadmaster that never worked another job.
There are different types of active duty (title 32 vs title 10), but I won't go into that, it would be explained when you're in the guard.
Then there is flight pay. There are differences between enlisted and officer flight pay and the longer you're in, it goes up.
When on active duty, there's housing and food allowance, in some cases, perdiem. Hell, I'm probably forgetting something else.
Regardless, most of the younger (and some older) LMs are college students. It's very easy to make it work. I took Tuesday/Thursday classes and flew on my days off, used my 4 day weekends for trips. I deployed over Christmas break and summers, etc. With that and your GI Bill, you won't need another job, you'll be building up military experience, airmanship, time in service, etc.
I see you're in florida and are interested in our unit in charlotte. If you need some info on the unit, lemme know. Hope this helps. If I've missed something and someone else wants to pipe in, please do!
-Ryan
Hey Ryan,
Thanks again man for all of the info.
All of the time required makes sense. Just another question incorporated with that. How far away was your college to the base? And in your opinion, what do you think would be the max distance (hrs wise) from a school to the base. There's really not a whole lot as far a 130s go down here. I'm aware of Patrick and Maxwell as being the closest on the AFR side, and Savannah, GA for the ANG side.
And yes, I would LOVE any info that you would be willing to share about the NCANG. That's where I want to end up after school. Thanks Ryan.
-Daniel
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Seriously, Thank for the help, it helped tons.
Now as far as doing your time, I'm aware of the one weekend a month, two weeks out of the year deal, but then there is also a minimum for the flying part too, correct? How does that work, being a full time college student as well?
Thanks again.
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Oh, ok awesome. Thanks for the help! Also, does it play a huge factor in getting a slot if I were to have prior military experience? And as far as going about enlisting for a Load, I would first talk to that unit/units, then go to a recruiter, or what is the best method? Thanks again.
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I'm currently a college student working towards a goal of getting a UPT slot with the Guard or Reserve (C-130s), but I'm considering enlisting now as a Load (C-130s) to help my chances and have some financial help. My question is, would I be required to serve the entire enlistment, or could I start working on my packet, interviews, OTS, etc. when I finish my degree? I'll be done with my degree before being done with my enlistment, and I was wondering if that's a possibility. Thanks for the help.
Guard/Reserve timeline to UPT
in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves
Posted · Edited by PilotPoe
I second that. I was hired in September for a UPT slot, swore in Feb and started "Student Flight" last month while waiting for OTS dates. I have to drive ~5 hours each way for drill. Just something to think about.