How do you become a fixed wing pilot in the Coast Guard?best way?without joining the navy or air force first ?

Question

I am fascinated by them. how would you become a coast guard fixed wing pilot? I know how you become a rotor wing pilot, but how about them fixed wing , like the c-130's ? best way to become a coast guard pilot with out being prior service in the Air force or navy, and without going to the coast guard academy. Does the coast guard have ocs? if so how hard is it? how likely am i to become a fixed wing pilot if i go through ocs?

thanks

thanks!

Answer 1

Another thing to consider is that USCG doesn't have and need many fixed-wing pilots.  There aren't many airplanes -- only 9 HU-25 Guardian and 22 HC-130s.  Would you still be willing to serve if you don't get selected for pilot school?  Flight school cannot be guaranteed like enlisted folks can guarantee their rate.

Answer 2

You first need to be an officer.  Which means having a college degree.  The Coast Guard does have an OCS program.  I'm not really sure how that works.  Best thing to do is contact a recruiter and they will be able to help you more.

Answer 3

The Coast Guard trains our own pilots.  After the Coast Guard Academy or OCS, you can volunteer for pilot training, and from there push for fixed wing piloting.  From the guys and gals I know, most push to be helo (helicopter) pilots, so competition wouldn't be as tough as in some career fields.

No need to join the Air Force or Navy at all!

Answer 4

The CG does have OCS and it is about as difficult as the Navy's would be.  You don't have to have prior AF or Navy service to fly a C-130, obviously the CG has fewer fixed wing, but you just go the regular aviation route.

Answer 5

Hey bud, all the other answers look pretty good, except for the one that said CG OCS is "about as hard as Navy OCS".  Navy OCS is only 13 weeks, CG 17 weeks.  That's a whole extra month.  Granted, yelling is yelling, whether the person doing it is in a Navy or CG uniform.  Likewise, push ups are push ups no matter where you do them.  So, the only differentiating factor is length of program, where CG is clearly more difficult. As a matter of fact, as an OCS graduate, I can attest that the most difficult part of OCS is it's LONG. Longest of any of the services by far. 17 weeks of almost the exact same routine every day.  Up at 0515, and in bed at 2200.  Exercise every morning, classes and marching all day with lots of screaming and various physical "punishments" thrown in.  You'll be ready to go home by the end of week three (LOL).  Certainly by week 13 when you'd be leaving the Navy OCS, you have an entire month still to go at CG OCS. Enough on that.  I'll get off my soap box.  And you can apply for flight school right out of OCS.  If you don't get it then, you can keep reapplying as long as you stay physically qualified.  Fixed wing is usually not too difficult to get in the CG.  We go through Navy flight school by the way.  So that was another piece of bad info someone else posted.  Good luck!

Bill

p.s Thinking more about it, I remembered Navy OCS uses Marine Corp drill instructors, so I suppose psychologically, that may seem more intimidating, but it's all in your head. I saw the Navy OCS men and women in action while I went through flight school in Pensacola, and it looked like the same type of treatment we got in our OCS.  You're treated like dirt, especially in the first half of the program. Now the Navy OCS is in Newport, RI.