Photo By Leslie Herlick | UH-72 Lakota helicopter hovers at Shell Army Heliport, Fort Novosel, AL during training.... read more read more
FORT RUCKER, Ala.--The Army Aviation Center of Excellence announced an aeronautical rating date issuance change July 3.
According to the Army Military Personnel (MILPER) Message No. 25-264, effective immediately officers’ and warrant officers’ aeronautical rating will be issued upon the completion of Initial Entry Flight Training Common Core phase of training.
The policy will apply retroactively to all Army aviators who entered initial entry flight training on or after October 1, 2020. The active-duty service obligation for all aviators impacted by this change will have their service obligation date changed to the new aeronautical rating date.
“Adjusting the service obligation to match training realities reflects a commitment to fairness and respect for our Soldiers' time and service,” said Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general.
Back in October of 2020, a 10-year Active Duty Service Obligation took effect for Army commissioned and warrant officers, and for Army aviators the clock started upon completion of flight school.
The ADSO at the time applied to Soldiers selected for flight training in Fiscal Year 2021 and beyond.
The purpose of the 10-year ADSO was to get the return on investment in Army aviators, whether warrant officer or officer. The ADSO started when students earned their aeronautical rating, which the Army defined then as completion of Flight School XXI, according to Kenneth Hawley, Organization and Personnel Force Development director at the Aviation Center of Excellence.
However, with a current training backlog at Fort Rucker largely due to maintenance challenges with the AH-64 Apache helicopter, flight school students who are in the 2023 year group are still waiting to finish flight school at a time when the Center is nearly ready to receive year group 2026. This means it may be over two years before some students graduate flight school, so their 10-year ADSO grows to 12 or 12 and a half years, at no fault of the Soldier, according to Hawley.
“Maj. Gen. Gill asked us to work with (Army Human Resources Command) and G1 and see what we can do,” said Hawley.
The subject matter experts examined U.S. Code, U.S. Army regulations and Office of the Secretary of Defense regulations, and considered what the other military services are doing.
“We’ve put significant research into this. We found that aeronautical rating is the requirement per code and regulation at (Department of the Army) level. Ours is the only one that codifies that, and Maj. Gen. Gill has the authority to change that,” Hawley said.
The ADSO will now begin at the completion of the Common Core phase of training, before students train in their advanced aircraft.
“Completion of Common Core gives you enough hours and experience to say, yes, you’ve already done a solo flight, we believe that is enough to get your aeronautical rating,” Hawley said.
“Everything will line up with the end of Common Core,” which has a specific date that is inputted in the system, said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Maine, chief warrant officer of the division.
“We are actually aligning with what the other services have,” Maine said. “If you go to the Air Force, they have a lot of fixed wing type training, then get their aeronautical rating, and that’s when they go to their advanced aircraft.”
Graduation ceremonies will still be at the end of the training, and the rating will be backdated. Keeping families in mind, ceremonies will be stair-stepped, and graduation balls and events will be aligned so families do not have to make two trips to Fort Rucker..
Records for aviators who graduated as far back as October 1, 2020, will be amended to reflect the change.
Hawley said he expects young aviators will be pleased with the change.
“I think it’s going to be, OK, that makes sense, I’m glad,” Hawley said. “This is Maj. Gen. Gill’s big thing to make sure we’re taking care of them.”
The MILPER Message may be found on the HRC website, https://www.hrc.army.mil/ and requires Common Access Card login to view.
For more information, Soldiers may contact their HRC Career Manager.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2025 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 512701 |
| Location: | FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 211 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, New Aviators’ 10-year Service Obligation to Begin after Completing Common Core Training Phase, by Kelly Morris, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
