One of my former cadets graduated this week and was commissioned 2LT in the Army.
He's branched Aviation and will be reporting to Fort Rucker over the summer for AOBC and IERW. He was quizzing me for gouge on Fort Rucker, but frankly, the last time I was at the Mother was 1994, and things have changed there somewhat.. dramatically in the interim.
Anybody been to AOBC/IERW in the last 8-10 years willing to share any good gouge?
I don't, but congrats to your former cadet. Fort Rucker is quite a meatgrinder to go through.
My ex-brother-in-law (already an SSgt in the Army) tried to go through their Warrant Officer course because he wanted to go Army Aviation as well. I think he lasted about three weeks.
From what he told me, it's a "many are called but few are chosen" kind of place. Of course, I doubt the Army wants to pin warrant/commissioned rank and aviator wings on anyone who can't cut it for whatever reason.
I haven't been associated with Rucker or any other OBC post for many years, but I doubt that the commissioned officers are treated in any way like the WO candidates. The WO route has always been a tough road, even going back to the days of the first Army WO pilots(and that is a long time ago). Flight School will be the same old difficult grind, but I doubt that a lot of the commissioned guys get dropped for reasons other than academic or flying skills.
I'll ask one of our local CA Highway Patrol officers: she was a WO pilot for over 8 years.
sent PM.
Thanks for the replies, guys. He's commissioned, so its two or three weeks of AOBC first, and OBC is nothing like WOCS.
He was looking more for info on "what do be sure to do, what to be sure not to do" kinds of things. You know "Your room is small, don't bother bringing your stereo.." or "Make sure your car will pass an Alabama inspection before you bring it down here" or similar "I wish I had known that before I left home to come to Alabama" kinds of wisdom.
Ft Rucker, Alabama in the summertime. Trainee status Goody. Right now there are 29,000 different kinds of redbug, ticks, skeeters, gnats, sand fleas, spiders and all are adjusting their bibs and getting ready for dinner.
I've been to Ft. Rucker several times this yr. It is a fairly modern base that is scattered all over hell and gone. Wheels are a must. I wouldn't bother to register my veh. since he is military he can keep his HOR plates. However registering a veh. in AL is a joke, you hand them the money and they hand you the plates. He should remember however that traffic laws in AL are only suggestions so he should keep his eyes open. Rucker has the usual stuff like PX etc. and they are pretty nice. He is coming at the wrong time of yr. Very soon it is going to really hot and humid, I mean "Africa hot" like 3-4 showers a day hot with normal activity. And of course the bugs.
Enterprise and Ozark aren't bad little towns except they are in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of rental housing and because the base is such a huge presence they cater to the military folks. The on base family housing looks pretty nice but I haven't been in the BOQs. As a matter of fact Enterprise and Ozark are, I think, a step above the average rural AL town. OK shopping and eating places. It is also just a short drive down to the beaches along the Gulf Coast. When I go to Ft. Rucker I usually stay at the Hampton Inn in Enterprise which I think is the best bet around. Did I mention that it will be stifling hot and humid!!
Matt Bricker (former Cadet from AZ) just finished his whirlie bird training there. If you have any specific questions, I can ping him.
Good advice and info: but the hot and humid is just like the rest of the Southeast below the Mason-Dixon Line. I spent several tours in MD, VA and NC and it was all the same. I pretty much restrict my trips to the East Coast to Oct and May.
I remember my sister's description of the Fort Rucker area from a civilian/mil dependent POV. They lived off-base in Dothan, Alabama. She'd lived all over CONUS, Hawaii and West Germany, but she said Alabama was nothing like she'd ever seen, especially for a Great Lakes-bred girl.
She said that culturally it was almost like being in another country (the Confederacy still existed with some people, in spirit if not in reality), and almost any stereotype you'd heard about the South, from the "redneck" (think Jeff Foxworthy jokes) mentality, to the "slow-an-easy-kick-back-with-iced-tea-and-don't-y'all-be-in-a-hurry" lifestyle, to the storied "Southern hospitality" graciousness could all be found.
She said the weather was stiflingly hot to the point where it made it difficult to breathe; even moreso than in Hawaii or California, and you had to be really careful even in your own yard because of snakes (rattlesnakes, water moccasins and the occasional coral snake).
Also, you've got Florida just a stone's throw away.
The food was fine, too, as long as y'all liked it deep-fried and mandatory biscuits 'n gravy for breakfast. ;D
Of course, this was in 1981-82.