As an Army girlfriend turned Army spouse, I had no idea what to expect when my significant other branched Aviation. Graduating from flight school is a huge milestone but I was uncertain about the details of his career as he moved to his first official duty station. I am here to share some of my experiences and help give a little guidance to this unique lifestyle in the Army.
**Many requirements vary depending on duty station and needs of the Army. This overview is to provide a general guide of what to expect as a spouse of a Black Hawk pilot.**
What is a Black Hawk pilot?
A Back Hawk (UH-60) is one of 3 helicopters used in the US Army (the others are Apache (AH-64) and Chinook (CH-47). The role of the Black Hawk is to provide air transportation of people, cargo, and equipment. This can include movement of troops/VIPS, MEDEVAC (medical evacuation) flights, or resupply missions (food, ammo, weapons, etc).
How do you become a Black Hawk pilot?
Once your soldier branches Aviation, they will begin flight school at Fort Novosel in Alabama. You can expect the following progression through flight school:
- BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership Course)
- SERE School (Survive Evade Resist Escape)
- Common Core Flight Training (Primary, Instruments, Basic Warfighter Skills)
- Airframe Selection
- Advance Airframe Time
- Graduation
During the flight training portion of flight school, your soldier will need to participate in classroom sessions as well as day/night flights. The timeline of flight school varies 1- 2 years because each section could be backed up.
What is life like after flight school?
After graduating, your soldier will PCS to your first official duty station, congrats! At every duty station, they will need to go through Readiness Level Progression. This goes from RL3 (means they can only fly with an Instructor Pilot and basically stay local, RL2 (they can start doing some mission tasks), and then RL1 ( they can fly every mission task associated with the unit and fly with any Pilot in Command).
The next step is to fly consistently to be able to make it to Pilot in Command. To make Pilot in Command, they will need to go to a PC Board where other PCs you have flown with will vote on whether they think you are experienced enough to take command of the aircraft.
What is their work schedule like?
Even though your significant other is a pilot in the Army, that is not their sole job. As a pilot, they are an Officer or Warrant Officer which means that in addition to flying, they will have a leadership role in the company they need to participate in daily. Because of this dynamic, pilots are often juggling their leadership duties with their flight duties.
Something that differentiates helicopter pilots from others is that they will need to plan their flights before they fly. This typically happens the day(s) before or the day of the flight and takes about 8 hours.
Expect your significant other to be gone all day and many times late into the night on days they are flying. They will need to go in early, do pre-flight checks, fly, refuel, and do post-flight checks.
How often do you PCS?
They will PCS usually every 2-3 years depending on where they are located. Deployments and duty positions also impact how often you PCS.
Do Black Hawk pilots deploy?
A big question on many milso’s minds is “will my pilot deploy?” It definitely depends on the duty station they are assigned to. Typically, rotations are more common than deployments. Rotations are similar to deployments in that your pilot is gone for a long period of time (3-9 months), but they are not in a war zone. Something beneficial about rotations is you can often plan to visit your soldier, which is not allowed on a deployment. In addition, your spouse can go TDY for schools or specific trainings that range a few weeks-months such as NTC and JRTC. All of these circumstances depend on where you are stationed.
What is the Aviation community like?
The helicopter community is small, but mighty. Fortunately, you get to interact with other airframes at each duty station, so your network of helicopter wives is large. It is comforting to be connected to so many people who understand the unique needs of pilots such as extra hours to plan, the pressure of making PC, getting back late from night flights, the constant need to study, etc. Knowing your pilot is doing a dangerous job everyday can be stressful, but having a community of support is so helpful.
How has this impacted you as a spouse?
As a military spouse, I have lived overseas, moved 6 times, survived a deployment, and many TDY’s. Due to moving often, it has been difficult to maintain a job, but fortunately remote work has been the key to my success recently. It has been so important to make the most of each duty station we are at. My family and I love to travel so we definitely try to experience all the region has to offer before we move again. Meeting others has been key in surviving the tough times. I am so thankful for the lifelong friendships that I have made due to the military lifestyle.
Meet Madison
Madison is a seasoned Army Spouse and mom. Her favorite duty stations were Camp Humphreys in South Korea (she loved being able to travel all over Asia/ The Pacific) and Fort Carson, CO (loved the community + trips to the Rocky Mountains).
