Selections for the upcoming Medical Service Corps flight training program again will be limited to commissioned officers and West Point and Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets who have been branched to the MSC.
Applications for the highly competitive dustoff flight training board that convenes Feb. 19 must be received or postmarked by Feb. 2, according to procedures announced by the Health Services Directorate of the Human Resources Command Nov. 24.
Applications that do not meet the deadline will be returned without action.
Officers who complete the demanding training regimen of the Army Medical Department Basic Officer Course at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and the Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator Course at Fort Rucker, Ala., will be awarded officer area of concentration 67J, Aeromedical Evacuation Officer.
Officers who are selected by the upcoming board, and who complete the training regimen, will pilot assigned aircraft on aeromedical evacuation missions, which supervise in-flight treatment of wounded or injured soldiers, frequently under combat conditions.
These officers will be trained in all aspects of Army Medical Department operational doctrine, organization and equipment, and as they progress in rank will become eligible to compete for battalion- and brigade-level command of medical organizations.
Similar to the application requirements of recent years, this program is limited to active component commissioned officers and cadets who already have been branched to the MSC. Officers from other components and branches are not eligible.
The zone of eligibility for the upcoming board is limited to MSC officers and cadets in cohort year groups 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Officers selected by the board will attend training in 2015-2016, and will incur a six-year service obligation upon completion of training, or involuntary or voluntary release from the course.
In addition to being in one of the target year groups, applicants must be younger less than 32 years of age and have fewer than 48 months of active federal commissioned service when they begin flight training.
They also must be in compliance with aviation medical fitness standards, and score at least 40 on the Selection Instrument for Flight Training.Possible scores on this evaluation tool range from 20 to 80, with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10.
Application packets for this program require several days or even weeks of preparation. For details, consult MilPer Message 14-336.
