I get this question a lot. While I can't answer it yet (I won't know until I graduate in March), there are three possibilities. This post will simply highlight the three options. Future posts will dig deeper and show you a bit more about each airframe.
1. UH-1 "Huey"
- Missile support operations (Wyoming, Montana, & North Dakota)
- Top secret mission at Andrews AFB, MD
- Assist with survival school at Fairchild AFB, WA
- Hueys are more of a "9 to 5" assignment. They do not normally deploy. After a tour or two in Hueys, most pilots are eligible to transfer over to HH-60's.
2. HH-60 "Pavehawk"
- Combat search & rescue, medevac, special operations, personnel recovery
- You have to be pretty good to get into this aircraft
- This is the quintessential helicopter mission, but you are gone a lot
- Examples: Hurricane Katrina rescue support and rescuing troubled sailors off the coast
- Afghanistan, South America, the Middle East...you name it & Pavehawks have been there
- Operate primarily at night and air-refuel on most missions
3. CV-22 "Osprey"
- Infiltration & exfiltration of special operations forces
- Quieter than a helicopter with a longer range
- Brand new - still working on deploying first squadron
- Technically a "tilt-rotor" - not a helicopter
- Usually, only one of these is given out per class and the top-ranked student gets it...if they give one out at all!
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