Serves as a UH-1Y-qualified pilot in a Marine light attack helicopter squadron.
Officer - ASTB Score Required
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Explore entry-level paths in Marines.
Pilots in the UH-1Y fly the utility half of a light attack squadron, moving people, commanding from the air, escorting, and evacuating casualties. Commissioning comes first, then The Basic School alongside every other new Marine officer, then naval flight training and the aircraft specific syllabus. Squadron life pairs flying with a ground billet, so you lead Marines and run a department in addition to being on the flight schedule. The flying itself is low altitude and close to the ground, with confined area landings, dust and night vision device work, and constant coordination with the attack aircraft beside you. Deployments are afloat and expeditionary, which puts you on ship decks and at forward sites rather than at a fixed airfield.
You learn to fly a twin engine helicopter to a professional instrument and tactical standard, including formation, night vision, and shipboard operations. Mission planning, crew resource management, and aeromedical evacuation procedures are core parts of the qualification. You develop judgment about weather, weight, power margins, and landing zones that is the essence of utility helicopter flying anywhere. Leading a squadron division teaches personnel management, maintenance oversight, and how to write and defend evaluations. The debrief habit trains you to examine your own performance honestly, which is the foundation of aviation safety culture.
Flying low with people in the back builds a protective responsibility that settles into your character. You learn to make decisions with a crew depending on you and to invite their input rather than fly alone in a crowded aircraft. Night and degraded visual environment flying develops steady nerves and trust in instruments over instinct. Leading Marines on the ground while flying demanding missions teaches you to compartmentalize and manage energy across a long week. The community is small and reputations travel, which quietly enforces professionalism.
Rotary wing hours convert differently than fixed wing time, and that honest caveat matters when you plan a civilian path. Helicopter careers are the natural continuation: air medical operators, law enforcement and firefighting aviation, offshore energy, utility and powerline work, and corporate helicopter flying all hire military pilots. An airline path is possible but usually requires adding fixed wing time and ratings at your own expense, and pilots who want it should start early. Flight instruction, contract flying, and manufacturer or contractor pilot positions are also common. The officer leadership record supports aviation management, safety, and program roles if you move off the flight schedule.
Your day begins with a mission brief and weather check before you preflight the CH-53 heavy-lift helicopter. You spend the sortie flying assault support, heavy equipment lifts, or casualty evacuation, running checklists and coordinating with controllers and your crew. After landing you debrief the flight and note maintenance discrepancies with the crew chiefs.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$77,814–$144,392
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Marines, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned skill levels: tan, gray, green, brown and black belt. Applies across combat and support specialties.
Belts require documented training, sustainment and performance testing under authorized instructors. Higher belts have additional prerequisites, including applicable grade and professional-education requirements; neither promotion nor elapsed service awards a belt. Confirm the current requirements for the next belt with your instructor.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Marines 7563 Pilot HMLA UH-1Y Qualified, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceMarine NCO grades are E-4 and E-5; staff NCO grades are E-6 through E-9. At E-8 and E-9, first sergeant/sergeant major and master sergeant/master gunnery sergeant have distinct leadership roles. Warrant and commissioned officers are separate career tracks. This service-wide structure is not a verified promotion ceiling for this MOS.
Marine Corps ranks and career-track distinctionsService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The FY27 regular warrant program requires technical and professional qualifications for the requested warrant MOS and selection. A listed warrant destination does not establish an enlisted feeder match. The February 2026 deadline has passed; this announcement documents a selection route, not a currently open opportunity.
Marine FY27 regular warrant selection announcementSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Serves as a UH-1Y-qualified pilot in a Marine light attack helicopter squadron.
Pilots in the UH-1Y fly the utility half of a light attack squadron, moving people, commanding from the air, escorting, and evacuating casualties. Commissioning comes first, then The Basic School alongside every other new Marine officer, then naval flight training and the aircraft specific syllabus. Squadron life pairs flying with a ground billet, so you lead Marines and run a department in addition to being on the flight schedule. The flying itself is low altitude and close to the ground, with confined area landings, dust and night vision device work, and constant coordination with the attack aircraft beside you. Deployments are afloat and expeditionary, which puts you on ship decks and at forward sites rather than at a fixed airfield.
You learn to fly a twin engine helicopter to a professional instrument and tactical standard, including formation, night vision, and shipboard operations. Mission planning, crew resource management, and aeromedical evacuation procedures are core parts of the qualification. You develop judgment about weather, weight, power margins, and landing zones that is the essence of utility helicopter flying anywhere. Leading a squadron division teaches personnel management, maintenance oversight, and how to write and defend evaluations. The debrief habit trains you to examine your own performance honestly, which is the foundation of aviation safety culture.
Rotary wing hours convert differently than fixed wing time, and that honest caveat matters when you plan a civilian path. Helicopter careers are the natural continuation: air medical operators, law enforcement and firefighting aviation, offshore energy, utility and powerline work, and corporate helicopter flying all hire military pilots. An airline path is possible but usually requires adding fixed wing time and ratings at your own expense, and pilots who want it should start early. Flight instruction, contract flying, and manufacturer or contractor pilot positions are also common. The officer leadership record supports aviation management, safety, and program roles if you move off the flight schedule.
Officer - ASTB Score Required. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This is an additional qualification added to another specialty, not a job you enlist into. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
NAVMC 1200.1L, FY26 Military Occupational Specialties Manual (effective October 1, 2025), chapter 1 · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
This is an additional qualification added to another specialty, not a job you enlist into.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.