Fort Wolters - Solo Wings W.O.C. Cap

[viking73]

Hi Group,

 

Earlier this the week, I was out mowing my front lawn. My next door neighbor came by and we started talking. I've lived here for less than a year and had only waved at this gentlemen before. We started talking and it turns out he was a army helicopter pilot that trained at Ft. Wolters in 1972 (class 72-25), too late to see service in Vietnam. I asked him if he had anything from his time in the service (uniforms, etc.) He then proceeded to pull out his Air Cav Stetson hat and his warrant officer candidate cap from Ft. Wolters with his solo wings on it. I invited him inside my house and showed him my "war room" and he seemed pretty impressed by all of it. Before he left, he gave me his W.O.C. cap! I was really blown away by the gift needless to say.

 

The cap is in great shape and has my neighbor's name sewn into the sweat band. This one is going to have a special spot in my collection for sure. Attached are a few photos.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

-Derek

 

[Milky]

You have a really nice neighbor, mine will not even wave back.

[carbinephalen]

My grandfather went to basic at Camp Wolters in 1942! Very cool item

[viking73]

My grandfather went to basic at Camp Wolters in 1942! Very cool item

Mine was as well! My grandparents were married at Mineral Wells at that time also. So I'll always have that personal tie to the old post. The chapel they were married in was torn down to make room for the heliport unfortunately... Plus it's sad to see the old place rotting away these days

 

Thanks for the comment!

 

-Derek

[viking73]

Okay, I've got it safely in my display case now with some of my other Fort Wolters items

 

-Derek

 

 

[Army_Pilot1967]

I graduated with Class 67-13 at Fort Wolters. That was an interesting experience to say the least, especially with a lot of barely-soloed pilots buzzing around in the sky at one time....crazzzzy!!! I recall a story about one warrant officer candidate that would switch seats while flying solo in the TH-55 training helicopter. The TH-55 is a very small helicopter so switching seats while in flight is a bit dicey. Apparently he had done that successfully several times...but then on one flight something went wrong and he slipped and went out the other side of the helicopter.....whoopsie. Now I don't know if that's a true story or not, but it was making the rounds while I was at Wolters. Maybe it was passed around to dissuade anyone from actually trying that maneuver.

[rustywings]

Class 69-17 were presented the identical solo caps, minus the WOC insignia:

 

[Plant#4]

I have a silver Cap, not yellow / orange, with a WOC collar pin, I wonder what that was for?

[FtrPlt]

When I went thru flight training at Ft Rucker in the 1980s, each class had its own color for the caps. I don't recall how many colors there were but I would speculate 10+. By the time you were getting close to finishing, your class color cap would reappear with a class just beginning primary flight training -- becoming the 'baby flight' to the senior flight wearing the same color cap.

 

I never went to Ft Wolters -- it was already closed -- but suspect many of the cap features migrated to Ft Rucker. The WOC (Warrant Officer Candidate) brass was common to all flight students, along with the colored caps and solo wings. I no longer remember the correct order but I think students in primary flight training wore the plain brass WOC on their unadorned caps. Solo wings came next. After completing instrument training, students were divided into two tracks -- utility (UH-1s, at the time) or scouts (OH-58A/C). Utility track wore a black disk with the WOC brass pinned through it. Scout track students wore a red/white cavalry disk with the WOC brass through it.

 

The orange backing to the WOC brass on the cap shown is likely indicative of the wearer being a 'junior' -- at Rucker, these would be students who completed primary and instrument training. At Ft Rucker, we wore the orange felt as a small, square tab that was attached just below the leather nametag. Senior students (who completed tactical training in the respective utility/scout tracks) wore a black tab in the same manner.

 

I completed training in 1986 so I have no idea if any of these traditions continued?

[FtrPlt]

My comments regarding junior/senior WOC status may be off slightly -- it's been quite a while. When I went thru flight training, I believe it was about 46-48 weeks long. Students were assigned to A, B, and C companies -- all part of the (then) 6th Aviation Training Brigade.

 

A Co was the Warrant Officer Entry Course (WOEC). Basically a 6-week officer candidate school -- i.e. a repeat of boot camp. When I attended, it was just inside the Daleville gate and we occupied WW2-era wooden barracks

 

B Co was a (then) relatively new brick building. This was where flight training actually started. Primary (TH-55s) and probably UH-1 initial training was conduted here. I don't remember if instrument training occurred here.

 

C Co was another brick building adjacent to B-Co. This was where tactical training occurred as well as the final, non-flying courses prior to graduation occurred.

 

At the end of this very long process, you were appointed a WO-1 and the next day you received your wings. Specialty aircraft training followed afterwards -- in my case, the 16-week AH-64 course. The other add-ons, applicable to my class were CH-47, UH-60, and AH-1 courses. My class had no fixed wing slots offered.

[Spathologist]

I graduated in 1987 (87-19, Maroon Marauders) WOEC was still in the WWII, barracks, now all torn down but one they save as a going-to-be-museum. Once you graduated WOEC you went to the brick buildings. I never moved once I got to the brick buildings. Well, other than moving all my stuff including the furniture out to the parade field and back a few times.

 

Orange junior tabs were handed out when your class became the junior one, second in line to graduate. When your class was next to graduate, you got the black senior tab.

[FtrPlt]

If you graduated in 1987, were you there for the 'burned hands incident' with one of the WOEC classes? I don't recall the month (I want to say June/July 1986) but supposedly a couple of recently graduated WO1s were assigned to A-Co as assistant TAC officers while awaiting their aircraft transition courses. Supposedly, a class was put into 'leaning rest' on the company street and a number of WOCs supposedly ended up with burns on their hands from the hot asphalt.

 

As for the tabs, they must have changed some things over time. I have a photo of my scout-track class and the WOCs are wearing the black tabs. I have one photo of myself wearing the orange tab but I'm not sure if it's while still in B-Co.

 

My class (85-43, Blue Bohica's -- Bend Over, Here it Comes Again!) moved three times -- A-Co WW2 barracks to B-Co brick building and then moved again to the C-Co brick building. I honestly don't remember of the B-Co area had two buildings or if one was B-Co and the other was C-Co. At some point while in C-Co, we were allowed to move off-post.

[flytiger]

66-2 at Wolters 65-66 0f course. 66-67 C/2/20th ARA 1st Cav Vietnam, 67-68 MOI IP Wolters. Direct Warrant so did not go to WOC School.

We had 17 year old WOCs back then. Amazing kids ( I was 27 as a MOI IP, OLD!) Wolters was fun. Texas girls were really fun!

[hawk3370]

I attended class 67-25 (Gold Hats) at Ft. Wolters. As I recall when I arrived at Ft. Rucker after primary training we wore the orange behind our WOC on the hat and collar. When we turned senior we switched to a black background and it was required that all WOC's with the orange background had to salute and treat us as officers.

 

Terry

[Plant#4]

Sorry it took so long to catch this post up, but here is my Fort Wolters Cap

[viking73]

Great cap! Thanks for posting this one.

 

I've picked up another Wolters WOC cap since I originally posted this. It's blue and it has the owners named printed inside the sweat band.

 

-Derek