The requirements for the U.S. Army’s Flight Surgeon Badge are essentially the same as for the same position in other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. As officers in the Army’s Medical Corps, Flight Surgeons are U.S. citizens who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States (including the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico). While the Army specifies an age requirement of 21 to 42 for civilians seeking a career as Flight Surgeon, waivers are available.
Like many aeronautical ratings, the Army’s Flight Surgeon badge is issued in three degrees: Basic, Senior, and Master. To qualify for the Master Badge, Army Medical Corps officers must have graduated from the Army Flight Surgeon Primary Course and be medically qualified as class 2F. Officers who have received similar training in other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces are required to complete the Army Aviation Medicine Orientation in order to qualify for the Basic Flight Surgeon Badge; both this course and the Flight Surgeon Primary Course are taught at the U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine (USASAM) at Fort Novosel (formerly named Fort Rucker) in Alabama.
Requirements for the Senior Flight Surgeon Badge vary, with the time of flying duty (not to be confused with flying time) reduced significantly for officers who have qualified for board certification in aerospace medicine. Senior Flight Surgeons must log ten years of flying duty at that degree, during which they must accumulate a minimum of 850 flying hours, in order to qualify for the Master Flight Surgeon Badge.