Hello all. Ive decided I want to serve my country and join the AF. Ive talked with my father (An e-7) And know all the risks, responsability, and etc, so lets cut to the chase. I want to join as fast as possible but still be in college, so can I be in the air nat guard while being in college then join the AF when im done with college? Also, I want to be a pilot (Yes I know that it prolly wont happen) but I have very slight asthma, perfec vision, I am 6 2 and a half an inch, 179 lbs, and pretty good running times. Do you think I could pass as a pilot? any help would be great, thanks.

The best thing to do is talk to a recruiter. But go in knowing exactly what you want. Don't let him/her sway you in any other direction. Make it a fact finding mission, where you ask specific questions and get specific answers. Sometimes you have to be careful around recruiters.

Take a look at doing ROTC while in college. If you are serious about college and want to become an officer, then don't join the guard just yet. Chances are you could be deployed before you even finish college. There is also a slim chance that you will not be able to make the transition from enlisted to officer. I've seen guys come in 3/4 complete with their degree and never have time to finish it. This is just my opinion, I've attempted the transition myself, but did not get picked up.

The key is to talk to a recruiter, find out if your asthma is an issue, and find out what the requirements are for becoming a pilot. Then take all of that information home, think about it and go from there.

Let us know how it goes.

alright, will do, thanks for the help

Here is the bottem line. Dont do the enlisted thing at all if you want to fly that would be foolish

1. You can become commissioned through the airforce academy (best chance of becomming a pilot), the process and requirements are to much to write here. But there is plenty of information on it. If you make it through and are not medically disqualed you have first pick at a pilot slot.

2. AFROTC has 4 year and 2 year scholarships, if you dont get a scholarship you can still join, either way you have to commit one year in if on a scholarship (before the start of your sophmore year) or before the start of your junior year if you get a 2 year scholarship or are not on scholarship. They will however not guarentee a pilot slot.

3. You can do OCS as well but make sure you are talking to an officer recruiter, any old recruiter can not recruit you as an officer and trying to find an actual officer recruiter can sometimes feel like a cloak and dagger endevor because they are typicly not in malls and buildings with lit up bill boards.

If you dont graduate from the AF academy getting a pilot slot is a crap shoot but you have more ability to negotiate with OCS because you will be done with school and not be under any commitment like in AFROTC (ie they dont "have" to do anything if you are already in AFROTC after 1 or 2 years).

To be competitve (notice I dident say whats required, required wont get you a slot) for a pilot slot off the street you have to have a BS degree in hard science or engineering noting fuu fuu like engineering technology or applied science. You have to have a pilots licence and you have to take a test called the AFOQT and you can only take it twice in your life. After that you have to take a hand eye corrdination test. Plus put your own package together that includes a resume etc etc.

Talk to an AF OFFICER recruiter and he will lay it all out for you.

Good luck and dont be overwhelmed by the requrirements.

Thanks again. Will it help that I will be getting my pilot license soon?

Oh and also I was looking at getting an Aerospace Engineering degree, at Georgia Tech

Sounds like you are setting yourself up well. It doesnt matter when you get your pilots licence unless you can continue to afford to log time while you go to school. Its up to you to go AFROTC or OCS, you can enroll in AFROTC for a year or 2 to see how you like it and see if it interfers with your academics. Its more of a personal preference, when im taking tests in fluid dynamics (im a chemical engineer by the way) I dont want to be standing in formation in a field getting talked down to the day before a test or whatever, not my cup of tea.

I tried to take the OCS route and when I tried to get my pilot slot there was no demand so I was able to walk away (I then joined the army guard which was a total mistake, I know people in the air force that wont even associate with army unless they prove they are a respectible human being, there is alot more belittlement/hazing in the army) If you do AFROTC its a little harder to walk away if you dont get a pilot slot but can easily be done as long as you dident take any money. Or if you dont get a pilot slot contract for OCS you can negotiate a direct commission as an engineer and then apply for a pilot slot from within (you might have to wait a few years and actually serve as an engineer before applying but its not very long). But if you are going to be commissioned as an engineer dont accept anything less than a direct commission, you dont want to go to OCS unless you have to, its a whole lota nonsence.

The way I look at is even if you dont get a pilot slot or in the air force you will still have a high speed engineering degree and a pilots licence then you can get a job and buy your own plane, im getting ready to buy a plane next summer.

Always remember the military looks out for its own interests not yours so you have to be hardline when you negotiate with them and you have to bring alot to the table to cut through the shit (ie going to basic or OCS with a bunch of 18 yr olds and sgts treating you like a high school drop out)

My fathers work is actually paying for all of flight school. thanks for the help

what help? notice how many references he gave you about walking away?

Yea, So. Most people have goals in life and like to make the best of there time. The military can be mutually benifitial but you have to make sure there is equal give and take or the military will keep taking while giving little. Thats not my opinion thats reality, the military likes to call it "meeting the needs of the military" to make it sound glorious.

Anyway that is a sweet deal getting free flight hours, its usually really expensive, in fact I had to put my licence on hold because the flight schools double charge for cross country time (you have to go dual to every location you fly solo to, with that instructor, so even if you did it with another instructor it doesnt count) so im getting my own plane then I can do my own thing because FAA regs are pretty basic and flight schools are way over the top in some areas as far as there company policies (and by the way they are feeling the financial effects of doing that because far few people are getting there licences because of the over the top company policies that add significant cost).

Cograts to you for taking advantage, go to school and get your self in a position to negotiate for what you want in the military

O.K. I've been avoiding the pissing contests that always develop around rppearso's comments, but I can't hold back on this one.

pittsey, understand that there are three core values that you MUST have when entering the Air Force...

1. Integrety First
2. Service Before Self
3. And Excellence in All You Do

rppearso has obviously failed these core values because he was unable to place service before self. Utterly obvious by wanting to do "my own thing" in the statement above.

Do not fail yourself. If you enter the Air Force, you must understand that you will have to place service before self. Hundreds of thousands of men have put their service before themselves and have contributed to our being a free nation. There names will forever be remembered. It is a tradition, it is an honor and it is a must. It all begins with working during Christmas; deploying in the middle of a divorce; missing the birth of your son. It is hard, but men have sacraficed a lot more. The needs of the military DO come first and if you are serious about joining, you MUST be OK with that, cause one day you will be given a mission that might result in your own ultimate sacrifice. Understanding this simple fact that service comes before self will lead you to not hesitate in the moment of truth.

There, that's my view; that's the view of everyone who wears a uniform today. We are fortunate that rppearso no longer wears one, and we are hoping that you will follow the lead of so many before you, and fight for what you know is right.

Redhat-OUT.

Redhat:

A great big, " HooHaw!" from me.. well said..Anyone who goes into the military , any branch, with a " what's in it for me?" attitude is just asking for trouble..

While it would be nice to be involved in something you really like to do, the whole point to military service. is the the ' service' part.. Serving others..serving the needs of the country...

If you can't agree on that, focus on that..then ..why join?

Anything that accrues to you in benefits [ education, standing, pay, girls swooning over the 'way kule' uniforms ] is secondary and not to be expected...

If you want the University Degree, there are much easier routes to that than signing on to get shot at during ' summer vacation ' to accomplish that goal...

shame that some folks just don't get the whole ' serving ' theme before marking their X on the enlistment papers...

That was well said by both of you, also dont count on serving as a lawyer or a pilot. I do understand what these 2 are saying now but not before I signed up. And the fact is the military is the only place where you can fly things like F-15s so if you want to fly F-15s you have to be in the military. So if you just want to fly and use the military as a vehical to accomplish that goal I dont see anything wrong with that just make sure its all in writing.

I wouldent mind missing christmas to turn and burn in an F-15 but I will be damned if im digging a fox hole in the dessert.

People that have the motivation to elevate themselves have the right to be picky and should not feel guilty about not wanting to dig in the mud or tolerate abusive behavior.

The military is service before self, its the capacity in which you are serving that makes all the difference.

For some meeting there goals in life and doing what they want to do carrer wise is not "nice" its a deal breaker requirement as it was with me. For me it wasent hey it would be "nice" if I got a pilot slot and I hope the board of officers likes me, it was if they dont like me im leaving, and there is nothing wrong with that, I paid for my own college and my own flight time to elevate myself to a competitive left and I expect to be compensated rightfully so. So what im saying is that just because your qualified does not mean the military will deliver.

And somehow they have brainwashed many into this line of thinking.

It would be like you getting a BS in engineering and your ATP and going to work as a janitor....?????

Im saying be very careful with recruiters especially enlisted recruiters. Officer recruiters in my experence cut the BS and told you like it was, hey there is no demand for pilots right now sorry, not oh get signed up and finish OTS and we will see what we can do after your signed up. Thats the mistake I made, and I fell like a major dummy for it, but im not going to let that mistake effect me for 6-8 years plus stop loss (which is unethical, btw)

You still have no moral or ethical fiber.

I saw HarryP on the topic for recent posters and throught here comes the one liner. So "You still have no moral or ethical fiber." is based on what, moral and ethical fiber is based on religion which is good but God also looks at the verbal agreements as well as the writen, so I felt I did no wrong because I was decieved eventhough that deciet did not show up in writing God still knows, of course that is completely dependant on your religious beliefs.

And then there is also the fact that the military enviornment condones internal hostility, harsh tones, hazing, etc which are not moral. Speaking with a sharp toung and in harsh tones is not biblical, assuming you are basing morality on the bible, or if you are just making up your definition of morality to fit your needs.

Everyone slips up and swears etc, etc, but condoning a whole culture of abuse and harsh tone is tolerating sin. I messed up and joined but that does not mean I am going to stay in and tolerate and condone the currant military culture

Did you think you were joining the freaking Boy Scouts? Men who train hard, play hard. Stop your crying and get over it. In the words of Dr Phil: "IT AIN'T ABOUT YOU!"

Then some of you on here should not push me down the rabbit trail when im giving perfectly lagit advice for someone who wants to be a pilot or a professional. I am simply telling him what to avoid and the pit falls of certian military mentalitys. The path to becoming a pilot is simple but by no means easy, I mean the air force has a check list. If people dident make off hand phlisopical remarks I wouldent respond in the manner I do.

I was not even talking about the boyscouts I was talking about morality, and you cant claim to be moral when you are screaming and belittling someone.

You may choose to scream, belittle and talk down to people and go out and get shit faced drunk, you think you are somehow justified because "your in the military now boy" if you want to have the farmer john/drill sgt attitude thats fine but dont talk to me about morals.

Now can we get on topic or are people going to continue to justify there poor behavior or the poor behavior of others in the military culture.

He's giving "lagit" advice guys, just let him make himself look like an idiot. He does that pretty good on his own.