air force academy

[learherkjay]

usafa,

Getting an A-10 requires several hurdles to jump through. First, if he goes to any other UPT base besides Sheppard - he will have to make it to the fighter/bomber track from the T-6 (T-37 a some bases, but all of the tweets will be gone by then). Some top students select fighter/bomber some select tanker/transport (T-1 track). If he gets fighter/bomber than he needs to do well enought to be able to select his choice of aircraft from the "drop" of airplanes for his class. Sometimes there are 2 A-10s for one class and none for the other. It all depends on the needs of the AF. Good luck

 

[usafa]

Learherkjay,

That makes sense. He originally was leaning toward tankers/transports. I really don't think he minds too much what he flies. As long as he gets the opportunity. Thanks again for the info. Keep it comin'.

 

[spanky2]

My 2 cents as a zoomie (USAFAPTWOB), T-38 IP (CBM), and Fighter pilot (all over).

One step at a time. Get thru doolie year. Then get thru SERE. Then 3rd degree, etc, etc. Get involved with soaring, jumping, sports, etc. There is much to do outside of the the marble strips. Goals are great and will keep him going but he will learn that zoomies are no better / no worse than ROTC or OTS grads when it comes to UPT. My UPT class was mostly zoomies and several washed out, as did some ROTC and OTS folks. My experience as a T-38 IP at CBM saw the same results...and I will say that students with prior flying time did not always have an advantage, some could not / would not change / adapt to military flying. In the operational world, it does not matter where you received your 2Lt bars.

Good luck.

 

[usafa]

Thanks for the reply, Spanky2, I understand what you're saying. The general consensus is he will do fine if he keeps a good perspective. A military aviator's life will not always be easy, but I still believe, after reading some of the other posts in other catagories, he will be better off in the long run. Especially from an educational standpoint.

 

[usafa]

By the way, he just got his prop and wings the other night...another milestone on the long journey.

 

[spanky2]

I still have my first prop & wings...actually, she-who-must-be-obeyed has them ... and you are correct about the education...my grades did not reflect it but I learned a lot...and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes / cheating death with a rip cord was a ton of fun.

 

[old*art]

Not sure but in my day the Academy grads got regular commissions and the OTS/ROTC were reserve - is this still true ? - another benefit of going to the academy. Half my UPT class were zoomies, and other than chasing all the women and trying to drink all the liguor in south Ga., they were a great group of guys.

 

[TonyC]

Not sure but in my day the Academy grads got regular commissions and the OTS/ROTC were reserve - is this still true ? - another benefit of going to the academy.

Not still true.

Regular commissions and guaranteed pilot training slots were worth the sacrifices made in the foothills of the Rockies. Now commissions are reserve and pilot slots are competitive.

For prosepective pilots, I recommend Air Force Reserve.

USAFA still offers a respectable education and a prestigious degree.

 

[Merlin'05]

Its sorta back now. Everyone is getting regular this year and the only people to not get pilot slots were those not PQ.

To be fair though, ROTC and OTS are also getting regular and not as many people wanted to be pilots this year as in years past.

 

[stonewall]

That's great to hear about the Reg commissions and even better about the pilot slots. My year (10 years ago, plus or minus one) we only got 270 slots for about 700 PQ dudes (and dudettes). The day we got our assignments was tough. I was happy, but it was extremely tough watching a guy you gutted it out with for 4 long years see his dreams crushed. Hell, he coulda done four (or five) years at State U and still been a missileer.

 

[Mud Eagle]

My year (10 years ago, plus or minus one) we only got 270 slots for about 700 PQ dudes (and dudettes). The day we got our assignments was tough. I was happy, but it was extremely tough watching a guy you gutted it out with for 4 long years see his dreams crushed. Hell, he coulda done four (or five) years at State U and still been a missileer.

Wasn't much better 10 years ago in ROTC....97 pilot slots nation-wide for 1,400 cadets ('95 commissionees).

 

[usafa]

Just an update on C4C J. He seems to be doing well. The additional priveliges after receipt of prop and wings are very welcomed. Our parents club just finished assembling the "exam boxes". We have 48 cadets in our group (comprising the western half of NC). We have the reputation of having the best exam boxes at the Academy. The cadets enjoy them. They also make good "bartering" material. It was reported that all our first class cadets got their requested assignments. Also,all the ones that were PQ got IPT. Some start later than others, but I guess that's the norm.

 

[usafa]

Also, does anyone have info on Warner Robins? He has his ops this summer there.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Wild Weasel]

Not sure if it is still the same now, but I think it is....if at all possible, tell your son to go to Sheppard for UPT (ENJJPT). The influence of the foreign instructors keeps the mickey mouse stuff to a minimum. The washout rate there is also historically lower. One advantage of the Acadamy is they get most of the American slots for 3 of the 8 classes each year. (Used to also be a guaranteed fighter, but I think that is gone now) It was a kick ass time when I went thru there!!

 

[JimNtexas]

Dad, I have two daughters graduating from college this month. For the money I spent on them I'd have a real nice airplane. As a parent, you can't beat the price of an AFA education.

Your son will do fine in UPT. He should not worry much about what comes after that, try to encourage him to keep his head in the here-and-now. His prior flying and academy background will help him as long as he never speaks about his background unless directly asked.

As far as the Air Force favoring AFA grads, there is a little of that, certainly being from AFA will break a tie. But it only works for him if he actually lives up to what we expect from an Academy graduate.

One thing I observed is that the Academy graduates will destroy one of their own if he or she becomes an embarrassment while on active duty. I can think of three specific cases where pilots who were Academy graduates were literally run out of the service by commanders who were also graduates. These guys were basically average guys who weren't criminals or anything, they just made one too many professional and/or social mistakes. I am pretty sure the commanders were harder on these officers because they were grads and not just another ROTC/OTS prole.