Air Force Test Pilots

[Joshrk22]

However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors.

There is no sense in going if I don't want to be there, no matter how prestigious the school is. I look at it like I can go the same route through ROTC and get to the same place that I want to go. I think a degree in Engineering from USAFA or umich is very respectable.

 

[PlaneStupid]

I had a friend who had all the good intentions you had. Double major Physics/M.E. He graduated and did just well enough to get F.A.I.P.d in a T-37. I know that is not an option for you now but you have to consider that your flying choices may not be determined by you but rather by the needs of the A.F. Good luck and it seems like you are headed in on the right path. (The Academy folks are a bit whacked).

 

[Joshrk22]

I had a friend who had all the good intentions you had. Double major Physics/M.E. He graduated and did just well enough to get F.A.I.P.d in a T-37. I know that is not an option for you now but you have to consider that your flying choices may not be determined by you but rather by the needs of the A.F. Good luck and it seems like you are headed in on the right path. (The Academy folks are a bit whacked).

Haha, thanks!

 

[McGillicutty]

However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors.

That's just dumb.

 

[GenericPilot]

Might be dumb but...

Might seem dumb if a guy just wants to be an airline pilot (where any four year degree may do), but try getting past the 17 year mark or trying to become an 0-5/0-6 in the military. All my USAFA acquaintences (mostly reservists now), whether fighter or transport, have been able to rise quickly and make considerably more money in the long run. They tend to flow into senior leadership positions fairly easily. A free 4 year degree helps with the student loans too. I'm not saying they are better, but they do get preferential treatmentby being members of a large aviation fraternity.

PS. I'm not an academy graduate.

 

[Oh-ryan]

That's just dumb.

Agree with McGillicutty about this ridiculous quote from Generic Pilot, "However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors."

Some food for thought:
Current USAF Chief of Staff, Gen T. Michael Moseley graduated from Texas A&M in 1971 with a BA in poly sci (so there is hope for MAGNUM!!)

His predecessor, Gen John Jumper graduated from VMI in 1966 (via ROTC).

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2001-2005), USAF General Richard Myers graduated with a degree in business from Kansas State University ROTC (1965).

So go Big Blue kid. Major in basket weaving, break some hearts and never look back. There is a place for you in the USAF. Who knows, by the time you are ready for TPS good ole MAGNUM!! may be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

 

[Joshrk22]

Thanks for the input guys

 

[stonewall]

MAGNUM!! may be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Well, if you don't end up as the Chairman of the JCS, your career ends in failure. Think about it...if you want to make the AF your career and don't end up there, it's because someone told you that you were pretty much done. Sorry, this is as far as you're capable of going...take care...so long...you're not good enough to go on. Better to quit early and avoid the emotional devastation of not making four-star.:bawling:

 

[Mud Eagle]

Bizarre...not sure why the myth that USAFA guys have better career expectations perpetuates, but I've seen nothing in the last 13 years that indicates there is any truth to it.

There may have been a day that being a "ring knocker" gave you a leg up on your ROTC or OTS contempraries, but that day is long gone.

 

[Mud Eagle]

Absolutely right. It's not just the cost of the F-22 that is causing the severe manning level reductions in the AF. It's also the high cost of golf course maintenance, Officer Clubs and recreational programs.

Yeah, either that OR the 100-million-a-day war overseas.

The cost of the Raptor fleet is peanuts compared to the cost of the GWOT (TWaT).

 

[Scrapdog]

Going to ROTC or OTS vs. the Academy will certainly not hamper your ability to get a fighter. In my unit (and in the other fighter units I've been in), the ratio is about 50/50 ROTC/OTS to USAFA grads.

But realize the USAFA is like a big mixing bowl/fraternity. It will certainly not hurt you in having connections or possibly a slight edge over your peers in both the military and the professional civilian world. When I go up to another AF member and he tells me he's a grad as well, we have a certain bond already regardless of his background, age, or job. This is undeniably true.

 

[Oh-ryan]

Going to ROTC or OTS vs. the Academy will certainly not hamper your ability to get a fighter. In my unit (and in the other fighter units I've been in), the ratio is about 50/50 ROTC/OTS to USAFA grads.

But realize the USAFA is like a big mixing bowl/fraternity. It will certainly not hurt you in having connections or possibly a slight edge over your peers in both the military and the professional civilian world. When I go up to another AF member and he tells me he's a grad as well, we have a certain bond already regardless of his background, age, or job. This is undeniably true.

That's true for ANY alumni group, not just the USAFA. Your common bonds with your USAFA buds include getting your butts chewed out by some master sergeant, ironing your uniforms to get that perfect crease before Saturday morning inspection, bouncing quarters off racks, pledging your shoes, and trying to cover up for a fellow cadet that murdered his sweetheart's rival back in high school, etc.

Alumni from UofM share bonds like how they felt when the lost to App State, pledging a fraternity (not shoes), that awesome kegger at the end of sophmore year, where to score the best weed, the girls of Tri Delta (especially Allyson), etc.

I'll take the UofM bonds.

 

[Deuce130]

, and trying to cover up for a fellow cadet that murdered his sweetheart's rival back in high school, etc.

.

Your post started off funny enough, then this statement came out. Some people just can't help but be dicks. You're apparently one of them. Way to f*ck up a perfectly good thread. Tool.

 

[Oh-ryan]

Your post started off funny enough, then this statement came out. Some people just can't help but be dicks. You're apparently one of them. Way to f*ck up a perfectly good thread. Tool.

Joshrk22 don't forget about the thin skin bond that most USAFA Zoomies seem to have too- as perfectly demonstrated by Deuce130.

Hey Deuce130... lighten up dude. Did I hit a nerve? Why don't you use your ascot to dry your tears. Let's not forget about the USNA middy that demanded that the USAFA Zoomie kill that poor gal. Feel free to make fun of her (or any other USN scandal) at any time and on any message board and watch as I laugh along with you... you dork. Here I'll give you some examples:
Tailhook
Cheating
Drug dealing
Chaining girls to urinals

Feel better? Talk about effing up a perfectly good thread. Isn't there a FOD walkdown somewhere missing their hall monitor? Why don't you go and try and find it.

 

[Joshrk22]

LOL..

Speaking of USAFA, I received my nomination in the mail today. I hate that I keep second guessing myself. I just want to throw both into a hat and decide that way..