Air National Guard after college

[Canadair RJ]

I'm entering my third year college and hoping to be done by 2009. My major is Geog (fwiw) and I've got my Commercial asel/amel with and instrument rating. I was considering joining the ANG after college in hopes of flying. Right now my vision is terrible, but I was planning on getting lasik soon.What are the chances of someone going from college to the ANG as a pilot? Is it even possible? Thanks!

 

[Scrapdog]

I'm entering my third year college and hoping to be done by 2009. My major is Geog (fwiw) and I've got my Commercial asel/amel with and instrument rating. I was considering joining the ANG after college in hopes of flying. Right now my vision is terrible, but I was planning on getting lasik soon.What are the chances of someone going from college to the ANG as a pilot? Is it even possible? Thanks!

You bet it's possible - a lot of folks do just that. Obviously you need to find a unit that is willing to pick you up, send you to AMS (OTS for the ANG for your comission), send you to UPT, and your follow on training as well. Bottom line: they'll be investing a lot in you. But it is certainly do-able. Some units will make you do a couple of years enlisted on the flight line before they make the commitment to send you to get your wings. Every unit is different. And BEFORE you get Lasik - ensure it is approved and within tolerances by a certified military physician.

Good luck. Be aggresive. Flying in the military is the most rewarding career choice ever - bar none!!

 

[CFIIer]

yeah, it's definately possible. Don't forget about the Air Force Reserves. I did it about 1.5 years after finishing school. Use the internet to get information on all of the units you'd like to apply to. Also, DO NOT do anything to your eyes until you've had it approved by a military flight surgeon... once an unauthorized procedure is done, you are permanently disqaulified...

Good Luck

 

[Canadair RJ]

What about AF ROTC? Would that be a good option? Can I resign from ROTC if I'm not guarenteed a flying slot? And my vision is pretty bad until it's corrected!

 

[pkober]

It's possible to join the ANG right out of school, I'm proof. The more flight time you have the better.

The key to getting a pilot slot in the Guard is perseverance. Don't give up. Keep trying until you age out. If a unit says no, send them a thank you letter and try again next year. Apply at every unit and take the first slot you get, because you may only get one in your lifetime.

I agree that flying in the ANG is the best career move I ever made and the most rewarding.

If you have any questions about my squadrons interview schedule, PM me.

 

[JungleJett]

Another option is to join now in an operational squadron and you will quickly get to know people...they will also get to know you. We take a lot of our people from our own ranks.

If you want to fly pointy nose airplanes, become a crew chief...

Heavies...Loadmaster, FE, Boomer....

Good luck.....I will piggyback on what Scrap said....serving in the military is the best thing you will ever do...flying..icing on the cake.

 

[C-141/C-5]

Don't get lasik until a mil doc approves it.
I agree with junglejet that the best way to get in is become a Loadmaster now and make sure the squadron knows your intent on becoming a pilot.
I would call a recruiter at the local guard or reserve base to get more details.
I think the standard for your initial physical uncorrected vision can't be worse than 20/80, but I can be wrong.

GL

 

[SkeWest]

I agree with the others that it would be a plus to enlist now and get your foot in the door (you would also get the GI Bill to finish college). If that isn't for you, I would encourage you to start talking now with the pilot recruiters at the Guard/Reserve units you are interested in. The process can take a few years and most flying squadrons will want to get to know you before offering a formal interview. If you start talking with them now instead of waiting until after you have graduated, you could get an interview sooner after graduation. As the pilot recruiter at my Guard unit, I can tell you that you need to contact the pilot in charge of hiring, not the base recruiter. He/She will determine if you get an interview, not the base recruiter. As far as the eye issue, the Air Force has just started accepting corrective surgery for pilots, but the surgery has to have been done at least a year prior with no issues and documented by the doctor. I would talk with an Air Force flight surgeon to get all the details. You may consider getting the surgery done now (after talking with the flt surgeon) so that the waiting period won't be an issue. Good luck.

 

[highsky]

Joining the Gaurd/Reserve as a pilot out of college is definitely do-able, and for some reason, is the best kept secret in the world. I don't know why every guy coming out of college doesn't do it.

My grades sucked in high school due to immaturity, so the USAF Academy was out of the equation. I didn't want to do ROTC, because I didn't want to get stuck with an obligation of becoming a Mortuary Officer for four years if I didn't get a pilot slot, which were very competitive and rare. So, I decided to get the best grades I possibly could, and then apply to the USAF for an off the street OTS slot.

Well, I did get the grades. In fact, I was the valedictorian, and I did that for the purpose of being competitive for a military pilot slot after college.

For some naive reason, I believed at the time that I'd need an ATP and all kinds of flight time to be considered by the military. So, I spent the next five years fu(king around with crap CFI and 135 jobs making $12,000 per year. No car insurance. No medical insurance. No movies or nice restaurants. Phone always getting cut off. Credit in the tank. Eating a lot of Top Ramen and canned tuna.

Then I started campaigning with every Gaurd/Reserve unit in the country. It's an enormous effort, but SO worth it.

I got picked up by an AMC Reserve unit flying heavies. My income instantly increased by a factor of three, and only got better from there.

Over the years in my Reserve unit, I figured out how things worked. Here's the deal: We've hired guys right out of college with a Private Pilot Certificate. Not that they would have always been my first choice, but the thing is, no one really applies from the street. Strangely, there is little competition. It's like no one knows about this great deal. So, when a sharp and decent guy with a modicum of patriotism walks in the door, he gets everyone's attention, and gets hired.

I've seen guys get hired off the street with average grades, average personalities, and little or no flight time. You don't have to be a valedictorian or an astronaut to get hired into a Gaurd/Reserve unit. At least that's the way it was with my unit.

And I'll tell you what. I've lived both lives. I have a great airline job now, but it took a long time. I've lived the civilian aspiring airline pilot life, and it was very difficult. I've served in the military too, and the satisfaction, honor, and quality of life that has given me is immeasurable. If you have a choice, the Gaurd/Reserve is definitely the way to go.

That said, you need to ask yourself why you would join. If the answer is to eventually get an airline job, then you are doing your country and yourself a disservice. Serving is a serious responsibility and privelege. Military service is not a stepping stone to the airlines. Military service is a commitment of your heart and soul, to give your life, if neccessary, to defend your country.

Good luck with your future!

 

[Canadair RJ]

Joining the Gaurd/Reserve as a pilot out of college is definitely do-able, and for some reason, is the best kept secret in the world. I don't know why every guy coming out of college doesn't do it.

My grades sucked in high school due to immaturity, so the USAF Academy was out of the equation. I didn't want to do ROTC, because I didn't want to get stuck with an obligation of becoming a Mortuary Officer for four years if I didn't get a pilot slot, which were very competitive and rare. So, I decided to get the best grades I possibly could, and then apply to the USAF for an off the street OTS slot.

Well, I did get the grades. In fact, I was the valedictorian, and I did that for the purpose of being competitive for a military pilot slot after college.

For some naive reason, I believed at the time that I'd need an ATP and all kinds of flight time to be considered by the military. So, I spent the next five years fu(king around with crap CFI and 135 jobs making $12,000 per year. No car insurance. No medical insurance. No movies or nice restaurants. Phone always getting cut off. Credit in the tank. Eating a lot of Top Ramen and canned tuna.

Then I started campaigning with every Gaurd/Reserve unit in the country. It's an enormous effort, but SO worth it.

I got picked up by an AMC Reserve unit flying heavies. My income instantly increased by a factor of three, and only got better from there.

Over the years in my Reserve unit, I figured out how things worked. Here's the deal: We've hired guys right out of college with a Private Pilot Certificate. Not that they would have always been my first choice, but the thing is, no one really applies from the street. Strangely, there is little competition. It's like no one knows about this great deal. So, when a sharp and decent guy with a modicum of patriotism walks in the door, he gets everyone's attention, and gets hired.

I've seen guys get hired off the street with average grades, average personalities, and little or no flight time. You don't have to be a valedictorian or an astronaut to get hired into a Gaurd/Reserve unit. At least that's the way it was with my unit.

And I'll tell you what. I've lived both lives. I have a great airline job now, but it took a long time. I've lived the civilian aspiring airline pilot life, and it was very difficult. I've served in the military too, and the satisfaction, honor, and quality of life that has given me is immeasurable. If you have a choice, the Gaurd/Reserve is definitely the way to go.

That said, you need to ask yourself why you would join. If the answer is to eventually get an airline job, then you are doing your country and yourself a disservice. Serving is a serious responsibility and privelege. Military service is not a stepping stone to the airlines. Military service is a commitment of your heart and soul, to give your life, if neccessary, to defend your country.

Good luck with your future!

Thanks for all the replies! That makes me a bit more hopeful. I'm not doing this in anyway to get to an airline. All my life I wanted to be an airline pilot and worked toward it. I always thought the military would be out of the question due to my terrible vision until I heard they were accepting guys with lasik and what not. So until recently it had been ruled out. I'll definately be looking into this more! Also, how would I go about contacting an AF flight surgeon and certain base pilots?

 

[CFIIer]

My personal advice to you... don't bother enlisting. If you want to waste a couple of years away, that's the way to do it. It may get your foot in the door and get you to know the guys, but it's very doable without having to go that unncessary route.

As for contacting units, go to baseops.net. Where are you looking to apply to units at?

 

[Canadair RJ]

Any unit that would hire me! I'm young and willing to move. I'm not too familiar with the units out there but my goal is to fly fighters. I'd like Toledo or Springfield. If not fighters I'd look in to heavies such as the C-17. Another good option close to home is Rickenbacker.

 

[hindsight2020]

Springfield F-16 is FTU, doesn't hire off the street last time I checked. I interviewed a couple moons ago with the Toledo unit, seemed like a decent unit, tough to get in though. That's the theme with Guard fighter units, in the century of the UAV, the fighter gig is a dying dinosaur.

Second the comments above regarding enlisting, doesn't hurt but it doesn't help that much either in this hiring environment.

Heavies are more common out there and a better market. If you are a low time dude, making a living on a Guard fighter unit would be tough, since bumming can be tough in the fighter game in general, and having low time would leave you with either going through regional hell or have a straight up non-aviation job, and in my recent experience, regular 9-5 jobs are just ill suited with the kind of schedule one would need at the unit to be an effective part of the squadron, and few pursue them.

On heavy units, depending on the competition with peer co's, you'll have a better chance to survive on a bumming schedule until you can find a AGR/ART gig or build quality time to move up to a major 121 gig. Tanker and Herc units are everywhere so it should be considerably easier to get picked up. I used to feel like you about the fighter deal, but I've gotten over that, it's very tough to get hired nowadays IMO, I held out as long as I could, but eventually one has to find a gig that pays the bills, and after some soul searching I realized it would be a fun thing to do once in a while, awesome flying but it came with a particular culture, which wasn't my cup of tea, but to each their own, it's a unique and priviledged top-notch flying community and a worthy pursuit for those who can swallow the whole package (STS).

The Reserves used to have an unsponsored candidate option for their Bi-yearly boards, which is how I got in the game, unfortunately that has gone away, again proof of how tough hiring really is nowadays. My advice to you is send apps and re-apply if you're unsuccessful. By mere function of time, considering you're flexible with locations (which they'll like in general), you'll get picked up. Best move you'll make career-wise, take one look at regional work and you'll understand.
Good luck brother.

 

[bagasticks]

My personal advice to you... don't bother enlisting. If you want to waste a couple of years away, that's the way to do it. It may get your foot in the door and get you to know the guys, but it's very doable without having to go that unncessary route.

As for contacting units, go to baseops.net. Where are you looking to apply to units at?

Perhaps a poor coice of words? I was a boomer for several years to get my foot in the door and would hardly call it a waste of time. it definately put me at the front of the line for UPT and i got lots of networking done "on the boom" so to speak . .

 

[highsky]

Springfield F-16 is FTU, doesn't hire off the street last time I checked. I interviewed a couple moons ago with the Toledo unit, seemed like a decent unit, tough to get in though. That's the theme with Guard fighter units, in the century of the UAV, the fighter gig is a dying dinosaur.

Second the comments above regarding enlisting, doesn't hurt but it doesn't help that much either in this hiring environment.

Heavies are more common out there and a better market. If you are a low time dude, making a living on a Guard fighter unit would be tough, since bumming can be tough in the fighter game in general, and having low time would leave you with either going through regional hell or have a straight up non-aviation job, and in my recent experience, regular 9-5 jobs are just ill suited with the kind of schedule one would need at the unit to be an effective part of the squadron, and few pursue them.

On heavy units, depending on the competition with peer co's, you'll have a better chance to survive on a bumming schedule until you can find a AGR/ART gig or build quality time to move up to a major 121 gig. Tanker and Herc units are everywhere so it should be considerably easier to get picked up. I used to feel like you about the fighter deal, but I've gotten over that, it's very tough to get hired nowadays IMO, I held out as long as I could, but eventually one has to find a gig that pays the bills, and after some soul searching I realized it would be a fun thing to do once in a while, awesome flying but it came with a particular culture, which wasn't my cup of tea, but to each their own, it's a unique and priviledged top-notch flying community and a worthy pursuit for those who can swallow the whole package (STS).

The Reserves used to have an unsponsored candidate option for their Bi-yearly boards, which is how I got in the game, unfortunately that has gone away, again proof of how tough hiring really is nowadays. My advice to you is send apps and re-apply if you're unsuccessful. By mere function of time, considering you're flexible with locations (which they'll like in general), you'll get picked up. Best move you'll make career-wise, take one look at regional work and you'll understand.
Good luck brother.

Well said. I agree.

If you're a low time dude. Don't try getting into a fighter unit. You won't be able to survive financially, which will way-offset any satisfaction you gain by flying fighters.

Heavies, tankers, and 130s are all very satisfying and rewarding, AND they pay the bills.

 

[NewmanF16]

I disagree about getting hired by a fighter unit, as far as how hard it is. It is the same game it was years ago, nothing has change there. They strive to maintain a rank structure, and not become too top heavy. That means they want to hire someone new every year (maybe two a year). Due to manning, I think your odds are better with a heavy unit, but nothing has changed in the fighter world for a new guy (older guys are a different story).

A new hire will be on active duty for probably three years (OTS, UPT, IFF, SERE, RTU, seasoning). You'll make better money there than any regional, but only log about 500 hours in those three years.

If you go to a regional at that point, you get to control your schedule a bit through MLOA, besides offsetting the income. After a couple years you'd likely have enough hours to get your ATP and get hired by a major. If you are a hard worker with a good attitude, you'll probably be able to get an ART or AGR job at that point.

Due to currency requirements, troughers can do pretty well in a fighter unit, provided they are single and not trying to support a family on it. You should be able to easily work 120 days a year, and probably closer to 180.

It is very attractive to a unit if you have an outside attraction to the geographic area (hometown, homestate, whatever). They don't want to hire someone that decides they don't want to work there after they've invested time and money in them. I don't believe there is any binding commitment for a traditional guard/reserve recruit.

 

[Lipper95]

canadair,

as previously stated on this thread, a guard or reserve gig is very possible. and perseverance is definately the key, along with the right place / right time theory. apply anywhere you think you would like to go. from what i know about the fighter guard units, they are pretty fat on the manning due to bases closing (of which springfield is one, i think) and guys coming off active duty already qualified in that particular airplane. that being said, there are always units hiring for pilot training slots. like pkober said, the more hours you have, the better it looks on your resume. if you are a good dude who keeps in touch with the unit and shows serious interest, then you have a shot at getting a job. and yes, a lot of units prefer hiring from within but there are always jobs for guys off the street. if you are seriously interested, you can go to baseops.net or some other sites that have listings of guard and reserve job openings. one thing i would say is life is a lot easier if you live near your guard job, so take that into consideration when you apply. good luck.