Heavy Driver Chimes IN!
MAD DOG,
I cut/paste this from some earlier posts (no, I’m not a fighter pilot, but since nobody has replied yet, I hope this might help).
Useful phone # ...1-800-423-USAF (prompts are a little painful to follow)...
www.airforce.com is better
Follow the links to Contact Us--"find a recruiter", then you can call them. Active Duty AF will naturally lean towards you going Active Duty
…Going to pilot training with the Active Duty gives you the OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE for that F-16 (not a guarantee), but you have tons of options open to you (some guys don't know exactly what they want to fly, and this gives you a chance to talk to pilots from all types of backgrounds)..
If you get an F-16 ANG (Guard) Slot, AS LONG AS YOU DO WELL ENOUGH (i.e. pretty awesome) at Pilot Training/IFF-(intro to fighter fundamentals)/and F-16 RTU (Aircraft Specific Training)
…if you slip up, or don’t make the grade, you may or may not be able to transfer to another unit…IF you go this ROUTE, make sure you are COMPLETELY WILLING to put in the effort.
Not trying to scare you! I taught pilot training for 3+ years, and most do well, but not everybody makes it to F-16s (Believe it or not, some people do well enough in T-37s, but decide on a different track)…This is about YOU figuring out what YOUR direction will be, and then press on!
Airlift Guys are flying A LOT right now and so are F-16 pilots (Guard/Reserve/Active)…
I'm not going to slam Navy/Army, but I was Active AF, now AF Reserve, so I speak to what I know.
Both Active AF and Guard/Reserve are great options...if interested in Guard/Reserve, visibility/persistence/friend in the unit all help you get hired...things are busy most of the time, so they want pilots who will participate alot (especially when world events call for us to be more active).
Once again, you're smart about asking questions early, but this is YOUR DECISION. Good luck and happy hunting!
If you're really certain you want to go to a particular Guard Unit and fly for them, do ANYTHING you can to meet their pilots, find out what the quickest way to become a pilot in their unit, and go for it. Some units really want you to enlist first.
There are so many questions that only you have the answer to.
If you have/plan to have kids, Active Duty's health care is mostly free (not awesome, but way better than buying your own).
Explore ALL your options...some younger pilots I've met have applied to multiple locations (all services, various Guard/Reserve Units)...If you are living close to a particular Guard/Reserve Unit, that is a HUGE selling point for you.
PM me if you want...Albie seems to know what he's talking about too. Big Picture...only YOU can choose what's best for you...get as much knowledge as you can so you don't have any regrets...once you make your decision, give it your all. RUNWAY BEHIND YOU IS USELESS, SO DON'T LOOK BACK!