Military Aviation Career for 17 year old...advice please.

[rumpletumbler]

I have a 17 year old step-son who has decided he wants to fly "jets" in the military. Hasn't specified a branch etc. or type but I'd like to find out what he would need to expect to qualify and some suggestion on who to talk to locally (Atlanta area). I'm not real excited about taking him to a recruiter as I've heard bad things about that. What is the best source of information? I'd like to ideally have someone he could sit down and talk with. Thanks.

 

[Bobo135R]

1st off, you've got to be an officer to be a pilot. You need a college degree to be an officer. I'd suggest finding a good university instead of going to a recruiter...maybe one with an ROTC program. My .02 worth for starters. Use the four years to research the different branches of the military. Best of Luck.

 

[F16fixer]

2 ways to join

There is two main ways of becoming a pilot with the military. 1. Your son joins the acadamy of his choice. More likely the one that chooses him. Then he will go to a military school for 4 years and most likely, if he's qualified will go onto flight school if they have openings. 2. He can do what the other guy said and join a university that offers ROTC for the branch of service he is trying to get into. First off he has to make up his mind on which branch he wants to serve. If you love him, you will guide him towards the Air Force. (That was suppose to be funny.) Honestly though, I did four years active duty, and now I'm trying to become an officer in the guard. My advice comes from someone who has struggled to make connections. I have done very well so far, but it just seems like if you don't go down one of the avenues I mentioned, you will not have as many people working on your side. Please understand! If he deals with ROTC he will have his whole induction into the military spoon fed to him. Now I'm sure I'm going to here a lot of bad comments from ROTC people, but that's the way it is. I'm not mad about it, I'm jealous! He will have to work very hard in college and stay out of trouble, but at least there will be someone there guiding him along. It is much more competitive to go to school on your own with no involvement with the military, and then decide you want to fly for them. I hope this helps. I know it would have helped me 6 years ago.

 

[Mogus]

Have him get off his duff and figure it out himself. It's best he learns this now. In aviation you gotta be very proactive or you'll get nowhere.

 

[TonyC]

1st off, you've got to be an officer to be a pilot. You need a college degree to be an officer. I'd suggest finding a good university instead of going to a recruiter...maybe one with an ROTC program. My .02 worth for starters. Use the four years to research the different branches of the military. Best of Luck.

USAF Reserve is Headquartered at Robbins... lucky you're close by. They have trouble finding enough applicants for their semi-annual pilot selection boards. Look for contacts there, and take their advice. If he can join and work on his college at the same time, that'll be to his advantage. Longevity plays a huge role towards retirement and benefits. Better than active duty, better than the guard - - I'd recommend the Reserve.

 

[Tweetdrvr]

The Academy Liason Program people are supposed to talk all aspects of the active duty side of the Air Force, USAFA, ROTC and OTS, they or the ROTC detachment guys at the University will be your best source of info for what it takes to become an officer and hopefully pilot.

I disagree with Tony about the Reserve being better than the ANG. The ANG has the Montgomery GI Bill and most states offer some great tuition assistance benefits on top of GI Bill. E.G KY has free tuition and books for enlisted members of the Guard, some states offer some officer benefits on education as well. Enlisting in the ANG is a great way to learn the system and show loyalty to the unit and get college time as well. One has to balance that with the ops tempo in todays world. The Active and the Reserve Components both make promises about tuition assistance and time for college but if you get into a deployable career field, that time just may not be there. That may make a 4 year college ROTC program or one of the service academies seem much more attractive.

But definitely do not go to the recruiting station, no one trusts those guys.

Good luck

 

[TonyC]

I disagree with Tony about the Reserve being better than the ANG. The ANG has the Montgomery GI Bill and most states offer some great tuition assistance benefits on top of GI Bill.

Certainly they both have pros and cons.

ANG ties you down to a particular state, if not a particualr unit. You might be stuck flying one airplane forever, or you might suddenly find yourself transitioning from F-16's to KC-135Rs. (Not that there's anything bad about tankers.) Reserve offers far more flexibility in locations and weapons systems. Retirements differ. The point that stands out to me MOST, though, for an individual that wants to fly, is the availability of flying slots. USAFR, I'm told, cannot find enough bodies to fill their pilot slots. As I understand it, ANG slots are very competitive. If you want a pilot slot, where do you think you have a better chance?