Navy vs. Air Force pilot slot

[Scrapdog]

Both the Navy and the Air Force are great to be in, if your 1st goal is to serve your country and 2nd is to fly jets. Your primary desire in entering the military - no matter what service - should be to serve your country to the fullest of your ability.

I'm an AF guy, and relatively young (captain type)...however I don't know anything better in the world than being a patriot and flying fast jets. I'm sure the Navy is also an outstanding place to be. I went to the Academy, UPT, flew F-15's on active duty, and am now flying F-16's in the ANG and the bonds I've made with fellow officers and flyers is probably the strongest in the world. I know that is only accomplished by being brothers in the military, no where can those same bonds be formed anywhere else. And that in itself is extremely rewarding as well.

For the ATP thing...I don't think anyone really cares. I had my SEL and MEL instrument rating before starting UPT and it helped some in T-37's, but once I was in T-38's, everyone was pretty much on the same playing field...there will be some extremely sharp guys you'll be flying and competing with in military pilot training.

I hope that helps you! -Scrapdog-

 

[bogey383]

yeah. i am only 23 so i don't think the age thing should be a problem. i was just curious, it doesn't matter to me fixed or sling wing.. it would just be a better place to go then the regionals. but i hear those recruiters promise you the world, how do you actually know that you have been awarded a pilot spot.

 

[Fearless Tower]

yeah. i am only 23 so i don't think the age thing should be a problem. i was just curious, it doesn't matter to me fixed or sling wing.. it would just be a better place to go then the regionals. but i hear those recruiters promise you the world, how do you actually know that you have been awarded a pilot spot.

Assuming you have college behind you, you are going to be looking at applying for OCS. If you haven't completed college, the age thing is probably going to bite you in the tail by the time you complete a degree. As far as OCS goes. you should know before you raise your right hand if you are going to be going aviation. Generally speaking, each community (aviation, surface, subs...etc) has a budget for taking in so many new bodies per year which is then allocated to the different commisioning sources (OCS, Academy, ROTC). So, if aviation is what you want, the officer recuriter first should be able to let you know if there are any openings for OCS at a particular time and then you'll have to go throught the physical, aptitude tests etc...etc to determine if you are qualified. Assuming that all works out, then you'll know before you are committed to serving day one in the Navy. Again, that's OCS. ROTC is a bit different since you incur an obligation as soon as you start taking Uncle Sam's money whether you have qualified for flight training or not.

As far as recruiters promising you the world, I have found that is more a matter of enlisted recuriters. Officer recruiters are a bit more straight forward and especially nowadays since the Navy has been reducing its officer manning levels a bit. It took a while (and the whole expense of IRAQ/Afghanistan) for the Navy to realize just how much money it was wasting on aviation dropouts.

 

[bogey383]

so having all your certs and ratings doesn't really help for aviation, like you still have to take all of the navy's apptitude test and such. yeah i am just looking into since i am graduating this december. like i said before the regionals don't look so appealing.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Do you squat to pee or stand?

 

[bogey383]

i know it works against me.. but i stand..