Signing up??

[slacker]

Great quote

This sums it up:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

That is a awesome quote if it wasn't so long i might steal it for a signature block.

Chas1000- If the first few days of OTS (not OCS) were too much for you to handle- you made the right choice quitting. If you thought the first few days of OTS were an accurate depiction of the rest of your Air Force career- you're a moron. If you have a problem pulling the trigger or being shot at, again, you made the right choice quitting. If you think this is all the military does, you're a moron.

I can't fault you for quitting, it didn't sound like you were right for the job. I can fault you for taking a slot that many folks would do anything to get but will probably never have the opportunity you had, and you took it so lightly. Didn't you think about all that moral argument crap during your lengthy application process? It's not like you walked into a recruiter's office and the next day you were at OTS. You probably had an idea that the military might kill people and break things, before you got to OTS, right? I think you're blaming your lack of sack on some moral argument. If you just said "OTS sucked and the people were sucked and i hate the Air Force," I'd understand more. But to blame it on some epiphany you had during the first few days of folks screaming at you, i think it's suspect.

 

[chas1000]

Guys, you need to chill out. I was merely trying to make the point that it's not all **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**s and giggles being a military pilot. It' a very serious choice. That's all. I see people all the time on these boards who seem to have a flippant attitude about it. I really didn't expect to get flamed by anyone, especially service members. I respect and appreciate anyone who voluntarily enters the military.

If you guys don't think innocent people are killed in war, then you are idiots. It's a fact of life. Again, I only mentioned that to emphasize the seriousness of the job. That is not why I decided to leave. Of course I thought about that fact before I went in. I really don't feel obligated to explain my situation to a bunch of anonymous pricks who bash someone simply trying to help others. I left for reasons external to the military. A family member was in a coma while I was there. That good enough for you a-holes?

Again, I respect and admire all of our military personnel. It's a tough job.

 

[slacker]

Name calling?

I said your reason, "innocent people die in war", is a crappy reason to quit OTS. I stand by that. That is a lame excuse, and you should have thought about it before you stepped across the blue line at OTS.

Now, if you had a family emergency while in training- that is completely different. OTS sucked, to have to deal with a family emergency while at OTS would suck worse. I would completely understand having to take care of your family instead of staying, i don't think anyone would fault you for quitting.

Your reason in your first post was suspect. If that makes you angry, oh well. I'm sure most people would agree with me, that you should have considered your roll in the military well in advance of the first week of OTS. A family emergency is a different story and i hope your family member recovered.

I'm off to meet my quota of the innocent, seems i fell behind.

Regards,
A--hole anonymous prick

 

[JungleJett]

Innocent people do die in war and they always will. You made it sound like they were targeted. Your correct in saying that someone should seriously consider the choice of joining the service. You should have as well. It is not secret that people in the military may have to fight, if you didnt know that, then who is the idiot now?

I am sorry to hear of your family member and hope that things turned out well. Had you mentioned that to your OTS cadre, they may have assisted you in taking the needed time away. Family is very important to the military. Family is important to me and that is one of the reasons I serve.

Slacker, save some innocents for me. There is nothing on TV and I just finished Halo and really want to kill something for real. I wonder if it is anything like I see on tv and in the movies.

Guys, you need to chill out. I was merely trying to make the point that it's not all **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**s and giggles being a military pilot. It' a very serious choice. That's all. I see people all the time on these boards who seem to have a flippant attitude about it. I really didn't expect to get flamed by anyone, especially service members. I respect and appreciate anyone who voluntarily enters the military.

If you guys don't think innocent people are killed in war, then you are idiots. It's a fact of life. Again, I only mentioned that to emphasize the seriousness of the job. That is not why I decided to leave. Of course I thought about that fact before I went in. I really don't feel obligated to explain my situation to a bunch of anonymous pricks who bash someone simply trying to help others. I left for reasons external to the military. A family member was in a coma while I was there. That good enough for you a-holes?

Again, I respect and admire all of our military personnel. It's a tough job.

 

[Beertini]

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

You can credit Mr. John Stuart Mill, an English economist and philosopher for that particular quote.

 

[JungleJett]

True...and there is more to it. I took just an excerpt from the statement.

You can credit Mr. John Stuart Mill, an English economist and philosopher for that particular quote.

 

[Rook]

I can't fault you for quitting, it didn't sound like you were right for the job. I can fault you for taking a slot that many folks would do anything to get but will probably never have the opportunity you had, and you took it so lightly.

You got that right. I'd Kill for that opportunity, but being on the remedial college plan, I just reached the cutoff age after I walked with my B.S. But to serve the country in any capacity, is an honor. Wish I had that guys A.F. slot.

Rook

 

[pilotyip]

Why are you joining?

This subject has been gone over a bunch of times; you can do a search. Remember you do not join the military service to fly, you join to serve your country and fulfill the needs of the President by flying. You serve at the pleasure of the President and the military. They assign you to the aircraft that needs pilots. In the Navy helo is the biggest pipeline, in the USMC most flying is helos. You will not fly that much in the Military unless you go into a conflict, Although Army WO's do stay in the cockpit more than any other service, and there is tons of office duties and family separation You may fly once per week and spend the other 4 days in the office 8-5 doing paper work, Then in the USN and USMC you can be assigned weekend watch duty, so you will have something to do over the weekend before you come back to the office on Monday. In 11 years of Navy Active duty I got 2500 hours of pilot time, 800 hours of it in 6 months during Vietnam. I was gone from home for nearly 4 years. Saw my son for about 11 months between his birth, which I almost missed, and his fourth birthday. If you go into fly, you will have a 10-11 year obligation, which as an officer will include at least 3-4 years of not flying.

 

['LUVIN LIFE]

Capt,

Back to your question.

I'll do my best to give you a true representation of the Navy flight program. My background? Flew Hornets on two deployments and am now at the training squadron teaching new guys how to fly them as well as the new Super Hornet. Getting out end of this year to fly with Southwest as well as continue my current job instructing in the reserves.

Graduated with a degree in Psychology (because the Navy doesn't care what your major is) with something over a 3.0. Got a pilot slot and headed to Pensacola. From that point on it is all competition and TIMING!!!!!! More on that later.

As far as prior flight time goes what you'll get from that is, more than likely, doing exceptionally well in primary flying the single prop T-34. That's good because it should put you at the top of your class which lets you pick between jets, props or helos. Then from there you compete again at the end of jet training for E-2/C-2, Hornets, Super Hornets, Prowlers. Once again based on how well you do.

Now for the kicker. You can be the best pilot they've seen in the last ten years, but if there is no jet slot or hornet slot the week you graduate then you are S.O.L. That's the way it is. So when you join, be sure it is because you absolutely want to serve your country. And besides what the "yahoo" in this thread said, there is nothing better than flying fighter jets off carriers into bad guy land to prevent them from coming over here and doing damage. You will NEVER have another chance to do what we do. You will only "wish" you had done it if that's what your heart desires.

Commitment is eight years from wings (for jets) which equates to about a total of ten years. And as far as civilian aviation goes when your done kickin #@* and taking names, at my squadron we are 16 for 16 in guys getting hired by SWA. Coincidence? I don't think so.

So that's it. Good luck in all you do and remember you only get one shot at life!

 

[hindsight2020]

I agree with all the posts above. I'll play devil's advocate a little though and warn you that different airframes have different lifestyles and people like Luvin'Life had the opportunity to luck out in this life. I do not question his commitment but I dare submit that until he has been in the situation where he/she has the grades for the jet and timing gets the best of the situation and you end up in an E-2/AWAC/J-STARS/whatever going "where did my life take a turn?", he/she has no more leverage than me, looking on the outside of the fence, to argue that people should be happy with what they get.

I commend him for being straightforward and honest about that same fact, that shows good character, most pointy nose drivers tend to eat sh!t and talk all day about how their hot hands got them the Hornet/Eagle/Viper/Hog/Talon/Buckeye etc etc. And the fact of the matter is, that contention is far from the truth.

More people than they care to admit punch holes in the wall when they get home because they got screwed out of a particular assignment, or like Luvin' pointed out, the slots weren't there to be given out. So I would warn you against going active in Navy, Air Force and USMC if you are unsure of your flexibility of assignment. I too, suggest you check out baseops.net regarding this question, those folks go for months on the "WTF didn't I get a T-38?!?" thread.

As it relates to your hesitation about avioding a helo, go Air Force. Navy and Marines are, statistically, rotorwing dominated when compared to the Air Force, so narrowing it down to Air Force would be wise at that juncture. Other than that, life is a gamble, most people recognize it's a huge break to catch a military flying slot these days and most deal with what they get, but others do struggle with their fates and for no fault of their own. So consider yourself warned.

Good luck in your decision, also try out the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard side of the house, their benefit is guaranteed airframe, which simplifies the contention, but of course it ain't that easy of a solution, you have a better chance of catching bronze in olympic synchronized swimming than getting a freggin' Guard slot these days.