Succeeding in AFROTC

[Mogus]

Maybe you guys could clear something up for me. Part of the reason AFROTC is so attractive to me is that it pays my tuition and lets me go to college without worrying about being deployed somewhere and having things put on hold. What is it like in the ANG or AFRES?

 

[Jafar]

Yeah, I forgot to mention something about what I observed. As I said, you can only apply once, but you could get moved up from Nav to Pilot at some point in your senior year I suspect, as Jstock pointed out. And as Birdstrike noted there are a few guys who get commisioned, go to their officer job and can get picked up eventually to go to UPT if they so desire. However these guys have to wait until the AF has used up all other pilot resources, academy, ROTC, & OTS, before digging into the officer ranks. (From what they told us at my Det, anyway.) Now it may very well have been that my Det just didn't get many pilot slots, but there were more unhappy applicants than happy ones.

Now they did give some of these cats the opportunity to accept a reserve commision, and apply for a pilot position with some unit. However I didn't see this work out for anyone, and I decided not to contract with them and walked shortly after. I would have been applying this upcoming February, as Jstock is, so I'm curious to see how many pilots my old Det gets this time. I'll be checking just for curiosity sake.

I haven't heard about you guys up north. For all I know you could be like Jstocks Det and be picking up 90% or more. I hear the BYU bubbas do well. I personally just decided to go the reserve route, but I've only got a year of school left now.

 

[lilryno]

Pilot Slot Statistics

You can also find out the average AFOQT, PCSM, Flight Hours, and GPAs of guys that got slots from ROTC (as well as OTS, AMS, and Active Duty) at http://www.wantscheck.com/Default.aspx?tabid=238

For those of you guys that have pilot slots already, maybe stop by the WantsCheck.Com Pilot Slot Stats page and anonymously add your numbers?

 

[talondriver]

(talondriver steps on soap-container)

Dude-
Do what you think is right. All these options you're hearing may have worked for "that" individual but may not work for you.

If you decide to enlist in the guard/reserve you're still risking not getting a pilot slot...but three, four years down the road. You can always join a guard/reserve unit after your active duty tour. You can't tell me a guard unit won't hire a current and qualified MWS dude (especially if you wear "the patch"). But, you have to do the active duty thing which can be a good or bad experience...just ask everyone here.

If you try to go OTS, you're still risking not getting a pilot slot. If the AF decides to cut back on pilots, guess where they're cutting first?? The beauty of AFROTC is if you don't get a pilot slot, don't sign the contract to be a missileer or nav, be a civilian student and THEN try the OTS thing. Partying while in ROTC can be done (believe me )...unless you're NavyROTC in which case you're kissing up to the CO through your last semester to avoid driving a frickin' boat after four years of trying to be a pilot. Just don't drink, drive and get caught.


It's all about serving your country and killing people while doing something you love (flying)...regardless of what weapon system you're in.

(talondriver steps off soap-container)

 

[CFIIer]

Air Force Reserves

The AFROTC thing seems like a lot of extra effort when all you want is the pilot slot. I went to ERAU in prescott, did the typical college kid thing, graduated, instructed for a little white, then last year applied and got a slot with a C-17 reserve unit out in california. I've been flying 135 freight, and leaving for OTS in april. I wouldn't bother with ROTC.

 

[AlbieF15]

Here is what I saw wipe out pilot hopefuls...

DUIs...

Alcohol related incidents....

Otherwise, keep your grades up (even if it means NOT doing an engineering or pre-med degree....I know it ain't right but that is life), stay active in the ROTC activities (even though you'll want to puke somedays at the silliness) and tell your officers you want to FLY.

Don't be the tool that says "F16 or Nothing!" First of all...you don't know what your aptitude for flying fighters is until you get more AF flying under your belt, and second....that officer in your Det may not have been a fighter pilot and will think you are either narrow minded or immature. If you want to fly a fighter, cool...I did. But...remind your leadership I want to be an OFFICER and then an AF PILOT...the rest will fall in place.

I also enjoyed Arnold Air Society....it was geeky in some parts of the country by back in the 80s the non-military (at the time FEMALE) auxillary was called Angel flight, and at the time at Auburn it was a VERY nice cross section of girls from a bunch of the different sororities. I dated several Angels from not only AU but also some other SEC colleges that I met at AAS/Angel flight functions and had a blast. Now...AnF was changing when I left around the country and it might not be the same anymore, but at least take a look at some of the cadet honorary groups--there might be some fun (or extra brownie points) to be found there as you try to get those wings.

My ROTC data is 20 years old, but it was still fun (and some a$$ pain) packed into one bundle. However, the best friends I had a AU were the guys who suffered through the same BS with me, and six months after graduation I was flying tweets at Columbus knowing every bad day in AFROTC had been paid back in full. It really is worth the effort...

Good luck!

 

[psysicx]

I don't understand the you will be getting a desk job.There is a slight chance that you will in your ten years.Some people don't like being contracted for ten years but that is your choice.Do you want to fly part time or full time.Either way would be cool.

 

[bobs98tlr]

You guys are forgetting one thing (or i might be). If you dont have 20/20 vision or within the guidelines for PRK or lasik (whatever they are doing right now) then you cant get in without a waiver or even at all. That is my problem. I have always wanted to fly in the military. However i have 20/200 in my left eye and 20/70 in my right eye. Im going to the Guard enlisted ASAP just waiting and working on a wavier for my speeding tickets. I hope by the time im done with my BS i can go to a unit with over 1000 hours of flying and hopefully be picked up for UPT. I read all you guys talking about how you can do it this way and that way but what about when your in my situation and you've dreamed all your life of this chance and your fu(kin eyes just suck. That is really the only thing i would ever change about my me/my life if i could change anything......if i had good eyes, no question i would be a military pilot.

 

[El Cid '95]

Hey Bob,
You are right on about the military and its vision nazis. For what it's worth, I've been told that they are only so strict in order to weed down the applicant pool since it is very expensive to give everyone who wants to fly all of the physicals and other tests. Sometimes life is not fair, and it sounds like you got dealt a bad hand--having the desire to serve but being excluded. I've spent the last 4 years pretty much deployed >220 days a year flying tankers in the wars in Iraq and Afghan and morale is hurting. We need guys like you!!

Anyways, good luck to you...and stop speeding!!

 

[psysicx]

For all you prior military pilots would you go reseves instead of Active if you had the choice now?