What are the chances

[mudkow60]

CX.. .

Have to say that is one of the most ignorant things I have seen posted on this section of FI.

My 2c's...

 

[AdlerDriver]

CX.. .

Have to say that is one of the most ignorant things I have seen posted on this section of FI.

My 2c's...

Ditto - from an AFROTC "crumb"..... I mean Eagle Driver.

 

[stonewall]

Join ROTC at the Citadel. Go Active Duty. Guard UPT slots are VERY hard to come by right now, regardless of what anyone says. Yes, it worked out for the guy telling you to go Guard, but for every one of him there are about a 100 that don't get a Guard UPT slot.

You can join the Guard later once your commitment is up. With very, very rare exceptions, you will be a better pilot after flying 8-10 yrs on AD than you will after flying 8-10 years in a Guard unit.

 

[AdlerDriver]

.......With very, very rare exceptions, you will be a better pilot after flying 8-10 yrs on AD than you will after flying 8-10 years in a Guard unit.

Not trying to start a holy war here, Magnum. Just wondering if you might expand on this thought with some specifics because it does not reflect my experience at all.

 

[Scrapdog]

In backing up Magnum and being an AD Eagle guy and now an ANG Viper driver, I can say the one big advantage of learning to fly fighters in the active duty is the diversity you get with respect to your IP's, SEFE's, etc. In active duty with a 2 to 3 year PCS rotation as it currently is - during your time flying fighters, you'll probably fly with IP's from multiple bases around the globe with different techniques, tactical viewpoints, and so forth. If you're learning to be a finely tuned killing machine in the guard, most of the time you're working with IP's who have been there multiple years and probably won't be leaving for quite a few to come. Bottom Line - the diversity in your learning will be much greater with AD.Now is the guard full of talent? Of course...and a lot of guys I fly with now are extremely sharp and very experienced. However, learning to be a wingman, 2 ship flight lead, 4 ship flight lead, etc. as a young pup was more beneficial in the breadth and depth in regards to your learning coming from the active duty.

 

[CCDiscoB]

...chances on getting into UTP after college. I have a 3.8 GPA...

You have two options:
1. OTS, I'm not sure how many slots they have these days but you sound like perfect candidate.

2. Sign up for both a Master's program, to keep yourself ROTC eligible, and the two year ROTC program. If you don't get your slot, go to OTS.

 

[RickKC-135]

CCDisco gave the best advice. If you make the AF a career you will have to get a masters at some point, so why not now. Two things to remember. One, the two year ROTC program comes with a commitment to the AF (whereas the four year program does not, until the two year point) and two, the AF will not make you commit until you have a training slot, in something. I have seen some guys get a commitment to one career field with the promise of a pilot slot at a later date. Guess what, once they have you, there is no reason for the commanders to switch it. Yes it can be done (I did it), but don't fall in the trap. If you go with the two year ROTC program, make sure you have a pilot slot in writing, and yes the AF puts everything in writing.

OTS will work also, but like I said above, make sure you have a pilot slot in writing before you commit.

And that guy who said all the slots go to the academies is full of BS. The AF allocates a certain amount of slots to each path, based on how many officers they commision from each path. Going to an academy does nothing for your career, or chances to be a pilot, except get you a free education.

For what it's worth, if you sign up for the commitment and then don't follow through with graduating and getting your commision you still own the AF the time you signed up for. Had a guy in my ROTC class who didn't complete college. The PAS had the SPs go get him and they sent him to Lackland for basic training and he became a SP/Cop at FE Warren AFB in Wyoming.

 

[Korgs130]

"And that guy who said all the slots go to the academies is full of BS. The AF allocates a certain amount of slots to each path, based on how many officers they commision from each path. Going to an academy does nothing for your career, or chances to be a pilot, except get you a free education."

RickKC135, that statement isn't quite true. I've posted this year's UPT split between USAFA, ROTC/OTS and ANG/AFR on other threads. This year the Academy got 540 UPT slots for about that many pilot qualified (PQ) cadets with just under 1000 cadets graduating. 144 ROTC detachments will commission 2,405 officers and OTS will commission another 700. I don’t have any info on how many are PQ, but they will split up roughly 460 slots plus what ever the Academy doesn’t fill. The ANG/AFR will get about 300 slots. If you graduate this year from the Academy and you are PQ, you get to go to UPT. While USAFA commissions around 25% of active duty officers, they get around 50% of the pilot slots. I'm not saying one route is better than the other, but I think it is important to look at how the slots are divided up when making decision.

 

[Scrapdog]

And going to the Academy always will help you out in some way down the road - it may not be for UPT or assignments, but it never hurts to network with all the bro's and friends you make while at the Academy that you'll run into time and time again both in the Air Force and in the civilian world alike.

 

[stonewall]

And going to the Academy always will help you out in some way down the road - it may not be for UPT or assignments, but it never hurts to network with all the bro's and friends you make while at the Academy that you'll run into time and time again both in the Air Force and in the civilian world alike.

Shack. At least ten '95ers (KTP!) at FDX over the last 2 years, and all of us helped each other get hired. Plus, if you decide to go the non-flying route, there are a ton of head-hunters out there that cater to service academy grads. Bad place to be at, great place to be from.