Snoopy 01

The 163rd Fighter Squadron out of Fort Wayne, IN (ANG, A-10C) will have an open application window for Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) from Dec 1, 2016 through Feb 28, 2017. If selected, interviews will be held 5-6 May, 2017.

If interested, please visit:

122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana ANG - Careers

Good luck to all that apply.

esa17

If I weren't too dang old I'd love to come home!

Julio

Would you take a Maj?

hindsight2020

LOL Right? Lots of that going on these days. Problem is a lot of these units have commuting restrictions and with the airlines these days it's getting harder to meet the participation requirements as a TR and airline commuter. It's a tough lifestyle. As a young hungry trougher or full-timer not a problem. Heavy units tend to be a lot easier to handle when it comes to the beans compared to fighter gigs. I presume FTU gigs would be easier if non-deployable billets.

UAL T38 Phlyer

Age limit is 30; upped some years ago.

Have seen waivers to about 35.

esa17

Both of those are in my rearview.

UAL T38 Phlyer

Mine too.

But thought I'd throw it out there.

crewdawg

Are there many squadrons that have such commuting policies? I know of one that has a 50 mile limit. Our OG looked into this a while back but found that he had no legal ability to impose such a rule. He would have no legal recourse if someone chose to move outside that limit, as long as they kept up with their currencies.

I would love for them to make us an FTU! No deployments, no chem gear, much easier on the part timer! I wouldn't mind deployments if they actually sent us to do something, rather than just sit around and fly CT (ref: recent Guard Viper "deployments.").

hindsight2020

Yeah, fighter units quite commonly have commuting restrictions compared to heavy units. You're absolutely right they can't enforce the commuting restriction, much like how we bend the rules by requiring people to give 6-8 day average participation even though beyond 48 UTAs they can't be forced to do more to get a good year. The reality is that no new-hire is gonna play hardball at the interview for their "dream fighter" by ball-walking on the answer to the domicile question. And who wants to be the dude that as an FNG decides to move out-of-state right out the chute post B-course? Quickest way to the bottom of the trough flying wise, in the already flying-starved fighter community. So yeah, they generally get away with the exigence in practice.

As to make-work deployments, count me in brother. I was occasionally tar and feathered for daring to utter the notion flying around a flagpole for no other reasons than because potato wasn't a legitimate deployment, nevermind the tax payer waste in mobilizing this flying circus OCONUS. But you can't say that around a cohort of people who felt jipped by not getting their turkey-shoot CENTCOM tasking and combat veteran Facebook profile selfie. It wasn't my fault our timing never worked out to getting combat time. I kept my beans up and stood the post. I did my job.

The fact is my dreams of Vipers and piña coladas died in '98 when the PRANG lost the A-models, and as a junior Maj now, I'm not about to start playing the revisionist history game. Speaking of making lemonade, I'm much happier in the trainer world. Flying with people with gigantic chips on their shoulder was the absolute worst part of my prior community, which led me to the belief that it's truly not what you do in life, it's who you do it with. I don't miss the collective bitterness of that place one bit.

Here's to hoping the airline hiring continues in earnest for at least 5 more years, Lord knows we need some happy times for the last 12 years years of stagnation and being punked into either/or choices. Oh and thank you for your Service.


--break break--

Now to bring it back on topic. I interviewed with these guys back when they still had the Vipers. Seemed like a decent group of folks. They did make their in-house enlisted candidates a priority, which was something I personally ran into multiple times while in my interviewing years (Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Toledo, Selfride). So understand the dynamics of applying to these Guard fighter units as an off the street applicant. They still have a long line of folks for one, maybe two slots per FY. Having local state connections or being in-house is still the best shot imo to get this job, even today, an admittedly different hiring environment than 2004. Good luck to all.

ATTACK

The 107th Fighter Squadron at Selfridge ANGB, MI is also having a spring pilot hiring board. Interviews are in April. The application window ends February 28th. Send a request to: [email protected] for information on the application packet. The 107th Fighter Squadron currently flies the A-10C.

This squadron also made the short-list for the F-35, TBD.
Air Force: Selfridge base a finalist for F-35A fighters