Originally Posted by
LowSlowT2
And just to be clear it's wings+10 - that's 1 year of UPT and 10 years of service = 11 years of your life.
I applaud you for thinking this far in the future. It's a long road in front of you and you're better prepared simply by knowing what you want to do. I didn't have a clue for a long time and while I didn't quite 'fall into' aviation, it wasn't what I thought I'd do when I was your age.
Study hard, do well in school - nobody can take away your education, but they can take away your job. You can also lose your medical for any number of reasons once you are no longer invincible like you are when you're young.
Good luck!
Yea good on you for thinking ahead that far. It might seem a little silly now, but take it from me... its smart. My buddy was about your age when he decided he wanted to be an Air Force pilot. Now he is about to transition to the venerable MudHen (F-15E). It took him figuring out at the age you are now that he wanted to fly a fighter jet because you have to start working on it early. Get good grades, be active in sports, be in a club or two... make yourself MARKETABLE. Get in the Air Force Academy and see where it goes from there. The point is, you are the age now where you have to start figuring this stuff out. I wish I was so smart at your age.