Originally Posted by Riddler

Well, first you've gotta convince the USAF that you've got Chuck Yeager's blood running through your veins, combined with a little bit of Steven Hawking's brain power and nerves of steel like Chuck Norris.

Once you survive the brutal year of pilot training, then the real challenge begins, since you've gotta ensure that you can keep your wings and get promoted. You'll need to deftly process travel vouchers in DTS, pull a few non-flying deployments to Afghanistan even though we're downsizing (someone apparently forgot to tell the USAF, and our wing just got hammered with 365 day deployments). Brush up on your Pashtu and Arabic skills. Don't forget that masters degree, and do SOS in correspondence so that you can be competitive for SOS in residence, otherwise you'll never get the chance to do ACSC in correspondence to prep for ACSC in residence. If faced with the difficult challenge between upgrading to instructor pilot or planning the next wing change of command, be sure to take the latter and establish a network with fellow company grade officers. You'll need to attend CGOC meetings and tell those support folks how much you like processing OPRs, EPRs, awards, decorations, fitness testing, budgeting, and if you're lucky putting together teams of your Airmen to help the cops guard the gate and help trans drive crew busses. Showcase your leadership by canceling local flying so that you can be the first squadron in your wing to complete Wingman Day training, Suicide Prevention hands-on training, Bystander Intervention Training, which is now SAPR training and needs to be re-accomplished ASAP so that we can do our 4 hour SAPR "top-off" hands on training by October. Get that Ground Chem CBT done ASAP, but then do it again because your CGO buddies insist that your CBT must be done within 4 hours of the hands on class. Cancel some more flying so you can get your self aid buddy care training done. Maybe even go shoot the 9mm, but don't be shocked when your May 2014 9mm training doesn't help you in June when you get tasked to do another non-flying gig in Afghanistan - you'll certainly need another round of ground chem and 9mm training.

Sadly, I could go on for about another day or so. The USAF ain't what it used to be.