Originally Posted by
Tweetdrvr
OP is 20 years old. That is plenty of time. He can wait two years to start chasing this dream as on off the street candidate when he gets a degree. Or, if he finds the right unit that likes him and puts him in a loadmaster or maintainer slot he is doing a two year pre interview while he finishes a degree. It seems in my 16 years at UPT that there are plenty of prior enlisted (some prior AD) who have gotten to pilot training for ANG/AFRC at 24 to 25 years of age, and some all the way to the limit of 30. I've seen folks enlisted in one unit get picked up by other units. Just like investing, don't put all your eggs in one basket.
I agree. I enlisted in the ANG at 20 as a boom operator with 2 years of college under my belt. Spent way more time than I should have finishing my degree, but still got picked up for a pilot slot. Very few units that I know of have age cut offs as low as 25 now days, some maybe as low as 27. I think the cutoff in my state is 28 (must start UPT prior to 30). I would do some research on what and where you would like to fly. If you are interested in a specific unit talk to the pilots there. Many ANG units will put a lot of emphasis on hiring prior enlisted airman over off the street guys. I have sat on interview boards and I can tell you that the "I want to serve my country" answer is a hell of a lot easier when you are in the interview wearing a uniform. I hear off the street guys tell me all of the time that they have always dreamed of serving their country, but when I ask "If we don't hire you as a pilot would you enlist?" they look at me like I asked them if I could sleep with their wife. The ANG is looking for people that want to be in the military not guys that just want to be pilots/ want a fast track to the majors (not that the OP said/implied that, just throwing that out there.)
Also, I haven't heard of any min commitment after enlisting prior to commissioning. If you accept a enlistment bonus their may be a clause that prohibits commissioning, but that only means you would have to pay back the bonus. Regardless, a four year enlistment prior to commissioning is nothing. You will eat up 2 years of it finishing your degree and another year just waiting to start UPT since most units hire at least 1 year prior to your anticipated start date.