Hi MC713,

I am a Marine pilot of 11 years and have flown helicopters and fixed wing (not jets). Most of the threads are right on. As for the reserves, most USMC are grabbing only guys that were prior in the USMC and not new hires off the street. There are too many active duty guys leaving to that can fill the reserves and the USMC reserve program is still in the developing stages. As for new hires for the other services, they are getting deployed "activated" quickly after they become winged aviators for some time. I train a lot of AF C-130 and C-17 guys. While I have really enjoyed my time, I even am going to depart the pattern and fly for the reserves in a training command (a potential good deal). Things change constantly right now and knowing what I know, I would keep pressing ahead with the civilian route unless you can get on with a AF guard unit and then be prepared to deploy several times. I you and your family are prepared for this, then best of luck if not...standby. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.