Mistaplane, have you considered the Army/National Guard? I know you mention the Air Force but you also mention just flying in the military and Army aviation counts as the latter. FYI, the Army NG has aviation units in quite a few states so your chances of staying local are even better if you aren't near a major air guard base, and the Army has had a higher max age limit for flight school than the other services for a while now. I think it used to be 34-35 and right now it's 33 before you need an age waiver, so at your current age, you wouldn't need an age waiver with the Army. Also, if you go the warrant officer pilot route, you'll fly a lot more than as a commissioned officer and not have to deal with as much of the officer politics BS. If you only want to go fixed wing then go Air Force and try to get an age waiver but if it doesn't matter to you then go Army NG right now while you still can without a waiver and be a warrant officer.