Originally Posted by
Adlerdriver
If this thread was on
baseops.com I think it would’ve gone a little differently by now. Here it’s two pages of advice to the fighter pilot hopeful to position himself for his airline career. But I’ll be the crusty old fighter pilot and inject some reality into this discussion.
You’re about to embark on one of the most challenging courses of training available to you. That needs to be your number one priority for the foreseeable future. Very early into your training, your prior time isn’t going to really do anything for you.
It’s good that you’re going to try to go full-time after seasoning. I hope that works out, because the guys that go successfully into the part-time fighter pilot positions in the ANG usually have years of flying fighters under their belt and are experienced instructors. It’s going to take you at least a year of full-time flying after getting back to your unit and finishing MQT before you’re not the weakest link in any formation you’re employing that aircraft in. So just make sure that your number one priority is just focused on the next task at hand. Officer training, then UPT, IFF, B-course, MQT, being the best wingman you can be, etc. Airline stuff needs to wait. Good luck to you.
Absolutely spot-on with all the things related to what is soon to be coming down the pike for him on the mil side.
Having said that, he is not wrong in getting his foot in the door at a regional NOW rather than LATER. If he just got selected in January, he probably won't be going to training for another year at a minimum. No harm in going to a regional, getting 12 or 18 or 24 months in before he goes on MIL leave, THEN forgetting about everything else and focusing on the military 110% when the time comes.
I'm taking absolutely nothing away from your suggestions on how to approach military training, but with the way things are in today's military, getting a full time slot right off of seasoning days can be a crap shoot. I would recommend he volunteer for every flying opportunity the Guard has, but it's definitely not the same world you and I experienced as Lieutenants and having a backup to coming off seasoning orders is a good thing.
Besides, through USERRA he'll have five years to return to a civilian employer. Plenty of time to go through training, do seasoning, pick up as much mil flying as possible after that, and then potentially flow over to a major.
Sounds like a smart go-getter to me.