Originally Posted by
ThatOneAviator
I have heard about this and also the coast guard. I want to look more into these.
Realize that Air National GUARD (ANG) and Coast GUARD (USCG) mean two very different things. The USCG is a full time Active Duty federal entity, just like the Navy, Army, Marines and Air Force (shall we include the US Space Force?). The USCG has a Reserve component, just like the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force.
I know the AF Reserves (and ANG) will send someone to Undergraduate Pilot Training, and maybe the Army reserves, but I don’t think the Navy, Marine or CG reserves will send anyone to UPT. I’m not sure. I believe they get their aviators from separating active duty folks.
The Air National Guard is much closer to the Air Force Reserves than to the USCG. The ANG is primarily controlled at the State level, but all flight training is through the active duty Air Force, the same as the AF Reserve.
If one were to join the ANG or AFRes, one could expect about two-three years of fully active service, 1 1/2 of that at UPT+, the next year+ at your unit doing training and seasoning. Then revert to Traditional status and return to your regular (or new) job.
If your long term goal is to end up in the airline world, and you think you could make it through the military system, I think the ANG or AFRes could be a great way to start and accelerate your progress.