You can definately join the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve with no prior active duty experience. Training will take 2-3 years of active duty, which will include at least one year at your squadron. Your airline seniority will accrue while you're gone...if you're an FO now, you will come back as a CA.


Rough Basic Requirements:

- 4 Year degree (good grades very helpful)
- Good Health, athletic to some degree.
- Pretty good uncorrected vision (20/70 I think).
- No serious background issues.
- Age 28-30 max when you start flight training. This changes, not sure what it is right now.
- Lot's of initiative.
- Helpful but not required to be a local boy/girl to the squadron you want to join.

These are rough requirements and may not be 100% accurate. See the military forum and baseops.net for more info. Expect to have to chase this down and make it happen...lot's of legwork (and paperwork) required, it won't just fall in your lap. You will need to talk to a special officer recruiter...the guy in the little office at the strip mall won't be able to help you, although I'm sure he'll try to sign you up for helicopter Mx or something.

The Navy and Marines don't hire reserve pilots off the street.