Originally Posted by
paulcg77
Yeah, I assumed if he was Army RW he'd have to repeat UPT. If he's an Army CW3 with a few years of rated 60 time and he gets out completely and applies for a job in an air guard unit, I assume it would be totally possible for him to get picked up, go to UPT as an O1 or O1E depending on his background, and then fly fighters. I think if he's young enough and has good FITREP/OER's and a proven record of getting through previous military training as a rated aviator and finds an air guard unit that likes him and he's willing to potentially start over (depending on his background), as you said, the sky is the limit.
In that case he's basically an off-the-street guard baby who has some really good previous relevant experience.
If you're an O3/O4, getting a transition at the same or similar paygrade would probably be near impossible. IIRC HYT limits are cumulative across all federal services, although that may not apply to the guard? So a 12-year O4 might only have eight years available to train and serve on the new platform before facing up or out... and it might be hard to compete for O5 while flying as a wingman when your competitors are dept head, XO, det OIC, etc.