you are obviously too smart to be a pilot, run and save the UPT slot for dumber guys who can do nothing but pull on a yoke to make an airplane manuever through the sky.

Seriously, from a heavy perspective, you could probably do it, if there were no deployments. Most 130 units have enough local flying and one or two day weekend training missions where you could stay reasonably proficient by flying local training sorties (show up 3.5 hours before takeoff/msn plan/brief/fly2-2.5 and log two pay periods RUTA/FTP or GTP/FTP--don't worry about that until much later) two days per week or three days some weeks.

Having not flown fighters, but having been an EWO way back in the before time in B-52s, keeping current on all the threats, plus knowing all your parameters for weapons release, how to work your APG-xx air to air radar, would seem like an impossible task to chew off with grad school. Fighter guys please jump in. Albie/Magnum?

I will let the tanker guys and the C-17 guys chime in for their perspectives.

Whatever you fly, I would at least be a guard bum/reserve trougher for a good year after you come off your seasoning orders to get really comfortable in the plane and with the missions.

Good luck, it will be difficult. I have a friend working on a Phd program in physics. Now an O-4, been plugging away since O-2/O-3, but that is with lots of deployments.

One last thought, are you young enough to do the grad program first then do UPT? Would the slot still be available? There is a way too smart for pilots guy at Laughlin going through for UAVs now and he will work for NASA at the Ames research facility when he is finished with training.