Originally Posted by cruiseclimb

Reserve and Air Guard slots are a different animal.. Usually they pick guys already qualified and getting out of active duty.. ESPECIALLY during times when the airline industry is bad. The furloughed mil guys just go back to their old units to get a paycheck.. We can cover that in another thread.

To get into the mil as a pilot, you have to go to the OFFICER recruiting.. not the general recruiter at the strip mall. He recruits for the enlisted ranks. They have been know to lie about getting you into a flying job. You need to go to what is called a MEP center. That's the regional recruiting office where officers are recruited. the first step is to arrange to take the written exams. Study up on some of the test prep books in the local library. Usually a two part test.. general math, english blah, blah.. and a flying aptitude test.. once you pass this they will arrange for a flight physical, put together and application package, then send it to a selection board. If you are selected, they call you and tell you when to report to OCS.. The officer version of boot camp. Enlisted go to boot camp, officers go to OCS.. After you finish OCS, you report to flight school which can take from 18-30 months depending on what you fly. Your commitment to the military starts when you get your wings. After wings you report for training in whatever platform you will fly (fighters, transport, helo etc)

Make sure you are applying to an officer billet, going to Officer candidate school (OCS), with a promise of flight school.. You should be talking to an officer recruiter for all of this.. Most branches want you to have completed OCS by the time you are 27 yrs old.