Airline Pilot Central Forums - View Single Post

05-19-2009, 11:41 PM

#6

Adlerdriver

Gets Weekends Off

Joined APC: Jul 2007

Position: 767 Captain

Posts: 3,988

Quote:

Originally Posted by d22block

can anyone please give me any info on rotc for any of the branches--i am going to purdue in the fall and really considering about rotc for any of the branches

Quote:

Originally Posted by d22block

how long do you have to serve?
will you most likely fly when you are serving?
which branch do you think is the ebst from your experience and/or knowledge?
also what if i do not fly for the years i serve--wll i still have a chance to be hired by a regional?

thanks all!!!

I did USAF ROTC and flew F-15Cs.

Service requirements have already been covered.

You will fly in the USAF(or Navy/Marines) if you have a pilot slot when you get commissioned. If you don’t have a pilot slot, you will serve in whatever capacity you are needed. You may have to join and participate in ROTC in order to compete for a pilot slot and you may not know for sure your freshman year. I didn’t get mine until I was a senior.

Which branch is best? You’ll get as many answers as people you ask. The USAF has lots of aircraft, lots of variety in flying missions, minimal rotary wing flying, great facilities on the bases and you don’t spend 6 months gone on a ship. You may spend months gone to some contingency operation, a year remote in Korea, Iraq or some other garden spot. They all have their pros/cons.

You’ll find lots of thread on this forum with plenty of advice to folks in your position who have asked similar questions. Take a look.

Finally, do yourself (and others you may serve with) a big favor. Don’t join the military so you can get a regional airline job. If that’s your goal in life, get your civilian pilot ratings and get a regional job. You will not succeed and you will waste your time and that of your military instructors if your reason for joining is to pursue a civilian flying job. Not to mention, after 10+ years in the military, you probably wouldn’t be able to afford the pay cut to take a regional job after getting out.

To answer your last question: If you don’t fly in the military, you won’t get a civilian flying job unless you have flight experience. Why would they hire you coming out of the military unless you flew? The fact that you served in a service that flies aircraft isn’t going to matter to any airline if you didn’t actually fly yourself. This kind of goes without saying but you did ask the question. Maybe you need to re-phrase if that’s not what you meant.

Good Luck.

Reply