Originally Posted by
TS91
The main difference i see between the Reserves and the Air Force is that the reserves is part time. I also see that the reserves and the Air Force go to the same basic training and tech schools. Considering my goal to fly for an airline...eventually, would it be better to go into the reserves? The main problem i have is that my recruiter doesnt know, in detail, what the airline industry looks at when it comes to this.
Do you mean a military recruiter? They know nothing about airlines and should not even be discussing airlines with you.
Also if you are interested in flying for the military, you should be looking at ROTC scholarships or possibly a service academy. If a recruiter is trying to get you to enlist in order to become a military pilot, he is lying to you. The military does not recruit enlisted men to fly airplanes...you need to go to college and become an officer first. The only exception is the army, they will hire you to fly helicopters as warrant officer, but you still need some college (2 years?).
If you are considering enlisting in order to pay for college that's a different story, the new education benefits are pretty damn good. You will have to complete your enlistment, go to college, then rejoin as an officer. Just don't think you are going to go from boot camp directly to an F-16.
Actually the best path to the airlines (for many, many reasons) is USAF reserve or Air National Guard. The part time option allows you to get full military training at no financial cost to you, and then you can get an airline job and advance both your military and airline careers in parallel. If you go active duty, you will not be able to start in the airlines until your commitment is up...ten years later.
But either way, the military route is the best, assuming you are competitive and are truly interested in military service...if you are just interested in getting free training, it's probably not for you.