Scout1969

I have been doing a lot of reading about flying in the military and going into the airlines afterward. I am currently in my second year of AFROTC at a large university majoring in Professional Flight Management. I am currently on the fence about dropping AFROTC, because I am losing interest and having a hard time trying to keep up with my fast paced detachment. I have a lot going on right now, including pilot training, regular college classes, and a part time job. Piling ROTC on top of it is becoming way too much for me to handle right now.

From a previous thread I made, some people recommended joining the ANG because you can serve and fly in the military part time, while also gaining seniority and experience at a regional airline. This was appealing to me, but I do not know a whole lot about going down the ANG road.

I would like to know what the process is to commission into the ANG as a 2LT and gain a pilot slot. What are some advantages and disadvantages of the ANG?

PrimalPilot

Here are my thoughts. I’ve done both full-time and part-time flying in the AF.

Balancing a full-time job and part time military service as a pilot is tough. You’re working a lot more than two days a month and two weeks a year. And your pace isn’t going to slow down after college.

I recommend that if you’re losing interest and having a hard time keeping up with your AFROTC Det that you re-assess you motives to be a military pilot (whether it’s in the RegAF or ARC). If you decide the military route is for you, then step up and make this a priority in your life. Between commissioning, UPT, FTU, MQT, and seasoning, you’re going to be putting forward a lot of time, energy, and sweat to make it through. It doesn’t matter if you’re RegAF or ARC. In the ARC, only after seasoning will you have the ability to serve part-time (you’ll initially be on full-time orders). And like I said before, your commitment is a whole lot more than most other non-flying traditional guardsmen or reservists.

People who aren’t fully committed to the endeavor do poorly. At best they wash out (while incurring a military commitment). At worst, they become incompetent military aircrew.

ANG and AFRC units vary tremendously (location, mission, equipment, culture). If you decide this is for you, start making phone calls to the units you’d like to work for, and start making visits to those units. The competition for off the street UPT slots in these units is very tough. Many will mostly hire internally (i.e., people that are already members of that unit). Understandably, most units are hesitant to hire off the street folks they do not know. The hiring process varies by unit, and they have differing hiring cycles. You’ll need to know from the units you’re interested about their hiring windows, and what their requirements are.

The most important part of this discussion is that no matter what you do, do not join the ARC (ANG or AFRC) because you think it’s going to be easier than the RegAF. And do not attempt to become a military pilot unless you are 100% committed and convinced that this is what you want to do. Life as a military pilot will not slow down after college. It can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. However, it’s a fast and furious. If you’re not committed, it’ll be a regrettable and miserable experience.

Good luck!

F15andMD11

I agree with Primal. The military may not be for you, you want to be an airline pilot. "Fast paced detachment," there is a reason for that, to get you ready for AF life. "I have a lot going on," many of us did in school. Reading what you're doing reminded me of what it was like for me at school. But I finished ROTC! Way worth it!
Its a common misconception that the ANG is easier than AD. Not true, in some ways its actually harder. I was thinking just this week that the pace of operations in my unit can't maintain its current pace, its nuts!

Adlerdriver

Sheeeite... You're still in? Did you take the standard issue walker or get something custom?

Sliceback

If you're getting your ratings already why not just go the pure civilian route? And you'd have several years after college to consider if the ANG is the route for you.

crewdawg

Agreed. Especially when they keep deploying us to sit and do nothing. Dudes are burnt out and tired of doing meaningless deployments. On top of all that, every TDY/TSP we go on, it seems like roadblock after roadblock to get anything done...to include getting paid after said trips. Just getting paid for a UTA/AFTP is a royal pain anymore (windows 10/Java/AROWS). Nothing in my 17+ years in the Guard has gotten easier, especially for the part timer. Camaraderie and being so close to 20 is about the only thing keeping most of the guys in these days (myself included).