Originally Posted by RckyMtHigh

AD has it’s challenges, but I wouldn’t call it terrible. A lot of us look at how it’s changed and don’t particularly like a lot of the changes, but we’re grumpy old guys. Every career military guy has probably felt the same since the Roman legions.

Originally Posted by Adlerdriver

My daughter is where you are and is considering AFROTC. My wife and I both got our commissions via AFROTC.

A big question is are you looking for a way to pay for college. If that’s the case, AFROTC is a great option if you can earn a scholarship. It also gives you a way to immediately begin working towards a commission in the USAF. Yes, you will be going on active duty. As much as you hear complaining, much of that is being done by older pilots who are deciding to leave or stay on active duty after more than 10 years of service. Your first 10 years or so in the USAF, flying as a pilot are a pretty good way to spend your twenties. With the ROTC path, there’s also no guarantee you’ll be able to get a pilot slot. There’s more of them available then there will be at one specific ANG unit, so your chances are probably going to be increased. But, you do run the risk of graduating college, being commissioned in the active duty AF and not on your way to pilot training. I flew with guys who did their first 3-year assignment on active duty as a non-pilot and then managed to get selected for pilot training at that point. So, there are some chances even if things don’t work the way you want while you’re in ROTC. There just aren’t a lot of guarantees when it comes to starting down the road to earning a set pf pilot wings. If you really want a shot at them badly enough, you’ll cast the widest net possible, which may mean taking a chance via ROTC.

There is no AFROTC equivalent program for the ANG. You can’t join a unit as a 19-year old high school graduate and start attending college working toward a 4-year degree on their dime while also working toward receiving a commission as an officer. Someone wanting to join the unit as an officer and go to pilot training is typically going to show up after college with their degree already. The benefit there is, they either get selected for exactly what they want (officer training followed by pilot training) or they don’t. There’s no risk of getting stuck on a path you don’t want.

Another ANG option is you can enlist in the unit straight out of high school, go to basic training and tech school for your specialty and receive education benefits, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll become an officer or a pilot. At some point, with your foot in the door at that guard unit, you would need to make your desires known and hope to be selected 1) to go to officer training and 2) to get a pilot slot. It may come down to bad timing or perhaps someone above you decides you’re aren’t what they want or you simply get beat out for the few slots available by someone more qualified. The bottom line is, it’s possible you could end up as a ~22-23-year-old enlisted troop in your guard unit and not a newly commissioned officer on their way to pilot training. Not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe not where you really want to be.

An important factor in this discussion is the timeline for going AFROTC and going ANG don’t really overlap. If you decide you want to get your degree as a civilian and only focus on the ANG, you are pretty much ruling out any chance at ROTC or active duty flying. That’s because your application window to begin applying for a ROTC scholarship opens this June 1st. If you want to give ROTC a shot, that’s going to happen long before you ever get the chance to show up at an ANG unit (or units) with your degree in hand and begin competing for one of their officer/pilot training slots. ANG can also be an option far into the future if you decide to leave active duty. Many of us here took that route.

My suggestion is you focus your energy on the ROTC path for now. Doing that will not deny you the option to choose ANG later (assuming to you don't go ROTC) after you’ve graduated from college if you really decide that’s only path you want to consider. When it’s spring of your senior year of high school, you may be looking at the option to accept either a full ROTC scholarship or some other college path that doesn’t involve the military at that point. Remember that accepting a ROTC scholarship after you graduate high school doesn’t commit you at that point. You can still opt out after your freshman year of collage if you decide that’s not the way you want to go. Give yourself as many options as you can and don’t burn any bridges until it’s absolutely necessary.

Originally Posted by Merle Dixon

Adledriver,

See my post about the current Gaurd SUPT environment. Like I typed, we have tons of ANG students in SUPT right now with zero prior military service. Help your daughter bro, avoid active-duty, go Guard.

Originally Posted by kbay hombre

I was commissioned through Navy ROTC (NROTC) at a state university, not Air Force ROTC, but I can echo a few things:

- If you enlist in the NG (army or AF) in many states and you are attending a public university, you can often times get free tuition. My state (Maine) offers tuition waivers for enlisted guard. Also, I'm not sure if the guard offers this, but the reserves offer Tuition Assistance (TA) that can also pay for school.

- Biggest question is, do you want to fly part time or make the military a full time career? A lot of guard squadrons prefer to pick up their own enlisted guys who are a "known quantity" for UPT/flight school, so enlisting and then applying for pilot jobs in local guard squadrons after you finish college is a great way to get into a guard unit and do this part time. Conversely, if you want to go full time, ROTC is a better deal than OTS/OCS (post-graduation) in my opinion because ROTC pays for college. With that said, ROTC doesn't guarantee you a spot in flight school, so you could always get screwed and be stuck on active duty for 6 years as a desk jockey.

- If all you want to do is fly, and you don't care what, consider the Army/Army NG. You can fly helos without a college degree as a 20 year old warrant officer and do it part time or full time. I know two different active duty Coast Guard officers. Both are prior warrant officers who went straight to WOCS/flight school after high school. Both did their time in the Army NG and also got bachelors degrees, then applied and transferred to the USCG as commissioned officers full time. One does SAR/MLE as a helo (Dolphin) pilot and the other is a C130 AC at Barbers Point. My only point is, you can fly AND go to school at the same time in the Army and if you want to fly fixed wing later on you can transfer to one of the other services. Army pilots do it all the time.

Originally Posted by Merle Dixon

Hello,

I am a T-38 instructor pilot. We have tons of students, right now, in AF pilot training that are off the street hires. What I mean by that is, 2/3rds of our Guard/Reserve student pilots have no prior military experience. There are Guard units all over the nation that hire college grads that have some flying experience, send them to Officer Training School and AF pilot training.

My advice is hell no to AFROTC. Active-duty pilot retention is terrible and the AF is dying for pilots. Many ANG units need young pilots also. Avoid active-duty like the plague.

Get your degree and earn at least your private pilot certificate. While in college, contact every single Guard fighter unit in the country. Score well on the AFOQT and earn good grades, some Guard unit WILL hire you.

Originally Posted by robspenc

I know it's hard to judge, but do you think that ANG units will be hiring that much in the next few years when I am ready to apply?

Originally Posted by robspenc

Also, I am planning on getting my private pilot's license soon. Is it necessary/beneficial to do any more ratings such as an instrument rating?

Originally Posted by robspenc

I have not really considered the Army NG. Though, I am interested in flying helos. Is the hiring process similar to the ANG? Do they hire guys off the street like the ANG? How competitive is it to get a flight slot compared to the ANG? Though a degree is not necessarily required, is some college needed? I would want to get a bachelor's degree eventually. If I went the Army route I would probably only be interested in the guard rather than active duty.