robspenc

I'm currently a junior in high school and would like some advice on becoming an AF pilot. I have researched all the different options and I am most interested in AFROTC or the ANG. I am not interested in the academy because I would like a traditional college experience.

So here is the dilemma. I have heard the odds of getting a pilot slot through AFROTC are much better than the ANG. Though, I have heard active duty is terrible.

Which way do you guys recommend? What are the pros/cons of these options?

AirBear

I was enlisted in an Air Guard unit and tried to get a pilot slot after completing 2 years of junior collage. But there was too much competition from other enlisted with 4 yr degrees. My info is pretty old (older than you are even!) but the Guard usually requires you know someone to get something as highly coveted as a pilot slot. And if it's a fighter unit you have to worry about getting qualified for fighters in Pilot Training. If you're not judged to be fighter pilot material and only qualify for multi-crew aircraft then you're got to scramble to find a unit with heavies that will take you. Otherwise you could get the boot out of training. Again, my info is over 30 years old so things could have changed but I suspect they haven't.

After getting turned down for a Guard Pilot slot I applied to AFROTC and managed to get a pilot slot that way. Also got a 2 year ROTC scholarship which was nice. It actually worked out better for me this way since I wanted to fly heavies and my Guard unit flew fighters. I wound up in C-130's for 8 years and enjoyed the versatile flying we did.

I'll let others with more recent active duty time comment on pros and cons, but I suspect it's not that bad at the lower ranks. You might spend a lot of time away from home depending on what plane you fly. With a 10 year active duty commitment you'll progressively get more and more non-flying duties the longer you're in.

https://www.afrotc.com/about/service

https://study.com/articles/Become_an...eer_Guide.html

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.

rickair7777

What are your priorities?

Hell-Bent on Fighters: Take an AFROTC scholarship and work your butt off. If you don't get fighters, or a UPT slot at all, the you'll be stuck on AD for 5-ish years. Higher risk, but that's probably the best odds of UPT other than the academy. Once at UPT, you'll have to compete for fighters. This approach also works best if you really want a military career regardless of duty. Better resume, more connections, more military background in your education.

Military Pilot: Get a degree than apply to guard/USAFR units, and USAF AD. If qualified, this casts the widest net, and has the advantage that if you can't get a UPT slot, you're not committed.

Pilot: Get a degree than apply to guard units. Work on civilian ratings if you don't get a guard/reserve immediately, or knock those out while in college. Get a job at a regional as soon as you qualify. Your military and civilian careers progress in parallel... this is the best of both worlds, since nobody can spend their entire working life in a military cockpit (you'll be lucky to make it beyond 40 in the military).

If qualified, that casts the widest net, and has the advantage that if you can't get a UPT slot, you're not commuted.

Tweetdrvr

This is not completely true. Almost every state offers free tuition and books to its enlisted members at in state schools. This is on top of the post 911 GI Bill benefits and is ANG/NG only and not a reserve program A motivated individual can get a college degree in 4 years after basic.

If you do not get a ROTC scholarship out of high school, you can enroll in AFROTC and be in the ANG. It used to be that you couldn't be a contracted cadet (POC, which is post field training, or scholarship) and be in the ANG.

If that is still the case, and without a scholarship, I'd enlist in the ANG and try to get as close to the airplanes as possible (Maintenance, load master, or life support) because you'd be working with and for the people who award pilot slots. I'd also enroll in AFROTC. After you attended field training at the end of your sophomore year, then make your decision. By then you should have a good idea about culture of the Active Duty compared to the ANG, and an idea about which road offers the greatest chance for a pilot slot. Lots of variables there to consider. How big is the ROTC det? How many slots do they typically get per year?

This path was doable a few years ago, things may have changed. But getting a ROTC scholarship, signing a POC contract, or even getting an appointment to a service academy were seen as trading one commitment you may have had for enlisting in the ANG for another commitment.

Don't burn bridges, knock on as many doors as you can, and good luck. With the pilot shortage affecting both active and reserve components and getting worse in the next few years, there should be ample opportunities for a slot somewhere for someone who meets the qualifications, works hard, and stays focused on the goal.

robspenc

Getting college paid for will not be much of a concern. The colleges in my state all offer full tuition scholarships for the grades I have and my parents are very supportive. Therefore, I don't really see enlisting in the guard as being that beneficial. Also, I don't see the point of applying for an ROTC scholarship either.

As for air-frame, I would prefer fighters just like most people. But, after talking to other AF pilots, heavies seem pretty appealing as well.

Based on the information you guys have given me, ROTC seems to be my best bet. After all, if I don't get a pilot slot, I can always serve my commitment then train to be an airline pilot afterwards.

BeatNavy

I may be the minority, but rushing ANG/AFRC fighter units is your best bet imo. Get a degree and your ratings, start an airline career as you rush various units in your early 20s, and keep working towards both careers. You can be a fighter guy and a major airline guy in your 20s. Wish I’d known about the guard/reserve gigs before “college.”

bizzlepilot

Agreed. I commissioned out of AFROTC but if I had to do it again I would have gone straight to the guard/reserves and saved myself 11 years of active duty shenanigans.

Adlerdriver

It sounds like he might good to go making the “get your degree" part happen. But, "get your ratings" might be a whole other thing. Unless he's independently wealthy or doesn't mind racking up 6-figure debt, how exactly is he going to make that happen. And, why would he want to do that? One of the great things about becoming a military pilot is the fact that you don't have to pay for flight training. Why would you advise someone to pay for ratings when their goal is to get selected for UPT and fly in the USAF or ANG?

Being a competent fighter pilot usually means devoting a great deal of one’s early years doing that job to that one and only job. Talking about someone being able to be an airline pilot and a fighter pilot in their 20’s might be possible but it’s not common. New ANG fighter pilots spend several years getting experience and often take full time positions in the unit in order to accomplish that. If someone is truly set on using the ANG to make their way to the airlines, I think a heavy unit is probably a better option, IMO.

Back to the OP –
If you are going to pursue ROTC anyway, why wouldn’t you apply for a scholarship? The program is no different if the USAF is paying your bills or someone else is. Maybe the other scholarships you’re expecting could be used for room and board or other expenses.

However, if you really don’t need the scholarship and the ANG sounds like a better choice for you, then getting your degree without a military commitment may be the way you want to go. There are a lot of ANG unit out there and if you’re willing to cast a wide net and pursue lots of options, it may work out for you. The USAF does take college graduates right off the street, send them to officer training school and on to UPT (pretty much what you would be doing if you joined an ANG unit) – the only difference is you’ll be going on active duty. So, both those options would be worth considering after you get your degree just to keep as many options open as possible.

Just keep in mind – when you look at the hundreds of pilots trained each year by the USAF, a relatively small number of them come from ANG fighter units – or the ANG in general. Go after what you want, but the more specific you are in what you’re willing to accept, the smaller your chances are you’ll achieve it. The good new is, that the USAF needs pilots badly and probably will for the foreseeable future. It's a good time to try to become a military pilot.

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.