Easy question:
 

I'm 27 and a newbie at CAL. All civilian time led me to my job at the majors, I've never been in the military at all. Do I have any shot at a guard or reserve flying job on the side? I realize that's an unusual attempt, but if the airlines allow someone to retain seniority while away for that type of training, I'd love to give it a shot. Concerned about my vision though (I wear contacts) and can't see much of anything without them. Are there any waivers or loopholes in this, or should I just forget about trying to diversify myself a bit? It would be nice to have a new challenge and mix it up.:cool:

Search the board there's a lot of info already posted. You need to be in pilot training before your 30th birthday, so you're behind the power curve since most units hire 1-2 years out. Vision standards can be found online too. I wouldn't count on getting a waiver for anything these days since there are plenty of guys who don't need one standing in line.

Just curious why you would want to attempt this? What do you want to fly?

Bypass the crappy pay till upgrade rolls around would be one good reason.

I can think of lot's of reasons. Sense of patriotism, service to country, esprit de corps, and most of all...(drum roll here)...the chance to fly fighters.:D

...I wanted to know his/her reason. Just seemed late in the game to make a move like that.

There's always a waiver for anything. If it's your dream then go for it. We had a CAL guy in my air force pilot training class. He got hired by an F-16 unit from Illinois and wasn't from the unit or state. I believe he had some contacts within the guard wing though.

The Army Guard will waiver you out to 34-35 right now. Most likely you're looking at rotor, but it's challenging and fun. Since you already have a major job, USERRA will allow you to keep your seniority for the 18-24 months it will take to get through basic and Rucker. You have to factor in deployments 2-3 times as long as the USAF, though.

Thanks to all. As expected, various opinions prevail. Ha ha.

You need 20/70 or better uncorrected, and 20/20 or better corrected. Anything worse than 20/70 is non-waiverable and requires an "exception to policy." When I got into pilot training, there were 3 exceptions granted in the entire USAF, and they go to USAFA graduates as far as I know. As an outsider, it would be a longshot.

Also, the needs of the AF drive a lot of this - when I got into pilot training, the AF perceived a pilot shortage, so it was easier to get in. Now, they're still trying to get rid of people, particularly Lieutanants. It's cyclical, so in another 3-4 years, they'll realize that they downsized too much and open the floodgates again.

As far as getting hired by a Reserve unit, I'd suggest talking to a recruiter. Essentially, you'll need to get hired by them, have them pay your way through Officer Training School (8 weeks?), Pilot Training (1 year), and aircraft specific follow on training (3-6 months).

If you're still interested, PM me and I'll send you my recruiter's phone number (I'm Active Duty and separating in May to go to the Reserves and CAL).

Riddler