You are correct, If trying to get pilot slot, assumed one would never take the scholarship as it locks you in and then they can/will do the "needs of the service" Saw it done way too many times. Good point.

Clever bastages aren't they. Reason to NOT go ROTC anymore. OTS/OCS with pilot slot. Of course, as USMCFLYR points out, Saw way to many fellow PLC Marines 'NPQ' (Not Physically Qualed) after they were in TBS (The Basic School) , etc. If not commissioned, like Navy OCS, can quit, reqroup and try a Guard unit. Which is a great route!

 

In the USMC you can compete for a Platoon Leader Course (PLC - during college) or Officer's Candidate Course (OCC -end of college or after) aviation guarantee but it is extremely competitive. It will promise you (in writing) a SHOT at flight school but of course like any other program I've come across it doesn't guarantee that you will make it. When I went through (late 80s early 90s) if you did fail at flight school then you were just kicked out altogether; now I see more people being retained into other MOSs - especially Intelligence. Best of luck.

USMCFLYR

 

So you can actually see if you will get a pilot slot before you decide if you want to go to OTS? Doesn't that sound a little too good to be true?

Also, on wantscheck it says:
Your chances of getting a pilot slot (and a commission in general) out of ROTC are much better than OTS.
How much better?

If I went ROTC without a scholarship, I would have until the end of sophomore year to make a decision if I wanted to stay or not -- right?

Thanks for all your help so far, guys

 

All the services will generally offer guaranteed pilot slots to "walk-in" candidates off the street. Otherwise they would lose qualified folks who want to fly, but do not want to risk 4-5 years as a ground-pounder.

The walk-in slots are more competetive, but if your only interest in military service is flying, there is less chance that you will get NPQed and stuck on the ground. Why? Because there is less time for things to go medically wrong between committment and completion of flight training. Vision changes often occur during the college years. Ask me how I know this

I'm not certain today, but during my brief ROTC stint a non-scholarship cadet could participate up to graduation, and then decide to accept or not accept a commission...assuming one was offered. The scholarship people generally all get comissioned first (whether they wanted to or not) and then non-scholarships fill in the remaining need.

I'd probably go talk to the OIC of your nearest AFROTC/NROTC unit to get the latest.

 

It is true brother, I did it. I had my commercial single-engine license and a bachelor's degree. My distance vision was 20/40 and the AF had recently changed the pilot vision requirements to 20/70 correctable to 20/20. When I found that out I instantly called an AF OTS recruiter and told her I wanted to be an AF pilot. She asked if I would consider becoming a navigator, I actually laughed and said, "no thank you, if I can't be a pilot I'm not going to join."

I studied like crazy for the AFOQT, took the AFOQT, gave the recruiter a copy of my college transcripts, filled out a bunch of other paperwork, met with an AF officer for an interview, and then waited. About two months later the recruiter called and told me that I was accepted to OTS and I had a pilot training slot. I met again with the recruiter, saw it all in writing, and I THEN signed my life away to the AF.

10 years later, I have left active-duty and am now an AF reservist. Like I said earlier, go find a Reserve unit or a Guard unit to hire you and send you to pilot training.

 

So here is my two cents. I am an AD guy getting ready to transition to the reserves/airlines in a month, so take it for what it is worth. I did ROTC for three years. I hadn't planned on going that route, but it worked. I joined without a guaranteed pilot slot, but I figured I had a shot. Here is what I did to make sure it happened, if you do ROTC I would recommend the same:

Got really good grades. Granted, I was a history major. But still, get good grades whatever your major. Along with this, study for the AFOQT. Ace it, and that will go a long way to getting a slot.

Worked out like a mad man. If you can ace your PT test, that is huge. It shows commitment, and proves to them you are not a slug.

Worked hard in ROTC-did all the gay stuff from extra PT sessions to extra activities like flag details misc stuff etc... I didn't let it ruin my college fun, but I was in the building a ton my first year. I got noticed by the cadre, in a good way. They will go to bat for you if you try hard.

Did extra curricular stuff at school-played lax and fooled around a bit with student government. It looks good for you if you have some of this type of stuff.

So I busted my a$$ for a year, went to field training and then did my POC Jr/Sr year. Got the slot at the end of my junior year if I remember correctly, or maybe it was the beginning of senior yr, I can't remember.

Now, having said all this, in hindsight I would have done nothing in college but play. I would get a reserve/guard job and get the guaranteed pilot slot. I look back on ROTC thankfully that I was naive enough not to worry about the possibility of not getting a slot, and lucky enough to get one. Either route you go, good luck!

 

Sounds like you built up a lot of sexual tension in college. Must have gone to USAFA or better yet, BYU?

 

Wow - things really hinge that much on just the luck of the draw and what the USAF needs at the time? I don't like that whole luck idea, lol

 

That's also available for Marine Option NROTC students. I don't know how much it's changed in the last few years but for a while, anybody who qualified and asked for an aviation contract could get one.

 

Luck is always going to play a large part in how your life turns out. I didn't have the perfect ROTC life.

I was a History major with good grades (3.5 gpa), my ROTC commander tried to get me kicked out (really long story), I almost lost my pilot slot, I sucked at the PFT, but was a good cadet. I had, luckily, a Major that went to bat for me and saw in me the ability to be a good pilot.

I was naive enough to put my future in the hands of luck, but it worked out. Going on 6 years flying and have loved (the flying part) every second of it.

If you want more of a guarentee then go find a Reserve or Guard unit that you'd like to fly for and have them send you to pilot training.

Good luck with your decision