Air Force/Navy Obligation
 

Can anyone out there answer the following for me? What is the obligation (years of service) for a graduate of the Air Force or Naval Academy? Also, what is the obligation (years of service) to go to flight school? Finally, about how long, on average, does it take to finish flight school? Thanks for your replies.....................

After graduating from USAFA, you incur a basic 5 yr commitment. Pilot training is one year, after which you will incur a concurrent ten year comittment. The average time to graduate is one year. Nobody graduates early, but a proud few take a bit longer. Thicker the gradebook, longer the experience.

Basic Naval Academy commitment is also 5 years. That is for pretty much anything except aviation (Surface, Subs, Marine Corps ground). Aviation has it's own commitment based on what type you enter. It used to be that jets had an 8 year commitment and helos and big wing were 7, but I think all pilots are now at 8 years. NFO (Naval Flight Officer), which can be in a few different aircraft, is a 6 year commitment.

Those are all based on completing flight training and getting your wings. If you quit or get bounced then you are still on your 5 year basic commitment from the academy. Flight school for Navy varies in duration depending on pilot or flight officer and then also by type of training. Jet training takes longer than helo.

I thought the basic commimtment was 4 years; but that was non-Academy. The standard Marine ground tour was 4 years after commissioning.

As for how long flight training takes - as CopperdOg said - varies greatly on the community; but for my time at least I was fairly average at 2.5 years from the start of the ground school until getting to a fleet squadron. I believe that the general amount of time has been reduced since they worked the bugs out of the single jet trainer program.

USMCFLYR

Is the pilot commitment 10 years?

Like others have said, for the Navy, the committment for pilot is 8 years after wings. Generally it takes about 2 years, give or take, for API, primary and advanced. Jets will take the longest with helo's being the shortest. So look for about 10 years total time before you can punch.

...and for the AF it is 10 years after you get your wings. Usually about 6 months to a year to get to pilot training + 1 year in pilot training gives you right at 11 or 11.5 years until you can get out.

Assuming you have no qualification (AC or IP school) or PCS commitments.

Thats where they get ya!

-Fatty

Or the always fun non-vol to a new (ie AETC) airframe which incurs a 3-yr ADSC.

In my case it was a big Thanks for the Extra Year Added on to my commitment!

Sir can I have another?

Pilot141, what's the deal with age 65? Isn't it a done deal? Next up is MPL.