d22block

i'm still thinking about whther to go military or not--im in high school--would it be better to go through the military and fly--also are you guarenteed to fly in whichever branch you are in?

rickair7777

It depends.

If you join the military with a guaranteed flight contract, they will generally allow you to resign if you are disqualified from training. However, I believe that your dequal must be due to medical or aptitude problems, not attitude. If you try hard but just can't fly, they let you off the hook. But if you don't put in the effort, you might find yourself re-assigned to another military job. It would depend on which service you joined and their exact policies and needs at the time.

If you take a scholarship (service academy or OTC), you will be committed to serve for 4-5 years in whatever specialty you are assigned. Getting your choice is somewhat merit based (GPA/ class rank), but there are no guarantees...the needs of the military always come first.

Also, in all services except the USAF you have high odds of getting helicopters, which will not help your airline prospects much.

FlyBoyd

This hasn't always been true. The needs of the service will dictate if you are reassigned or "let off the hook." Early 90's guys went home. Makes sense if you look at the drawdown that took place. I have spent the last 8 yrs in the Navy training command and students that put forth a solid effort but failed to complete the program were reassigned based on how much the Navy had invested in them. USNA and ROTC grads are more likely to be reassigned while OCS guys had to ask to stay. Expressing a desire to serve in another field and getting what you want has been a mixed bag.

Bottom line..needs of the service...factoring in DOD investment and current political climate (size of military needed).

For more info than you can absorb...for USN/USMC see here Airwarriors - Powered by vBulletin and USAF see here Baseops.net Flight Planning and Aviation Weather. Please search, read, and lurk to avoid asking a commonly asked question.

Good luck!!

zach141

For the Air Force active duty:

Officer Training School pilot slot: Yes, you're guaranteed to fly, if that's what your contract says. However, I'd daresay these slots are quite limited nowadays. OTS (and available pilot slots) expands and contracts with the needs of the Air Force. My OTS class (1989) had 100+ aviation candidates. The class six weeks behind me had about five. If you're trying this route, make sure you're dealing with an "officer recruiter" in a larger town, not your local AF recruiter. Of course, by definition, OTS assumes that you're getting through college on your own, without any military scholarship.

AF Academy: To my knowledge, if you graduate and you're medically qualified, you get a pilot training slot. (Academy dudes chime in.)

College ROTC: They may "guarantee" a pilot slot, but I personally knew folks in college who had their slot taken away when pilot production slowed down.

As far as whether it's "better" to fly in the military? That's a whole other topic. Guard/Reserve/Active duty is a whole 'nother topic, too. Good luck, and good on you that you're trying to educate yourself on these matters at a young age.
Zach

Vito

d22block,

In a word NO, there are no guarantees. Even if you get a pilot slot, ou can easily wash-out of pilot trining..but it is worth it,

"Better to have tried and failed greatly, than to be counted among those cold timid souls who know neither great victory nor bitter defeat"

Sputnik

Generally true. However there was a period from 93-95 or so where slots were limited. And dreams crushed.

Granted, during that period there were no pilot OTS slots and extremely few in ROTC. So relatively speaking it was good.

Not sure it's still the case, but as a few years ago if you were medically qualified and didn't want to go to UPT you had to have a face to face with the commandant (1 star) and explain why. Met a few guys who did that, some got talked into UPT. A few liked it, a few quit anyway. Strange world we live in.

Planespotta

I asked this question a while ago on these forums, and the answers were pretty much the same.

At the end of the day, it boils down to the needs of the service. The general consensus I got was that you will get to fly more if you go ANG instead of doing AFROTC in college, and you can hold another job outside the military on the side. That, plus they will interview you and tell you off the bat if they will be able to guarantee you a pilot slot before they put you through OTS.

If you go to a college with a great AFROTC program and high pilot placement rates (e.g., Purdue has a placement rate of over 90%), your chances of getting a slot are very high; however, you will likely be flying a desk for much more of your mandatory commitment than a plane. You may not even get a pilot slot at all.

I chose to err on the conservative side, and will try ANG (or the Reserves) after college. Do what you think is right for yourself, and you will have no regrets.

KC10 FATboy

The military doesn't guarantee anything. And now a days, even if you went to pilot training, there is no guarantee that you'll be sitting in a jet while piloting it (unmanned aircraft).

The bigger question to ask is ... what are my ultimate goals? Do I want to serve the military because I want to serve and if I do, I'd like to fly? or do I just to find the best way to end up in a major airline some day?

Without a doubt, the military provides the best flying experience ... although most military flying isn't exactly airline flying. However, unless you long to be a military officer and are willing to say "yes sir" when the man gives you a non-flying assignment or an overseas tour in some crap-is-stan, DO NOT join the military. We don't need guys like that.

-Fatty