I am currently a junior in college majoring in a psychology degree. I hold a fairly high GPA of 4.0. I am 19 years old. This summer I plan on obtaining my PPL and racking up as many hours as I can so I go into the ANG with some experience. My overall dream is to become a pilot in the air national guard (fighters would be amazing but tankers is fine).

I just want some input from you guys as to what you did to get where you are and what I should do. Is there anything else that you would recommend me doing to further my future success?

What would benefit me most for a interview with the Guardsmen (i.e. private pilots license, bachelors degree, etc.)?



Another question I have is regarding eyesight. Right now I wear contacts/glasses and my prescription is -1.75 (right) and -2.00 (left). I am pretty sure that based off of this I cannot qualify medically to fly in the ANG. I have heard about the WFG-PRK eye surgery that is provided, yet I am only 18ish and that is way too early for major eye surgery.

Do you think I should...

1) wait for the ANG to assign me to get WFG-PRK (if this is possible what is the wait/chances of this happening)?

2) get the eye surgery now?

Or maybe there is some new alternative. Who knows. Just looking for advice from the friendlies out there. Any advice is greatly appreciated. And if you guys have emails and dont mind chatting back and forth that would be great! If you need anymore information feel free to shoot away.

Thanks.

 

There are a lot of great posts here (search function works great) and also on baseops.net regarding your question.

I'm sure you'll get a few spears thrown your way about the tanker comment!

 

Why a few spears? Flying tankers would be awesome! I didn't mean "fine" in a condescending tone. I'm sure both slots are just as hard to get. And I would appreciate either of them!

Sorry if it seems as if I am reposting certain things. I just couldn't find a solid answer on the eye surgery questions.

Thanks.

 

I'm 22 and I just got PRK 4 weeks ago to earn an OCS flight slot. The minimum age is 18 with most surgeons. The surgeon usually wants you to have a stable prescription, but it's at his or her discretion. I went in and was told I was a perfect candidate for PRK, so I suggest just visiting a doctor. Before surgery my eyes were about 20/70, and last week I was measured at 20/15 in both eyes. Truly amazing stuff, I highly suggest it.

P.S. I wouldn't bargain shop when it comes to eye surgery, go with the best surgeon in the area.

 

1.) Search baseops, wantscheck, etc - every process and question you may have is answered... in detail of each part of the application process. Research, research, research.

2.) Take the bull by the horns: Get all of your tests scheduled yourself, work hard in school and flying. Call each unit up, find out when they will have their boards and ask if you can visit and hang out.

3.) Don't act like a retard when/if you visit.

You'll need a Bachelor's (or close to finishing) to interview in most cases, some units also may require a private or better.

The application process is a marathon, not a sprint - keep that in mind. It's also a two-way interview... are these the people you really want to be around for a long time?

Average fighter unit may get around 200+ applications for 1 or 2 slots, out of those 200+ apps, around 10 or so are invited to interview (on average), and then 1 or 2 may get a slot. Some units that have certain other requirements (Private, etc) may not get as many. Each unit is different... some generally hire enlisted guys from the unit, some don't, etc... sometimes a new year is a new board.

If you're not selected to interview, don't get your feelings hurt... each unit is looking for something different. It's hard to say what exactly makes you more competitive than the next guy. Just keep on keepin on.

Finally, make absolutely sure it's what you want to do. The application is a marathon, and if you're hired.. it can take up to a year to get you in flight school.

 

First off, don't waste your money on getting eye surgery. Even if you spend a huge amount of money on the best surgeon, there is still a chance something could go wrong and you could have a negative effect that would disqualify you permanently from military flying.

You may think you are medically disqualified from being a pilot because you don't meet the 20/70 standard, BUT YOU ARE WRONG. I can say from personal experience because I am currently an Air Force pilot and my vision is between 20/100 and 20/150 uncorrected. I have a prescription of -2.25 in each eye. As long as you meet the requirements for an FC1A flight physical (which is Nav standards), which means 20/200 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 - then you are waiverable to FC1 (pilot) standards.

Basically it works like this, you apply for and earn a pilot slot. Then when you take your flight physical they will issue you a refractive error/distant visual acuity waiver. As long as you have a stable prescription and you have no other issues with your vision such as depth perception or color vision you should be fine.

As for the guard, I'm not sure how they would approach this situation. I'm guessing you would interview and obtain the pilot slot first, then worry about the physical and waiver later. My guess is they aren't going to pay to have every candidate they interview take a flight physical.

Bottom line, I obtained an active duty pilot slot and passed my flight physical with no problems. I wear glasses or contacts every time I fly. Don't waste the money or risk the laser surgery. Let the military do it for free once you have your slot, and your wings.

 

I'll reiterate what my fine aggie friend said---
DO NOT GET IT DONE PRIOR TO GETTING YOUR SLOT!!! It could possibly disqualify you from ever flying. The AF is a pain in the rear when it comes to medical stuff for flying. The last word I saw is that you have to go through the approved process to get the surgery, and quite frankly I wouldnt risk it if you want a pilots slot. You NEED to talk to a flight surgeon about this, not just some folks a chat forum.

Now once you get your slot you can work a process out with your units flight docs and they can get you through the process of getting the PRK/LASIK done. Until then DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES! They arn't that bad... I have had glasses most of my life and I fly in guard, without a waiver cause I am at the 20/70, but when I went through the flight doc told me that the eyes are some the easier things to get waivered if they are below 20/200.... And now with the surgery, dude you are gonna wait a year between getting hired and actually going anywhere, so once you are hired DO IT THEN!

Good luck with everything!

 

Alright... so worry about the slot and everything else will follow. I am planning my tour to the local ANG base and I will clarify with them there.

Also, this is just an opinion thing I guess but would you rather apply as a civilian with no obligations or go into the ANG, gain a couple of years of experience/respect, and then apply? What worked for you?

 

Another consideration before eye surgery: It is common to lose one (or even two) lines of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). This is due to the damage the surgery does to your cornea, and has nothing to do with refractive error (which is improved with surgery).

BCVA is the best you can see with or without glasses. Someone who has a BCVA of 20/17 and uncorrected 20/100 might get surgery and then be able to see 20/20 without correction. But note that this guy LOST one line on the chart...he used to be able to see 20/17 with glasses but he has lost that forever.

If you have an interest in civilian commercial flying keep that in mind, you need to be correctable to 20/20 in EACH eye individually. If you are 20/10 BCVA now, you have some wiggle room, but if you are 20/20 BCVA then the surgery may well take you out of bounds.

I think I was 20/10 at your age, 20+ years later I'm about 20/15 or 20/17 BCVA. So keep in mind that you may lose a little with age, and on the civilian side you need to make it to age 65

 

Thats very interesting Rickair777, I have never heard of anyones vision becoming worse after the surgery.