Hello All,

I am currently working at the airlines and am interested in the Guard. I have an undergrad in Aviation and a Masters in Business. I was about to apply to Law School but decided to shoot in one app to see if I could get hired at the regional of my choice and did. Now that I have done this I don't think I could go back to flight instructing or Part 91 flying. I have always been interested in the military (my Dad was in the Air Force for 10 years) and Have done a bit of research. My main question is how long is training If you get selected for the ANG and what is the application process. Is there any way to apply to a specific unit or is it by state? Ideally I would like to go to law school and fly for the Guard, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hey man, I may not be of much help but I am in a similar position as you are. From what I gather the application process is similar to the Active Duty and the AF Reserve applicants. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the whole process, so all I can really do is give you some advice on how to find good information.

I won't be that jerk that says, "Have you ever heard of the search function." Cause that's super annoying. But something I didn't realize, at the bottom of the Military room there is a filter that (I presume) automatically limits to only the last month's worth of topics. Change it to all topics and you can then find some really good information. There's also some other good forums you can join and read (airforceots.com, baseops.net, wantscheck.com)

I also know how it feels to be overwhelmed with the massive amounts of information out there, and it's nice to just get a straight forward answer. I read this earlier this morning and it helped me wrap my brain around the process. It's geared towards an Active Duty AF pilot slot, but I believe Officer Training School, Undergrad Pilot Training, etc is similar for all 3 AF branches.



"In order to be a pilot in the AF you need to first get commisioned as an officer. To do that you need to go through one of the commisioning sources (AF Academy, ROTC, OTS). Lets say you go through ROTC. At some point you will have to make your desire known to get an Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) slot. EVery AF pilot (even if you already have civilian licenses) goes through AF UPT. If you are competitive enough to get a slot then after you are commisioned as a Lt from ROTC you will go to UPT at one of the training bases. Currently Columbus, MS, Del Rio, TX, and Enid, OK are the training bases. Some people actually do part of their training with the Navy in Pensacola but we'll keep it simple for now.

UPT is 52 weeks long. You will start off on the T-6 (T-37s are being phased out). Everyone flies that for 6 months and then you do what we call "track select". This basically determines who is going fighters, heavies, helos, and C-130s. You'll rank the T-38 (fighter trainer), T-1 (heavy trainer), T-44 (C-130 trainer), and the helo and based on how well you did in T-6s and how well your IPs like you you will get assigned one of those aircraft. Classes are normally 20-25 students. Most of the people get T-1s, 1 or 2 will get T-44s (C-130), 5-8 will get T-38s, and 1 maybe two will get the helo.

Lets say you get T-1s. You finish up the last half of the 52 weeks flying the T-1. Near the end of training you will get a list of all the available airplane assignments for YOUR particular class. This is called the "drop". For the most part the same types of planes are available to every class but the numbers and the bases they are going to vary. After you get the drop you will rank all of the available assigments on your dream sheet/wish list and turn it in. Once again your class standing will determine what you get. For heavy guys you could end up with a C-17, C-5, KC-10, KC-135, C-130, E-3, C-21 (I think I got them all). From there you graduate UPT and go to 3-4 months of training for your specific airplane. Now that you are a rated pilot in the AF you can work all kind of magic. You are pretty much stuck in the heavy community but plenty of people bounce from one airplane to the other (at least once). There is always the opportunity to go back to UPT to be an instructor too..."

 

Jones14: Great post!

I'm considering the Army Guard for the Warrant Officer program to fly helos. The process, from what I've read, is similar.

 

I thought I would add that you seem to have a very good, and rare, contact in your Father. I would see if he could pull some strings for you!

CapCarl, not sure if you remember me. I see I am not the only guy trying to flee _____ Airlines.

 

What Jones said was accurate however as an ANG stud. You wont have to worry about track select or assignments, it's already gaurenteed based on the Jet/RPA you're going to fly at your Gaurd base. But when I say gaurenteed that's only if you complete the required courses for your MWS. It's an amazing thing to be picked up by your favorite F-16 Gaurd base (if that's your thing) but that path has a string of gauntlets one must pass before they return to said Sq as a msn qualed MIG killer.
AMS - easiest course in the AF
1 yr UPT - Not difficult (perform in the top half of phase I/II to continue to T-38's. (not sure if that's a written rule or something we made up along the way)
T-38 centerfuge profile (not often but occasionally a dream crusher for many o' good sticks)
MWS Centerfuge (I've seeen FAIPS who have been G ing it for years not able to pull 9 and have to give up their fighter)
3 moths IFF (probably the biggest ball buster)
6- 9 months FTU.
dont forget your SERE tng and all that shize.

Here are the typical application requirements. Also after you get selected expect to wait to go to UPT about a year or so.

Your application package should include the following:

A. Resume
B. AF Form 24*
C. AF Form 2030
D. Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) scores
E. TBAS & PCSM Scores
F. One consolidated college transcript (unofficial OK)
G. Private pilot's license (recommended for UPT candidates)
H. Copy of last page of log book
I. Department of Motor Vehicles driver's record
J. Current letters of recommendation (5 maximum)
K. Electronic copy of application submitted via CD.

Application packages from prior/current military members should also include:

L. DD Form 214 for prior military
M. Last 5 OPRs/EPRs as applicable
N. Personnel Report (RIP) or equivalent

* AF Form 24 blocks: 3-8, 10-12, 14, 17-29, 31, 33 (if required), and signature/date

Good luck

 

I see your a C-17 IP.. I know you military guys are big on your acronyms, but I have no idea what the hell you just said...MWS? IFF? FTU? FAIPS? SERE? Please translate for us normal civilian people..

 

Sorry,

MWS - Major weapon system. Basically any aircraft in the inventory that's not a trainer. I know I thought it was funny too when they call a C-17 or cargo jet a weapon system.

IFF - Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals

FAIP - First Assignment Instructor Pilot (a 1st Lieutenant/Capt that will keep you from killing yourself)

SERE - Survive Escape Resist Evade (there's Land survival in NE WA state, water survival in Pennsicola FL, and Arctic Survival (Cool School) up here in AK.

FTU - Fighter Training Unit (also known as the B course)

Hope this helps. I think someone else already mentioned this but I'd agree there are better posts on this topic on baseops.net or wantscheck.com. Let me know what else you got, I havn't always flown the C-17

 

looks like I placed the Escape and Evade in wrong order.

 

Jones14 is correct in his post.

Think of the Guard and Reserves like a business when applying. You need to send in resume's, go in for interviews, show your face a bit so they can get to know you and all. The Guard and Reserve units are pretty tight, and they want people who are genuinely interested in being there. If there's a stack of 20 folks and only one slot, the guy whose been making an effort to "get to know" the squadron will win out over hours and such most of the time. Once you get hired into a unit, your future is all planned out for you. All you have to do is pass, get through the training, and get back to the squadron.

I'll tell you this from recent hires for our squadron; they are getting REALLY choosy lately. Being sponsored/hired by a squadron used to be all you needed and HQ approval was just a rubber stamp. Lately at the HQ level they are rejecting folks (after squadron approval) because there are a lot of really qualified people. I mean folks who scored well on the tests and everything have been turned down. There are only so many slots an so much money.

I'm saying this to recommend you do the best you can on everything leading up to you getting your appointment. Everything counts now a days and it's all weighed very carefully.

The nice part is you can apply to the unit that has the plane you want to fly. So do some research into what plane you might want to be a part of. Then apply to those units. If you can't get into one you want, make a secondary list of sorts. The trick is to get into the Guard/Reserves and get your wings. Then, after a while, you'll have some options to move around maybe. But get your foot in the door first.

 

Isn't that Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape?

Just busting on you. We do love our acyronms don't we. Heck. We could write hole sentences without using a real word!!

USMCFLYR