I know that I haven’t posted on this issue for a little while now, however I want to see if I can clear up some things quickly.

Again, thanks to all who have shed their wisdom on this issue so far.

So my question is this:

It sounds like you guys are pretty much saying avoid active duty like a plague at all cost?!! Is this right? Wow, I did not know it was that bad. You mean even the heavies don’t do a lot of flying, that they all have miscellaneous jobs that they do instead of flying, or are fighter/bomber guys faced with this more so than the heavies?

What if the goal was not to use the air force to get a civilian flying job later on, would you still be against it, against active duty??

I don't think I'd avoid it at all costs. Compared to a lot of other things you could be doing it's pretty good, but it does have it's own set of challenges. Most guys would agree that ANG can be a better way to go.

As far as the misc additional duties, there is essentially no way to avoid this in any branch of the military if you're a full timer. I think the ANG and USAFR full timer's actually do as much or more add'l duties as active duty.

I've also found that the USAF does a lot less in the way of additional duties than the other branches of the service.

If your only goal is to eventually be a civilian pilot, the active duty may not be what you want. You have to want to be in the active duty to "embrace" the challenges that it will throw at you. If you just want to get the training and fast track to the majors, you'll hate it the first time they send you somewhere remote for 45 days.

If you don't mind playing soldier through your 20's and early 30's then it can actually be fun, and you end up a pretty marketable commodity when you're ready to settle down.

Isn't it sad that so many of us think this. You are right though. The General who is a leader of men is rare and far between. Only met 1 or 2 in 10 years. Even the USAFR/Guard Generals are peckerheads for the most part. Sad. People like Dolittle are puking in their graves.

It was exactly the same in the Marine Corps, when I was in years ago. I expect it is the same today. I was a regular, joined as a cadet to fly airplanes. As I progressed up the ranks, it was evident that flying was a sideline, being a good administrator was the way to get promoted. Most of my buddies/squadron mates figured it out early and bailed. I was a bit slower, but finally realized that if I wanted to be a pilot instead of a desk jockey, the civilian world was the place to do it. Some things never change apparently. I spent 30 years at the airlines and enjoyed every minute of it (except check rides and ground school , of course).

I'm a pilot manning a desk with the Army in baghdad for 4 months. If that sounds like a good deal to you, AD is for you.

Oh man, I couldn't have said it better myself!

I will say this for AD though: I am getting a unique flying experience (when I get to fly, that is) by being stationed overseas (England), flying in challenging locations (Eurocontrol, Africa, oceanic), and upgrading to AC, all within 3 years of pinning on wings.

I am dreaming for the day when they let pilots be pilots for an entire career in the AD. Probably just a dream, though.

Hold on there. I wouldn't avoid active duty at all costs. I had 10 good years of Active Duty AF. I logged lots of flying time and flew all around the world and I still can't believe that Mother Blue gave me keys to the jet to do such things (What were they thinking!!!??) Everyone has their reasons for getting out. Mine were that I was coming upon that age where my bosses were looking at "career broadening." Between the lines, that means a staff job and then hope to get back into the cockpit (chances are high that I would get to fly again, but again, nothing is guaranteed. Needs of the Air Force...right?). The staff job with the very high probability of a 1 year remote, not too mention the multiple 120 day deployments I would endure over the next 10 years, were all reasons why I decided to get out. Sure, I'm giving up a very nice active duty retirement, but I hope to get an airline job in the near future and make up for the missed AD retirement. Additionally, I also saw the opportunity to fly the C-17, which is a kick @ss airplane w/ great dudes, such as MoosePileit and SPCIII(congrats on your SWA hire BTW) for the next 20 years.

The most important thing you can do is try to get your wings. If the active duty offers you a pilot slot, then you better take it. Likewise, if the Guard or Reserves offer you a pilot slot, than you better take it. Take the slot that is offered to you first because you never know what could happen. If you get an AD slot, then you will end up with an 8 or 10 year commitment. I don't know how old you are, but that 8-10 years can go by really fast. Who knows, you may really enjoy active duty and be a commander somewhere. In the grand scheme of things, it could be much worse than having the commitment, such as no pilot slot at all. Get your wings first and foremost through any AF commissioning source that offers it to you first. Don't take no for an answer either.

On a side note, Airlift and Tanker guys don't refer to ourselves as "heavies." If they fly cargo, they will say they they fly C-17s [Moose], C-5s [Fred], or C-130s[The Herc]. If they're a tanker guy, they will say they fly tankers. I don't know about those Gucci KC-10 guys, but they're still tanker pilots even if they can carry more pallets than we do on their skinny little landing gear and 12 degrees of bank in the overhead (sibling rivalry, that's all fellas....no harm intended!) I don't know of anyone in the military airlift/tanker community who uses the term "heavies." This is not a dig, it's a semantics thing.

Good luck and don't ever take no for an answer. There is a unit out there somewhere that needs a guy exactly like you to fly for them in their squadron.

Long time reader and first time poster. Just to add about the active duty Navy, this is exactly where they are going as well. Joint, joint, joint is the name of the game. It's very difficult to stay flying nowdays. I'm on my fourth flying tour and it is one of the main reasons I'm staying O-4. I'm going to try for a 5th flying tour as well. My last skipper had about 2000flt hours. The CO and XO should be the most experiened pilot in the squadron. He was experienced at joint tours not flying. He even requested to stop flying with the nuggets, even he knew he was pretty bad.

I have loved the Air Force, and no regrets about staying in. I'd advise anyone to sign up for active duty--if it's what they want to do. If you just want to get time for a civilian career, and aren't that interested in military flying, there are better ways to go. Guard and Reserve for starters.

OK, my .02 cents...having recently come from AD and now have been a member of the ANG for a few years.

1. AD is awesome! The flying is awesome, the instruction is awesome, the TDY's are awesome, and the intensity of the training is awesome. You meet some great folks and you meet some not so great folks - and the beauty is, the not so great folks move after a year or two. There is no stagnation...you pretty much get 3 years at a duty station (plus or minus a few months), and you're moving on. That sucks, and that is great...it works both ways. However, I will say, based on my opinion, the AD upgrades and instruction are very thorough and challenging.

2. The ANG is awesome as well! It is so great to get to fly airplanes in one location, focus primarly on the mission (flying jets and being combat ready), and not having to deal with the constant queep that AD is so notorious for. You meet a lot of great peeps and the beauty is, you get to stay with them for a long time. HOWEVER, the not so great peeps - well you get to stay with them for a long time as well. There comes in the double edged sword. THERE IS stagnation in the ANG...which can be good and bad. Continuity is great, but new ideas have a harder time rising to the surface. And the upgrades typically are not quite a stringent as the AD ones are, but are still very good quality.

The AD or the ANG is a win/win situation. Flying airplanes for Uncle Sam is something that not many folks get to do, and it is certainly a priveledge and not a right. Either path you go down, you'll enjoy. Just realize there are plus's and minus's to both...the grass is not always greener on the other side.