I have some questions regarding the lifestyle as a fighter pilot with the air national guard. What type of deployments can one expect? How long can you expect to be gone from home at a time? I'm sure it differs during times of war and peace... I would love to hear some experiences of what a typical week is like, how often you are home, how far from base can you live, quality of life, etc. Thanks in advance!

Dude its like Top Gun, but only one weekend a month. They just go out every now and again and dogfight a few dudes, come back, play some volleyball and slap each other on the ass. No big deal. Then go find ladies who lost that lovin' feelin'.

Haha, one of the best responses to a question ever on APC....!!!!!!!!!!!!

See, we know where the "wit" of the military fliers lies: the Army.

Seattle1, who are you looking at? Are they lying about standing up a fighter/bomber unit at McChord again?

not to hijack....

what is life like as an Army aviator?

only reason I ask.....just finishing the WOFT packet now

He pretty much hit(sts) the nail(sts) on the "cranium"!

I'm an Army Aviator and I'd much rather be some place else. Then again I'm not a Warrant. Great group of folks in Army Units, you get the ocasional idiot and a few know-it-alls, but Army Aviation is very standardized, very professional, and very rewarding. If you are flying, life it good. If you aren't flying, life isn't so good. If you have one aircraft, 28 pilots trying to fly said aircraft, work as the Human Resourse Officer and never had any training or desire to do so, and have a boss who seemingly hates his staff, then life is terrible.

Back to the original question...
Any F-15 drivers in the Montana ANG want to switch jobs?

You forgot the endless showers with other dudes.

on a related note, do fighter types have their helmets custom painted anymore? Or was that just a gimmick for the movie? I can't help but think that people would call you a dork for painting your helmet with some machismo artwork.

They don't in the AF but if I'm flying a fighter and you're not, I don't care what you(not you specifically) think.