Yes it's a totally different process and much easier to switch if you are already in.

To connect the dots for the OP....

If the #1 unit you want isn't hiring, #2 or #3 might be. Get in the door and transfer later.

Agreed. I did it. We had several guys come and go at my last squadron. It's usually not an issue.

Just curious how long did you stay at your first squadron? (generally how many years of service should you give the squadron that gave you a chance before it's "acceptable" to leave?) I would feel bad leaving too soon, esp if they had gotten burned by guys doing this in the past and had expressed this specific concern at an interview and you reassured them that you wouldnt do it...

but switching squadrons - in that regard, are the ANG and reserves interchangeable? how about if you want to switch to a unit with a different airframe?

Not sure what happened to my reply...

I was there for 6 years. We had a few guys there less than that. I didn't get hired with the intention of ever leaving...life happens, things change. Generally, it's not an issue.

I did a guard to guard transfer. It was pretty painless...though still took a little time. Guard to reserve would be more paperwork for sure.

Djrogs03:

I say the same speech to every new person who comes in the military thread looking for a better flying career.

First things first. In the military, you are an officer first, pilot second. What does that mean? Although on paper your primary job will be a pilot, besides that you will have a multitude of additional duties or other primary jobs that as time goes on will become more important than your flying career. That means unlike your job as an airline pilot where you will go home and are off work until your next rotation, you will be expected to work. And just because you are a pilot now, does not mean that Uncle Sam is going to make you a pilot. In short, if you aren't willing to be an officer in the military, doing jobs that have nothing to do with an airplane, and perhaps not even having the chance to work in a cockpit, then I say to you, please reexamine your desires of joining the military.

Second. Do you already have a college degree? Are you planning on ROTC or OTS? If you are planning on ROTC, you'll first need to get accepted to a school that has ROTC. As you hinted, if you are a scholarship recipient and/or you are in your "junior or senior" year of ROTC, and you fail to complete the program either by quitting, failing college courses, or for anything else thats within your control, you <U>may</U> be required to pay back all money you took from Uncle Sam and you <u>may</u> incure an enlistment of up to 2-3 years (in this case, you will not be a pilot). Does this happen? You bet. In fact, my best friend in college whose dad was a Col in the USAF quit ROTC during his senior year and he was called to enlist into the USAF and was made a finance technician.

You are correct. Your pilot training commitment does not start until you've completed training. Realistically, that is going to make your total time in the USAF roughly 10 years. And that assumes that all of your training and PCS commitments all line up with your UPT commitment (you will incure other duty commitments as time goes on -- look at it as a way of uncle sam keeping you longer).

Finally, you will not receive any retirement unless you serve for 20 years.

You're 24 right now. Assume you are 25 when you complete UPT and SERE school, you will be 35 before you could be released from active duty and that again is assuming that all of your duty commitments line up with your UPT commitmen. You would need to serve until 45 before you would receive a retirement.

If all those things aside, you're still cool with joining the military, go for it dude. You'll love it.

I appreciate everyones quick response...

If I chose to do the ANG or reserves how would I go about finding out if a certain squadron/base has any pilot openings?

Search baseops.net and wantscheck.com

Another free advice to throw your way...avoid TFI'd units... like the plague. Not so much the active associate units, but do steer clear of the classic associate units. They're part-time Active Duty, there's nothing reserve about it anymore.

If I had a decent civi job (one I could bank on not being gone tomorrow that is) lined up I would have done like some of the previous posters and jumped ship to a non-TFI unit already...Let me tell you, if your day to day money plan is set with a civi job and all you're trying to get out of this gig is doing IDT and going home, believe me there's easier places to go and burn 96 IDT and 15 AT periods than being some general's pet project at a TFI unit, at the expense of your flying and career. Go sail a boat with less flying, more AD qweep for the same 60% of an AD paycheck everybody else is getting....

I am sure this is very sound advice you're giving us, but it is all foreign language to civilians... "TFI, IDT, AT period, active vs. classic associate units"?!..??

djrogs, you can check the two websites Slice mentioned to see if there are any units interviewing soon... that page will have contact emails or numbers... HOWEVER many units dont advertise on websites if they're hiring or not. the way I did it is if there was a unit that I was interested in, I went to their homepage (just google it). sometimes the homepage will actually have a link for pilot hiring, but a lot of times they dont. so then I found the general operations number, then requested to be transferred to the chief pilot. they might not connect you to the right person right away but eventually you'll get through, and then you can have the chance to chat with the chief pilot and get the hiring info directly from him. they are usually very nice and helpful.