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ANG Pilot Paths?
Hello there, my name is Isaac, I am 22 years old, married with 1 kid.
I am very seriously looking into AFROTC. My dream is to fly fighters for the Air National Guard. I would very much appreciate any advice on ROTC and ways to get a fighter spot in the Guard from ROTC?
I have heard of a way from a friend of mine who is in UPT right now that tech school is worth about 2 years of collage credits if you go the enlisted route in the Guard.
I know it will be very tough and will require 110%. My wife and I have talked allot and prayed allot about this. We know there will be allot of sacrifices we have to make. I know we can do it.
Is there anyone with experience with ROTC with a family?
What is the best path to get a fighter spot in the Guard?
I will very much appreciate any advice!
Thank you so much!
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4 Replies
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Isaac,
Your desire to pursue ROTC in college and follow on to serve as an officer/pilot in the ANG/AFRES is doable but not the most common path. What do I mean by that? The name ROTC can be misleading…typically, ROTC cadets are training to receive commissions as officers into the Active Duty AF (the path I took, BTW). Choosing ROTC and then entering the Active component is a great path to achieving your dreams. After your initial active duty service commitment is completed (10 yrs after UPT) you can transfer to the reserve component.
There are ways for ROTC graduates to direct commission into the reserve components but these are small, uncommon programs and they require a unit to commit to hiring you ahead of time.
Now, you need a college degree in order to become an officer/pilot. There are several ways to pursue this:
1. Just do college normally/on your own and fund it however you can (scholarships, family help, working on the side, etc). Then, apply to ANG/AFRES units after college and, if selected, that unit will send you to OTS before UPT.
2. Enlist in a ANG/AFRES unit and use their tuition assistance benefit to help pay for some or all of college. Yes, some of your enlisted military training can count towards your degree but that really depends on the university and the degree you are pursuing. I’d recommend asking ahead of time where/how you might get more credits from AF training if you’d like to shorten the college degree requirements. Enlisted members earn part-time income, gain valuable military experience and can have some/all of their college costs paid for. Also, if the unit you join is also the unit you want to fly in, you can establish a foot in the door with the hiring teams before even applying.
I didn’t bring up your personal status (married w/ child). Regardless of the path you choose, you will be busy tackling these challenges and being a stand-up husband and father! I wish you the best.
Cheers,
Snip
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Thank you so much for the reply Snip! The more research I’ve done the more I see that AFROTC is probably not the best option. It seems like the best would be to enlist in the Guard and go for my degree from there.
I would absolutely love to be able to work on the aircraft I would end up flying. Currently my job is an airframe technician building an aircraft called the Kodiak. Would that help in the hiring process for a guard unit?
What other advice would you give to somewhere wanting to enlist in the guard?
Thank you!
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What’s up Isaac!
if you’re looking for ways to increase your chances of attaining a fighter slot in the ANG, working a job that gets you interaction with the pilots is great (crew chief, AFE, LM etc). Ultimately, they are the ones who hire you; the unit would much rather hire someone they have known for four years instead of someone off the street. just make sure you build a good reputation by being a bro and working your ass off.
reiterating what snip said, their are so many benefits like college tuition assistance, if the unit helps you – having a normal college experience – building relationships in the unit – since you have a wife and kid, staying in one place would definitely be better than AD’s constant moving etc.
just make sure you keep that GPA up!
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for the reply yahoo!
I just got into contact with the unit I want to work/fly for. Going through the process now. Just waiting on my MEPS stuff to get sent to the recruiter.
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