Fighter Pilot Life

[Husky]

You can absolutely have a great family life and fly fighters…let’s break it down

All units have:

1) Local flying training: Wake up, fly around the flag pole, land, sleep at home

2) Local ground training and paperwork. Wake up, do paperwork, wish you were flying, sleep at home

3) Deployment. Take the mission to the enemy/Bring the weapons to the warfighter

4) Non-Deployment Operations missions. More on this…

The difference is the weighting/allocation of those.

– Fighter and Helo rescue units have a lot of local flying training

– C prefix have less local flying training but more non-deployment operational missions where they are on the road feeding the machine with logistics

– Guard/Reserve units have a 1:5 deploy to dwell. Gone for 3 months, home for 15 months

– My observation is that C-17/C-5 deployments are less common, however KC-135s and C-130s are deployed a lot

– Some Guard Units have alert, which is a non-deployment operational mission, where you’ll spend 2-5 days a month at the alert facility. So…kinda gone.

Now as a full timer:

In a unit like the Makos (93rd FS, F-16s, USAFR), which doesn’t have alert is going to be flying home station training for 15 months and then deploy for 3 months.

Now a unit like DC (121 FS, F-16s, ANG) They have alert, so you still have that deployment bill to pay, but also have the alert bill to pay (2-5 days a month).

Contrast that with the NY C-17s (105 AW, ANG), very little home station training, but you’re out flying all over the world. (Probably 1 or 2 five day trips a month). Usually they don’t deploy but they will go from time to time.

Speaking for myself I’m a fighter guy at a unit with an alert commitment. My wife works, we have three kids and I have way too many hobbies. I felt like I had a great work-life balance. Sure there’s times you are busy but I never felt like I was home any less than my neighbor who worked at whatever cubicle job he worked at.

Now…that said, there is a level of…intensity at a fighter squadron. No doubt.

Here’s what I’d recommend, visit as many units as possible so you can find your tribe. Ask them how many days they spend on the road. Ask them what their typical day looks like. And then just get a sense of where you fit. Do you like the intensity of a fighter squadron? Do you yearn to take the fight to the enemy? Or do you like the collegial, teamwork of a heavy squadron? Are you excited to have someone toss you the keys to a $350M aircraft and just trust you to get to Thailand and back? Eventually you’ll find a group that matches your personality and a home for life.

Parting shot – this has all focused on life as a full-timer, as a part-timer you may only spend a few days a month at the squadron. Happy to have that discussion as well.

[CHAOS]

Glorious rundown from Husky! Quick pile on…

One key thing to highlight is that while you can definitely manage work/life balance for a long career as a Guard/Reserve fighter pilot, the demand expected at first from a new wingman entering the fighter squadron (fresh from the training pipeline) is significant. There is a definite expectation that you will put in the work and long hours as the new guy to learn the jet, get comfortable/proficient with tactics, and upgrade through flight leadership positions. This can be a lot at the beginning of your career… (While not the only reason) This is one of the reasons there’s a bit of a tendency to steer toward younger guys in UPT boards at Fighter Squadrons.

Hope this helps!

-CHAOS