How to Become a Fighter Pilot
Have you seen Top Gun or any of the (objectively terrible) Iron Eagle movies more times than you’re willing to admit? Do you daydream of…
Tag: Air National Guard
USAF Initial Flight Training (IFT)
So you’re a freshly minted, steely-eyed 2nd Lieutenant that’s ready to dominate UPT with the highest MASS score ever recorded and eager start your new…
Surviving Wright Patterson and Your FC1 Physical
First of all, congratulations, you did it! Whether it was through ROTC, Active Duty, or the Guard/Reserves to fly fighters, heavies, or helos, you won…
Air Force Career Progression – Officer
We’re going to discuss career progression today. As a former Active Duty pilot, I’ll admit I don’t love this topic. You have to understand: I’m…
Understanding the Reserve Retirement System
The potential of receiving a pension is one of the many benefits of a career in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Understanding…
The Ultimate Guide to Earning a Pilot Slot in Air Force ROTC, Part 2
In part one of this article series, we discussed what Air Force ROTC is and what it is like. This article will detail how you…
Deployed Fighter Pilot Diaries
This article is intended as a follow-up to my previous discussion of deployments for Guard/Reserve pilots. While not every pilot has the same experience deployed,…
Military Leave on Probation
Feliz Cinco de Mayo, BogiDope readers! The following is reposted from the members-only TPN Community website with minor revisions. It addresses USERRA. If you have…
After UPT: Journey to an F-16
With 17 different F-16 units in 13 states, chances are that if you want to fly fighters in the Air Reserve Component (ARC–the Guard…
BogiDope’s Backstory
BogiDope is a proud sponsor of The Pilot Network, a community of more than 25,000 pilots working together to help everyone achieve their aviation goals.…
Coronavirus – How Pilots Can Make the Most of a Bad Situation
I’m not the sort of person to panic about the sky falling, but I will admit that I’m not sure what to make of the…
AF Squadron Organization – And Why You Care
Now that we’ve covered your career progression, both as an officer and as a pilot, we have some context for looking at how an Air…
Ideal Military Pilot Career Path – Making it Happen – Part 3
Welcome back TPN [and BogiDope readers.] If you’re just joining us, we’re talking about the ideal career path for military pilots. Go ahead and catch…
Ideal Military Pilot Career Path – Making it Happen – Part 2
Welcome back. This is the second part of a discussion on what I consider to be the ideal career path for a military pilot. If…
Military vs Civilian Career Path, Part 1
I can’t imagine a better career than that of a professional pilot. I’ve been places and experienced things while flying that I have trouble even…
UPT Requirements
If you are considering being a pilot in the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve and you aren’t coming from within the active duty…
Understanding the Commuting Lifestyle – Part 2
Part 1 of Understanding the Commuting Lifestyle generated some great questions and commentary for the BogiDope staff. We focused on the how to commute and…