[townaj]

But I want input/opinions/facts. I know there are loads of people in the armed forces on this forum, and I want to hear from you. I really want to be a fighter pilot, and I scored a 96 or 97 on my ASVAB, and have always wanted to fly. I drive by Randolph AFB every day and see the trainers flying around and I wish I was up there.

But is this a realistic goal?

Are the benefits (GI bill, military ID, etc.) worth the risk? I want to serve, but want to also be smart about it, I have other options.

My stepdad was EOD in the Air Force for a long time. Once he retired he continued doing that for civilian contractors until the day he died. I talked to him about it a little bit when I was younger, but now I'm serious. I am going to college right now for mechanical engineering, but its only my first semester. I want your guys' input on if it was worth it to you, how training went, etc. I don't trust recruiters, but I will go see one in the next couple weeks, maybe tomorrow and want to have straight up facts from people that have been through it. Thanks guys...

[98FireyGT!]

I had wanted to be a fighter pilot back when I was in high school, it's a great goal to have if you're willing to seriously bust your ass to get there.

You gotta have a helluva package to get into the academy, or else go to college first, get a degree, then go to OTS and flight school. You have to have NO 'handicaps'(perfect vision, color blindness, depression, add/adhd, NOTHING), no criminal record.

I had all my shit together and was just waiting for my letter of reccomendation back from the senator for my academy package and then found out that I have red/green color blindness, BOOM! Instant DQ.

They also found out (or tricked me into admitting it) that I have ADHD, during the interview they asked me how long had I been on Ritalin (I took it from 1st grade up until 7th grade). Not "Do you have ADD?" Just point blank, "How long you been on Ritalin?" Like a dumbass I didn't say I'd never taken it, I told them that I quit taking it, I ended up getting a waiver because they assumed with my GPA and the fact I quit taking it in middle school that I had been misdiagnosed.

Which was bull, after high school I found out I have ADHD, Bipolar, anxiety issues, so on and so forth...but they didn't know that haha.

But yeah, if thats what you wanna do, I say go for it! Even if you don't make it, all the work you put in will definitely pay off later in life.

[cale2006]

Originally Posted by townaj But I want input/opinions/facts. I know there are loads of people in the armed forces on this forum, and I want to hear from you. I really want to be a fighter pilot, and I scored a 96 or 97 on my ASVAB, and have always wanted to fly. I drive by Randolph AFB every day and see the trainers flying around and I wish I was up there. But is this a realistic goal? Are the benefits (GI bill, military ID, etc.) worth the risk? I want to serve, but want to also be smart about it, I have other options. My stepdad was EOD in the Air Force for a long time. Once he retired he continued doing that for civilian contractors until the day he died. I talked to him about it a little bit when I was younger, but now I'm serious. I am going to college right now for mechanical engineering, but its only my first semester. I want your guys' input on if it was worth it to you, how training went, etc. I don't trust recruiters, but I will go see one in the next couple weeks, maybe tomorrow and want to have straight up facts from people that have been through it. Thanks guys...

Great goal to be a pilot, you will have to have a degree or make a package for Butter bar training.....officer school.....best bet is to look into ROTC at a college, usually you will owe them double the years they paid for, but options always change.

There are age limits for programs as well.

There are medical clearance, sight, hearing, etc, etc

The air force is cutting its forces right now and officers are,getting the brunt force of it.

There are a lot of factors moving around that will effect your options

Go to the air forces main web page, get info.

It is a life decision, so make sure you want it.

By the way, nice scores on that test, your smart we could use you in our force

[BML99]

I'm going to try to get to my recruiters office this coming week to see how long of a wait I would be looking at. I've already decided upon enlisting, I can see it doing nothing but good things short and long term.

[cale2006]

Originally Posted by BML99 I'm going to try to get to my recruiters office this coming week to see how long of a wait I would be looking at. I've already decided upon enlisting, I can see it doing nothing but good things short and long term.

Ooo, you will def get something short and long....

[BML99]

Originally Posted by cale2006 Ooo, you will def get something short and long....

O.o

[98FireyGT!]

Originally Posted by cale2006 Ooo, you will def get something short and long....

[MyLILPwNy!]

Originally Posted by townaj But I want input/opinions/facts. I know there are loads of people in the armed forces on this forum, and I want to hear from you. I really want to be a fighter pilot, and I scored a 96 or 97 on my ASVAB, and have always wanted to fly. I drive by Randolph AFB every day and see the trainers flying around and I wish I was up there. But is this a realistic goal? Are the benefits (GI bill, military ID, etc.) worth the risk? I want to serve, but want to also be smart about it, I have other options. My stepdad was EOD in the Air Force for a long time. Once he retired he continued doing that for civilian contractors until the day he died. I talked to him about it a little bit when I was younger, but now I'm serious. I am going to college right now for mechanical engineering, but its only my first semester. I want your guys' input on if it was worth it to you, how training went, etc. I don't trust recruiters, but I will go see one in the next couple weeks, maybe tomorrow and want to have straight up facts from people that have been through it. Thanks guys...

I would say benefits are worth the risk. I haven't paid a doctor a penny in 4 years. If you want to be a pilot IDk how Air force works but if it's anything like the Navy pilots your going to have to be in damn near perfect condition. Like as far as eye sight and such. Also, I know that we have strict height and weight restrictions as well. Also, this is something else that differs branch to branch. Navy is downsizing hardcore so before you pick a rate ask to see quotas for that rate/ MOS. A big one, Make sure if you are promised something in MEP's they put that in your contract.

Navy boot camp honestly was a joke for some people. Although, if your not used to running, get used to it before boot camp or you will hate it. Worse part though is gas chamber I think, and even that's not too bad. Effects last like 10 min then it's over. But, I am going to tell you straight that it still sucks ass. As for like "A" school, or depending on branch, your job training. Dunno what other people call them. Be prepared to not be able to do shit like the first month. Most training commands are on liberty phase bullshit. Basically lvl 1 you can't go anywhere in uniform and you have a curfew and things like that.

Finally, the piece of info I think is the most important. DO NOT rush into it. Think about it long and hard (that's what she said ) Military life is not for everyone. You will work, and you will pull insane hours. Deployed I stood 2 6 hour 25mm a day. Got maybe 3-4 hours of sleep and still expected to be productive in my division. If you have a wife or anything, though not always true, just be prepared to accept the fact that you won't be able to see them much. I mean they usually good about holidays, but in cases like my ship I had just the right deployment and under way schedules that I have not been home for Christmas or thanksgiving for 2 years. And for the love of god, get good at ironing before boot camp. People get boned all the time because they have a shit looking uniform.

Another thing, if you think it is what you want to do, ask about Officer programs.

Not saying this is you, but just in case. Remember that everyone hates dirt bags, so be prepared to leave your College/ High school bullshit at home. Or else your tour will be horrible.

That's all I can think of right now I think I covered the majority of things. Not trying to scare you away with this but it's the truth. Also on a side note, Don't trust your recruiter to tell you anything. They are only out to fill quotas at times. Sry it's so long, I tried to hit and much as possible. Anything else specific you want to know?


Plus, just imagine going home and your best buddies are still doing the same old thing while you control Millions of dollars of equipment and you have been to a bunch of different countries.

[townaj]

Haha awkward moments in this thread already.

I've been pondering for about 6 years now. I'm 18 now so I've been thinking a long time. I'm only 5'6" and 135 lbs , idk if thats too small lol. I'm not married, just a gf who thinks going into the military is stupid as hell, but she can shove it. I'm not letting her control my future. I don't have anything super wrong with me, but my eyesight is a little off.

What is the training like? Like basic and the others....I really don't know what the other ones are lol

I just learned tonight that one of my best friends is going in to the AF to be a load master. Thats the second person I know doing that. I'm going to go talk with his recruiter soon hopefully.




Edit: I do has a tattoo, is that much of an issue?

[MyLILPwNy!]

Boot, meh not gonna lie, It was not as bad as I expected. If you half ass did things right, the most that will happen is they chew you out for the fun of it or make you do ridiculous amounts of PT. One day our chief told a guy to do 400 sit ups... Like I said ridiculous amounts. IDK about other branches. I mean Chair Force boot can't be too bad lol, and Marine boot camp is pretty crazy from what I have heard talking to the Marines when I was on my ship. And BTW, it doesn't matter what you call boot. Everyone says different names, like some people cal mine boot camp others say basic.

As for your schools after boot, I know we call ours "A" Schools, think everyone else has ATI or something like that. That always just depends where you go and what job you do. First time I went to A School I was in bum fuck Egypt in Marridian, MS. That was so annoying. Couldn't own cars so you had to buy stupid price to a cab to do anything in town. We had a curfew and had to wear our uniforms all the time. Most people still march, which to me is pointless. You are never going to march in the Fleet. But on the flip side, I am on my second "A" school now to change rates and it's awesome. I mean it helps that I have a little rank on my collar and my ribbon stacks make the instructors look like nubs. But even for new people It's not bad. After 2 weeks you can go out in civi's and go anywhere and the curfew goes away 2 weeks after that. I am sure you would have no problems getting into jets, it's only if your bigger than that I believe. Cause cockpit is not too big.

As for your GF, I had the same problem. I told her I am going on such and such date and she didn't believe nor did she want me to go. But I threw up dueces and flew off to boot anyway. Another thing I found out is she was going to break up with me anyway, lol. Yea don't screw yourself over a chick. Trust me, you want to be single in Spain if you ever get to go..

[townaj]

Spain sounds awesome lol.

Wow that would blow. I used to do 200 sit ups a day, 100 at a time, but push ups tend to kill me.

If I don't go AF I'll go Marines, but AF seems better for education, etc. I guess they try to make boot sound bad to scare people or something? That was the biggest issue for me was wondering if I could handle it or not, but I'm in good shape and all so it hopefully won't be a problem.

Lol I snuck in another question before you replied, what about tattoos? I know theres rules..

[101fng]

you know, the army has pilots... just sayin. they may not fly jets, but by god those guys are fucking AMAZING, like hanging-out-the-door-of-a-little-bird-picking-off-taliban-with-their-M4's-AMAZING. i've seen it. it's incredible. and rediculous. and it looks a little dangerous lol. but holy shit. they don't get the glory that fighter pilots do, but they deserve it. they're the first responders to any gun fight and they can single handedly turn the tide of a battle

army (little bird) pilots ftw.

AF pilots are cool. especially the A10 guys. the burp of an A10's chain gun is by FAR the most comforting sound in the world. it lets you know that bad guys are dying. seriously, the sweet serenade of that fart-like gun burst will put you to sleep like a baby's lullibye. ask me how i know lol.

and i can't speak for any other branches, but the army's regs on tattoos are somewhat lax. i got in with a tat right at the base of my skull (completely visible) and i've seen dudes with tats on their hands and fingers.

[MyLILPwNy!]

Tattoo rules in the Navy aren't to strict either. Well, I mean the way 101 explained the Army rules on them we sound like fucking Nazi's lol. For us anything that you can't see in our sort sleeve working uniform you are allowed to get no questions asked. If you can see it in that uniform, you have to send up a request chit and you have to be able to completely cover the tattoo with your hand. The chits 9/10 unless your CO is an asshole gets approved. There are also way around it, get a bunch of small tattoo the you can cover on your arms. Then route a chit to tie them together I guess if the word. Sometimes people shoot these down but I have only seen it get returned as a no maybe 3 times. As for you hands, forget it.

If you are worried about not being able to enlist because of tattoo's don't worry, Unless you have like a swastika or some crazy shit like that, they will not turn you down. They will simply write down all the ones you have sign a form saying you had them when you came in so no one gives you shit, then move along.

[Nateman15]

Okay, I'm going to have to put in my 2 cents, as you are thinking about doing exactly what I am doing right now. I was born to be a pilot.

To become an officer in the AF, you have 3 options. Air Force Academy, civilian college ROTC, or enlist and then go OTS.

I worked rediculously hard to get into the Air Force Academy. I was above average in every category. 32 on the ACT, tons of leadership and sports, maxed the PT test, I even had 2 congressional nominations when getting only 1 is a blessing. For the class of 2015, the AFA cut the entering class size by 30% due to force reshaping. I got told in person by Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins that any other year I would have easily gotten in. The average ACT score for C/O 2015 is 35.

So that dream got pulled out from under me. I was devastated. On to Plan B.

I am a cadet in Detachment 270, AFROTC Kansas State University. It is a ton of fun and is way better than I expected it to be. Your first two years, you are working towards earning a spot to go to "Field Training", or just Basic Training for AFROTC. It is extremely competitive right now. If you get picked to go to Field Training and graduate, you are sworn in and continue your Junior and Senior year guarateed a job of some sort as an Air Force Officer. Whether that is a Pilot or not is another thing.

Your senior year, you start the Rated Slot application process. You will take the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, basically just an AF ACT with some Pilot and Nav stuff. Your GPA and ROTC Class Ranking are a huge part of the scoring for selection too. Technical degrees like engineering and math get a break on the GPA. The average college technical degree GPA for our field training awardees was 3.3 while the non-technical was a 3.9. Serious stuff.

All of the other branches have basically the same system. Marines have to go through Navy ROTC.

I do know that you can become an Army Heli Pilot by just being a Warrant Officer. You enlist, without any college, and you will go straight to flight school if you get selected for the program. So that is always an option. I thought about it for a while but the Army is something I didn't want to get involved in.

I think the biggest thing is don't go in saying I only want to be a Fighter Pilot. My plan B career is a developmental engineer and my plan C is Space and Missiles. If you go through the whole process with the mindset of "If I don't get a pilot slot, I don't want to do it", you will never make it. Just food for thought.

Ill be watching this thread to see if there is anything else I can add. Feel free to PM me anytime, I have answer to 99% of the questions you probably have.

[Nateman15]

Originally Posted by 101fng you know, the army has pilots... just sayin. they may not fly jets, but by god those guys are fucking AMAZING, like hanging-out-the-door-of-a-little-bird-picking-off-taliban-with-their-M4's-AMAZING. i've seen it. it's incredible. and rediculous. and it looks a little dangerous lol. but holy shit. they don't get the glory that fighter pilots do, but they deserve it. they're the first responders to any gun fight and they can single handedly turn the tide of a battle army (little bird) pilots ftw. AF pilots are cool. especially the A10 guys. the burp of an A10's chain gun is by FAR the most comforting sound in the world. it lets you know that bad guys are dying. seriously, the sweet serenade of that fart-like gun burst will put you to sleep like a baby's lullibye. ask me how i know lol. and i can't speak for any other branches, but the army's regs on tattoos are somewhat lax. i got in with a tat right at the base of my skull (completely visible) and i've seen dudes with tats on their hands and fingers.

The fart of Zeus! That cannon will rip your eardrums out if your not ready for it!

[Nateman15]

Originally Posted by townaj Haha awkward moments in this thread already. I've been pondering for about 6 years now. I'm 18 now so I've been thinking a long time. I'm only 5'6" and 135 lbs , idk if thats too small lol. I'm not married, just a gf who thinks going into the military is stupid as hell, but she can shove it. I'm not letting her control my future. I don't have anything super wrong with me, but my eyesight is a little off. What is the training like? Like basic and the others....I really don't know what the other ones are lol I just learned tonight that one of my best friends is going in to the AF to be a load master. Thats the second person I know doing that. I'm going to go talk with his recruiter soon hopefully. Edit: I do has a tattoo, is that much of an issue?

Eyesight does not have to be perfect. Distance vision can be no worse than 20/70 correctable to 20/20. Near does have to be perfect without correction. There are also astigmatism restrictions. And you better not be color blind or else your screwed.

Field Training for ROTC is 4 weeks. Your not gonna find any basic shorter than that. But its basic training. Your gonna get yelled at. Its gonna suck. If you get picked for FT, the semester before you go is your Field Training Preparation semester, you work out alot and other things. Most people are pretty well prepared for it by the time they get there.

Tattoo policy is that it can't be seen in short sleeve blues. End of story. A sophomore just went and got a tattoo on her neck. Shes already gone.

[townaj]

Well I'm good for tattoos then. Its on one side of my chest so it shouldn't be visible.

Sight I should be good then. I have better sight up close, but was told I have slight astigmatism. No color blindness.

I'm good with yelling lol. Its only words.

Lmao fart of zeus, thats awesome. And yeah those A10's are fricking beast.

I think it sounds like ROTC would be my best bet...but I'm not sure. If I don't get pilot I could do load master or mechanic or something like that. A 3.3 GPA should hopefully not be too much of a problem for me.

Any tips for when I talk to a recruiter?

Thanks to all of you, for serving and also for writing so much. I will keep yall updated aas to what happens.

[MyLILPwNy!]

Originally Posted by townaj Well I'm good for tattoos then. Its on one side of my chest so it shouldn't be visible. Sight I should be good then. I have better sight up close, but was told I have slight astigmatism. No color blindness. I'm good with yelling lol. Its only words. Lmao fart of zeus, thats awesome. And yeah those A10's are fricking beast. I think it sounds like ROTC would be my best bet...but I'm not sure. If I don't get pilot I could do load master or mechanic or something like that. A 3.3 GPA should hopefully not be too much of a problem for me. Any tips for when I talk to a recruiter? Thanks to all of you, for serving and also for writing so much. I will keep yall updated aas to what happens.

Some people have had great recruiters. Some have had that one that would tell you damn near any bullshit made up lie just to get you to join. Mine were meh.... Tell them exactly what you want, research anything he tells you. Remember, a recruiter has no way to guarantee you jack shit. So if they give you some oh well you can get a bonus and blah blah, no that's BS. Only person that can do that is the guy in MEP's.

Out of all that, this is what I stress the most to anyone who asks me. Think of them as someone who cannot tell the truth. Everything is a lie until you A.) research it and find out it isn't B.) See it in B&W in your contract.

[Nateman15]

Originally Posted by townaj Well I'm good for tattoos then. Its on one side of my chest so it shouldn't be visible. Sight I should be good then. I have better sight up close, but was told I have slight astigmatism. No color blindness. I'm good with yelling lol. Its only words. Lmao fart of zeus, thats awesome. And yeah those A10's are fricking beast. I think it sounds like ROTC would be my best bet...but I'm not sure. If I don't get pilot I could do load master or mechanic or something like that. A 3.3 GPA should hopefully not be too much of a problem for me. Any tips for when I talk to a recruiter? Thanks to all of you, for serving and also for writing so much. I will keep yall updated aas to what happens.

A pilot is an Officer career. Mechanic and load master are enlisted. Hate to break it to you, but those are not very logical back up plans if you even remotely want to be a pilot. Completely different paths.

There are enlisted recruiters, then there are officer recruiters. Your gonna get different lines of shit from both. If it means enough to you, do your own thorough research.

3.3 GPA. Easy. Lol. You, sir, have no clue.

[graystang01]

If you do go enlisted, make sure you have a job before you ship off to boot camp. I don't know how many people I've seen join as Open and end up with a job they hate.