Q & A Forum

With training it seems to be a 12 year commitment to pilot for the AF. Is it worth it? Is there a healthy balance for family life? Are you able to transition to guard/reserve a few years in?

Hey Gents, I know the RPA pilot is a frowned upon position in the Air Force BUT, I have a board this weekend for ANG. Anyone have any gouge on expected Q&A to help prepare for interview? Also (and separately) - any major general cons to consider (unrelated to career field) when deciding whether or not to leave ANG for IMA? Thanks!

I'm not really sure why I think I want to know the answers to these questions. Perhaps it's still my fantasy of being the next Tom Clancy. Question #1: In a flying squadron (or what AFI 38-101 calls an Operations Squadron), are there normally any officers who are not "rated" officers? Question #2: In a flying squadron, are there generally any enlisted personnel (other than flight crew) who are under the command of the aircraft commanders or flight commanders? (So, not people under the Ops officer, etc. See AFI 38-101 Figure 3.8) If yes, can you tell me about them? Thank you for indulging my curiosity, and I apologize if this is an inappropriate question fo…

I'm a cadet and I was just offered an ABM slot. I was just looking to find out the pro's and con's of becoming an ABM as well as any advice people have on the subject. So far, people have told me that it's a stressful job, there's low retention, there aren't a lot of civilian careers that can utilize an ABM's training/skillset, ABM's get deployed a lot. Can anyone comment on or verify any of these things? Thanks!

Does anyone know a good officer recruiter in Virginia, for USAF active duty? I keep getting routed back to a particular recruiter. I've worked with her before, and I want to work with someone else.

So I have lurked around this forum for a while and have never posted until I noticed this Q&A section, so I wanted to put my situation out there and see what kind of feedback I can get going forward. I read through some of the other questions but none of them really matched up to my situation, so any help that can be provided is much appreciated. I am currently an enlisted Comm guy stationed at Andersen AFB. I extended for this assignment and my DEROS basically matches my end of service which will be summer of 2021 giving me just under two years to get my ducks in a row. I’m about 80% complete on my degree, which I will obviously have completed by the end of this …

Pair of truly bizarre questions: could I go to: UCT as an AD 11x? (I get the "why the hell would you" is another matter) I'd guess most of the "well over 30s" in UCT are guard/reserve types like UPT. Is there: a.) a path b.) no path because no one has tried, or c.) no path because there isn't supposed to be one or could i go to: The Navy to be an NFO if I'm already a rated USAF pilot? I know their max age is 26 waiver-able up to additional 48 months for those in the military (I'm older than that). It's not a 1:1 change, pilot to pilot, so i would need their version of UCT correct? probably just have to keep being a pilot right? …

Going reserves from AD, wondering if I will keep my fly pay when i transition from RPA to manned? currently getting 700 bones a month, so hoping I wont lose it...

So on Form 24 and the AFOQT section, the category breakdown is Pilot, Nav tech, AA, verbal, Quantitative. However my AFOQT scores from the website has different categories, it's Pilot, CSO, ABM, AA, verbal, Quantitative. My question is what do I put for Nav Tech on my AF Form 24?

Hey Folks, I tried the search feature and could not find my answer. I have a fillable AF Form 24 pdf as well as an "example" that I found from a google search which has helpe me with most of it. However, section 17 asks for the "chronological statement of service and training in any component of the uniformed services (include service academies and preparatory schools, rotc, ots, health professions scholarship, etc)" Do they essentially want me to put my whole Army unit stationing and schools in these 5 blocks? Or do I put in the first block, "Iv been in the army for this long and currently this unit, and below are my most relevant schools for this pilot gig?…

I am coming from another branch and am having trouble finding out what exactly a Form 8 is so I can provide the equivalent copies from the Army. Can anyone give me a description of what this form is used for?

Do rated officers typically have the chance to attend AFIT with having to maintain ratings and proficiency? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello, My name is Savvy and I am 26 tomorrow I meet with a recruiter to discuss my career pathway to becoming an officer. I have a BA in English and an MS in Criminal Justice. I wanted to join Security Forces and maybe eventually OSI. I just wondered if anyone had any advice in terms of what my chances were into getting into Security Forces is and what kind of things they would be looking for in my background. I have never been in trouble but my family has and I know I was asked about going to therapy or counseling as well which has me a bit worried because I have attended it in the past.

Does anyone know the process to get a waiver I retake the AFOQT a 3rd time? I retook it recently and panicked on the math section and I know I can do much better. Just wondering if anyone has had success with this or knows the process.

So I am trying to submit a waiver to retake the AFOQT a third time to improve my AFOQT Pilot/PCSM score. The main acceptance criteria for a third retake I am trying to leverage is having "significant flying time" as stated in the AFMAN. I have 23 flight hours since I last took the AFOQT and was curious if anybody has any success with getting this waiver to retake approved. Any insight is appreciated.

Here's my situation: I'm currently ineligible to apply to AD UPT because I was previously an officer in a different branch and still hold a commission in the IRR. However, I have spoken with an AFR officer recruiter and have confirmed it would be possible for me to execute an inter service transfer to the AFR. Does anyone know if it would be possible for me to apply to AD UPT as an AFR officer? Another thing to consider is I would incur a 3 year obligation in the AFR and would need an approved conditional release to apply for AD UPT. The recruiter said these are almost always approved but I am naturally skeptical. Appreciate any insight others may have. EDIT: Just ha…

Hello aspiring AFRES pilot looking for some answers. I have a solid background in computers, and have started down the cyber security career pathway. I have an interest in joining the AF cyber team for the experience and training, but flying jets has always been a lifelong goal. I am attempting to have my cake and eat it too by having a civilian career in cyber as well as being a pilot in the reserves. Whom has a better chance of being selected, with all qualifications being equal, an AFRES cyber warfare operations officer or Joe from the streets? Would being an officer in a technical field harm my chances? What are some current study guides for the AFOQ…

Howdy all, I am a prior service infantryman finishing undergrad in a STEM field. I would like to commission to continue to serve the taxpayer, but also gain experience relevant to human spaceflight. Ideally, I'd like to find a sponsoring unit to send me to OTS+UPT. Then I would start a PhD program after seasoning and becoming MWS qualified. Some things I am curious about: Is there anyway to become a T-38 FAIP for Reserve/Guard? As a companion trainer for 'X' unit? Could I attend TPS as a civvie flight test engineer, even if I am a rated pilot in ANG/AFRES? Will there ever be an AFRES route to the U-2? NASA has been using another high-alt…

I'm preparing my application for a UPT position. I commissioned via AFROTC about 10 years ago, did my active duty time, separated, and am now looking to apply to the guard / reserves as a pilot. As part of the application, they're asking for a "Certificate of Air Force ROTC completion". I don't recall ever being issued a certificate for completing ROTC, and haven't found anything in all my military records. Has anyone heard of this, or know where I could get one? I called my ROTC Detachment, and they had no clue what it was either, other than possibly the AF 133 (oath of office). They provided me with a screenshot from one of their admin systems showing that I w…

This is honestly a pretty simple question, however a lot of stuff I've heard on this topic doesn't seem to be credible to me. Are ANG pilots eligible to attend TPS, and if they are how much of an uphill battle is it? Of all the test pilots I know, all of them did it through the AD (however I have a skewed sample of astronauts living right in Clear Lake within Houston). I am just curious to know if this is possible or not. Thanks! -Patrick Krueger

Long story short. I didn't grow up wanting to be a pilot. I didn't go to air shows. As a matter of fact, I have never even seen a jet in real life. I thought the medical field was my calling for longer than I can remember, so all my time and resources went into that. I am now in the second semester of college studying chemical engineering and wish to be a military pilot more than anything. Do I stand a chance with the other aspiring aviators that have been dreaming about this before they could even walk ? There is a whole lot more to the story but I thought it is not helpful to the opinions I am seeking. I have done all the research I could on the process of pilot se…

I will try to keep this short. I set out my goal to become a fighter pilot in the air guard/reservers no matter what. For me this sounds like a dream career with high rewards and no disadvantages. But what really flipped a switch in my head is this very meaningful conversation I had with an old Marine. It all came down to "Speed, guns, and bombs are all cool but are you ready to kill people?". I didn't really think that part through. I was always focused on the path to get in the seat of jet and even though it seemed nearly impossible, I knew I would have a lot of fun even if I were to fail in the end. But now I thought what if I actually make it through. Ultima…

Hey all - dumb question: when applying for an ANG unit, what should I put the required documents in? A manila envelope? I've applied Active Duty before, but this is my first time applying ANG. Everything was done via email for AD. Thanks in advance!

Is it frowned upon to apply to Guard units in a state you do not live in? I am really interested in a unit across the country but have never lived in that state. I would love to move there at some point, but I am hoping to apply to its upcoming board. Thanks!

Initially I had just intended on applying to my local AFR unit but have since found an ANG unit I am hoping to apply to. I have only been talking to the AF recruiter and was wondering if I also needed to get in contact with the ANG recruiter. I have the AFOQT and the TBAS completed already. Also, all of my LORs reference the Air Force Reserve and not the Air Guard. Should I ask my references for separate letters?