Q & A Forum

I'm a current ROTC cadet that just got an assignment to attend UPT at Laughlin later on this year. If anybody has any useful information about the base, instructors, or just tips for UPT in general I would greatly appreciate it.

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?…

Ladies and Gents, I'm currently active duty USAF. I'm doing my level best to earn a pilot slot. I'm not keeping my eggs all in one basket. I'm looking at active USAF as well as ANG/AFRES. I'm also looking at the USMC. I haven't heard a whole lot from the USN. I'm studying Aeronautics at ERAU and my grad date is April 2019. That would put me at 30. Before graduating, I'm looking at going to ground school as well as getting at least 10 flight hours under my belt to improve my PCSM score. This is the dream. All that being said, I could potentially transfer to another university that will potentially put my grad date in April/May 2018. But, haven't hear…

Hi everyone, new to the forum. I just graduated from UCT in Pensacola as a guard C130 NAV. Having spent the year on orders with all the active benefits I'm feeling like that's the best option for my family in the long run. Is there any conceivable way for me to go active duty as a guard NAV fresh out of school or maybe even go to UPT as an active duty pilot at this point? I do plan to start doing boards for UPT as I just got my PPL and my scores are very competitive. Any advice will help, thanks

Hey guys, a civilian here just a asking a question regarding security clearances. I would like to join an ANG unit but I have some concerns regarding the security clearance process. I married my wife who is from Ukraine about 3 years ago. We started the process right away for naturalization and residency, and we are almost at the end of the process. The question is should we wait until she is a permanent resident, until she's a citizen, or is it completely out of the question? Thanks

Hello All! This is my first post; please be gentle. I’ve been lurking here and at the AirForceOTS forums looking for a line on academics to study prior to UPT. From what I understand, you can go in without much prior knowledge and be fine. However, if there was ever a time you said to yourself, “Yeah if I had been habitually bored in the months leading up to OTS/IFT/UPT, I wish I would have learned more about ‘X’.” I would appreciate that insight! For example, this BaseOps link talks about academics covering aerospace physiology: Would reading the Handbook of Operational and Aerospace Physiology (that I rapid googled after I read th…

I’m currently in the process of getting my uniforms ordered by my unit before heading out to UPT but there are hardly any more sage green boots left from manufacturers. Are coyote brown boots authorized for flight suits?

Hey guys, I have just one issue concerning my transcripts. I have taken flight courses at my college to get my PPL and now working on my other ratings, but due to crazy weather and aircraft maintenance (The 141 program required that you did not have more than 7-8 days between training sessions, or you had to repeat the previous session), I had to get extensions for 2 semesters of the last section of private flight (Yes, I do now regret that I did not complete this on my own outside of the university.). I now have 2 F's on my transcript for (Private Flight II), but they do not affect my GPA because I got the grades supplemented when I completed my PPL and received an A for…

Is there a standard, generic nametag design/colors used for the flight suit? I commission in a few weeks and I need to get one made before I report to Altus. I saw this on the RamaWorld website. https://www.ramaworld.com/name-tags-1/squadron-name-tags/af-standard-name-tag-af-blue-bg-af-yellow-border-rama-world-inc Is this legit?

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 …

Hey Guys, I had a few questions regarding lifestyle after a pilot completes seasoning orders in a fighter unit. I figured having this all in one thread might make for a useful resource for everyone in the future to use. The situation would be that a new fighter pilot just finished seasoning orders, no AGR or full time spots are available, and the pilot has to get another job: How many times per month will your unit require you to fly on average while on part time orders (I am guessing 8-10 days/month)? If you commute to your guard base, will the USAF pay for your airfare to commute to the guard base every time u commute? (assuming you can not…

On average how many from a UPT drop rotary wing? Are those slots hard to drop/ highly competitive? Need to be top 3 in your UPT class?

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

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?

I'm gonna try to keep this short and simple. (little side note - I know I am shooting for the stars with those 2 highly competitive positions, I am just looking for advice as to where to put my effort and resources) I am on my path to PA school. Throughout my college career I made some serious soul searching and decided that PA would give me the best balance of stability, security, and satisfaction in a career. There's a whole another thesis that I could write as to why I want to pursue medicine, but I think most of our reasons are similar : understanding of the human body, making a difference in people's life, etc. Why do I want to become a military pilot ? I …

I am an Army CW2 UH-60 Blackhawk Instructor Pilot. I am a few years out from my service obligation expiring and am in the search for a career shift at that time. I am curious if it is possible to transfer to the air force to fly rotary wing. I am wanting to stay on active duty and fly black hawks rather than seek a guard/tech position. I am UH-60 A/L/M qualified, over 1000 hours of rotary wing time, and previously commissioned in the Army through ROTC. Does anyone have experience or know someone that does in this process? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

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!

Usually when it comes to applying to guard units, the common advice given is "cast a wide net." This is fine and I understand it. However, I'm very interested in a few regions of the country such as the Northeast, Great Lakes and mountain states. I've been only applying to units in those areas. I have hobbies I love doing and want to continue to do such as playing hockey and snowboarding. I also enjoy having four seasons and I look forward to winter. I've been hoping that maybe having certain hobbies that pilots in those units will too and it shows I can bond or click with them. It seems a lot of groups I am part of, people just apply everywhere and flat out say they don'…

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?

Hi, I'm applying for both active duty and guard/reserve (OTS and hopefully UPT) to maximize my chances of a pilot slot. But I'm a little confused on how it works when taking on both routes at once. It's important to note that I'll be 32 years old in September so I'm really trying to get a lot done at once. I took the AFOQT through active duty (99 pilot) . My recruiter scheduled it for me at a MEPS station. Now I'm ready for the TBAS. And the Medical. He can schedule the TBAS for me, at the earliest, for mid July. He told me that I'm kind of "locked" to the MEPS station I took the AFOQT at and he wouldn't be able to relocate me to another one without a lot o…

Looking for any 2.5ers who have 'graduated' and/or finished phase 3 and hit up the FAA for those Commercial/Instrument tickets. Any issues with the FSDO not liking the new syllabus/documentation? Trying to stick you with a ASEL instead of AMEL? Good gouge on what exactly to bring with (aside from the written test cert)? Thanks all.

Wondering if anyone has any gouge or experience with Border Patrol Aviation. A few google searches haven't given much information as their website isn't user friendly. Synopsis: I recently graduated from Air Force UCT as a qualified CSO. Shortly after graduation I came into some mental health problems and its looking like I'll be honorably discharged. So now I'm looking for a different job. I'be been looking into different aviation jobs that could use a CSO with not a lot of experience, and it's come down to flight planning or possibly Border Patrol. Pretty interested in their sensor operator positions as it's something I would be qualified to do. Some of…

Is AMS still a thing? Or do ANG pilot hires just go to standard OTS now? All the info I have currently found is several years old.

I have a quick question about flying for the regionals before joining the Air Force Reserves. I am coming out of the University of North Dakota as a CFII here pretty soon and the regionals are offering some pretty healthy sign-on bonuses and pay packages as well as cadet programs. Looks tasty to me, but I have always wanted to go the Air Force Reserves route. That's my main career goal is to become a heavy guy in the Reserves. Would it be a bad move to get my feet wet in the regionals as a line pilot before applying to the Air Force Reserves and going through UPT? Do units look unfavorably upon regional pilots? I talked with a reserve pilot and h…