For what it's worth, I hope this helps someone, and maybe someone more experienced can shed some knowledge on me.
I was recently hired by the Guard to fly A-10s, and I definitely couldn't be happier, but my background is as an Army Infantry Officer. I found it really difficult to work the transfer process while on AD, and since I was already an AD officer, the AF wouldn't take me in the pilot program. I was able to talk to a bunch of units, but taking leave to go visit was nearly impossible because I was stationed OCONUS. I eventually had to get out of the Army entirely after my obligation was up, and go through the process from there as a civilian. First, I got my PPL, which I would encourage, because the Aviation Information portion of the AFOQT seemed to be pulled almost exactly from the PPL Written exam. Then I studied my ass off for the AFOQT, focusing on the MK, IC, TR, and AI portions of the test, since they directly influence the pilot score, and then went to a part 141 flight school on the GI Bill for my instrument rating, and those extra hours brought my PCSM up high enough that I had a competitive AFOQT and PCSM score. From there, it was revising my resume, visiting the squadron, and eventually interviewing. (it might not be the best advice, but I only applied with one squadron, because they were the only squadron that really felt like a good bunch of dudes that I could fit in with) I was hired about a month ago, and now I'm going through the effort of the paperwork to send me back to MEPS and getting reinstated. The forms are all simple enough, and the only thing I'm waiting for now is my conditional release (DD368) from the IRR. My recruiter has told me that since I'm already an officer with a security clearance, I won't need to go to AMS, and since I have enough hours, I shouldn't have to go to IFS, so the pipeline should be getting sworn in, getting the flight physical, and then reporting to UPT. (God willing)
It's basically just doing exactly what civilians do, but with a conditional release from the IRR. It's not the fanciest way to get out of the Army and into the Air Force, but it was the simplest for my dumb grunt mind.
For those of you who were Army guys before turning Blue, were there any things that stood out as drastically different from the Army? I think going from Army Aviation to Air Force Aviation wouldn't be too much of a change of pace, but I'm just trying not to get caught off guard going from Army Infantry to Air Force Aviation. The squadron seems to be a bunch of really cool dudes, so I'm not worried about the people- just the general climate change from one organization to another.
Thanks in advance, and good luck to my Army bros trying to fly in the AF!