Paths to a fighter pilot slot from USAFA

Hello all,

This may have already been answered on these forums, however if it was I was unable to find the thread and would greatly appreciate a link or reiteration of the information.
I received a Falcon Foundation Scholarship for NWP this year and will, hopefully, be part of the USAFA class of 2017. My aspiration is to one day have the opportunity to be a fighter pilot. I read the thread on ENJJPT and found it interesting. I was wondering if someone would outline the different options that are open to me to become a fighter pilot and if there are any significant advantages or disadvantages to any of them. Your responses are much appreciated.

Thank you for your time,
Matthewmillr94

Well, do decently well, be medically qualified for a pilot slot.
The possibilities are
ENJJPT: very selective, everyone goes T-38s, usually get average-to-good T-38 drops.
Normal AF JSUPT: aka Laughlin, Vance, Columbus, try to track T-38s, then drop a fighter. You'll need to be in the top 10-20% of your class to have a good shot at -38s. You'll probably need to be in the top 1 or 2 in your -38 class to have a good shot at a fighter.
Navy program at Whiting: I'm not quite sure how their program differs...

Matthewmillr94 said:

Hello all,

This may have already been answered on these forums, however if it was I was unable to find the thread and would greatly appreciate a link or reiteration of the information.
I received a Falcon Foundation Scholarship for NWP this year and will, hopefully, be part of the USAFA class of 2017. My aspiration is to one day have the opportunity to be a fighter pilot. I read the thread on ENJJPT and found it interesting. I was wondering if someone would outline the different options that are open to me to become a fighter pilot and if there are any significant advantages or disadvantages to any of them. Your responses are much appreciated.

Thank you for your time,
Matthewmillr94

Click to expand...

The Air Force answer? It depends. There are so may factors that will be so far out of your control that there is absolutely no point in worrying about them. I'm sure you know the basic pathway after the AFA, which is UPT, track onto a fighter airframe, eventually get assigned an aircraft. There might be only a few fighter drops in your class, and they may not be the ones you wanted. Most of the advice you get now may not be applicable in five years.

Honestly, your goal right now should be to succeed at the prep and gain an appointment to the AFA next summer. A Chief Master Sergeant once told me that he did not join the Air Force with the goal of becoming a CMSgt. He always focused his full attention on the next rank. You will be given plenty of information on the different pilot training pipelines when you need it. Trust me.