Best chance to pilot?

Pima said:
Notice my caveat stating it may have changed Stealth.

This also goes back to my point...things change, especially for the bonuses and commitments.

I remember when Bullet was young there was an upheaval because the commitment changed almost yearly. There were pilots that owed 9, and the next thing they knew the new pilots owed 8. There were pilots that because of their yr group got 100K and the next yr group got 125K.
~ Getting in the weeds here, but you know that bonus is not tied to commissioning, but winging. Wing in FY 15, and wing in FY16 will matter when it comes down to the fact if they change the bonus.

Timing is everything!

I would also say to brovol, I would throw any of this conversation of bonuses out the window.
1. Airlines will be hiring at a very high rate for the next 5-10 years, but for your child you are looking at 16 years from now when they can bolt.
~ Nobody saw 9/11 happening. Airlines took a huge hit and stopped hiring. The huge hiring rate is due to the fact that many of their pilots come from the military. The FAA requires them to stop flying at a certain age. Hence, right now they are losing pilots at a very fast rate because they took the bonus and retired out of the military, thus hitting the FAA age limit in the next 5-10 years. Now the military is throwing money hand over fist to keep the younger ones from going commercial.
~~ Commercial pilots is simple...line number. Keep your nose clean, and you will move from the right to left seat based purely on the fact of when you were hired. Very appealing to some pilots. No 2nd job like Stealth discussed. Commercial pilots are commonly referred to as busdrivers in the sky.
2. Nobody can predict the future.
~ Bullet checked the square for Gulf I, ONW, OSW, OIF and OEF between 1990 and 2008.
~ Nobody really believed that sequestration would happen, but it did and it is still in effect.

I am only a spouse, but I will say that if I was granted 1 wish, I would ask to turn back time and do it all over again without a blink of an eye. It is not only because I still have friends that I met in 1989 as an O1 wife, but because Bullet would come home and say...I can'y believe they pay me to do this!

Do not mistake this with the fact that it is a hard life at times too.
~ My DS (AF C130J pilot) was unable to come home for his grandmothers funeral.
~~ He has not been home for a Thanksgiving or Xmas since 2013. He will celebrate his 2nd wedding anniversary with his wife on a different continent.
~ We bought and sold 5 homes times in less than 13 years.
~~ By my count, we also packed and unpacked 250,000 pounds of household items over those 20 years. Don't even get me started on the damage/stolen claims! Basically, you just get to a point where you say...screw it I won't claim it because of the amount of paperwork required to get back the $30 crockpot that was broken.

In the end, for me is if he wants to fly, that is great. However, at 17 he has yet to think about being 30 with a wife, mtg, car pmts and kids in preschool. He is yet to think about the little things like the holidays. He cannot fathom any of it.
~ My DS did not apply to USNA or USMA. He wanted to serve, but not in a tank or on a boat, He would have been happy chair flying for the AF if he did not get UPT. He knew he could not say the same for the Army or Navy
~~ No offense to either branch. Bullet as an AF flier also was an ALO with the 82nd and went to CGSC at Leavenworth, so he also saw the Army life as a dependent child.
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Pima thank you for your unique insight. Pretty sure I know the answer here but which service is more likely to keep you away from home the most between the AF and Navy?
 
Both! It really comes down to the airframe for how often and the length you will be away from home.

I.E. My DS (C130J) will be deployed for 5 mos.. This is 1st deployment after being operational for @ 1 year. However, he has had many week long deployments, probably 1x every 5-6 weeks. So if you add those in he will be gone overall this year for about 6 months in total.

Now, Bullet flew the F15E out of SJAFB. You could expect to be deployed 2x out of a 3 year tour for a total of 8-9 months. However, besides taking jets to safety for hurricanes, they may have 1 TDY for a few weeks.

AWACS can be known to be gone 180-210 days a yr.

SO as you can see it would not be right to one branch over another when it comes to keep you away from home more.
 
Interesting. I assumed Navy would keep you away from home the most, at least in most cases. Kinda hard to get away for the weekend if you're stuck in the middle of the Pacfic.
 
It's a tossup between USNA and USAFA. Also, USMA does commission aviation students who choose to go active duty. One of my friends with whom I attended API and is a jet student is a USMMA grad. Also, consider the lifestyle you'd want. Being a USNA grad, I'm a bit biased, but my best buddy from high school went to USAFA and wanted jets but is a KC-135 pilot in Kadena, Japan. I'm a P-3 NFO and will be based out of Hawaii. Think about it ;-)
 
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