Air National Guard officer

[Calisurfboy1997]

Hope all you guys are doing well. My goal is to become a pilot in the military, preferably fixed wing. I was looking into Air National Guard and determined that may be the best route for me. However there was an issue when I contacted the recruiter earlier today. He said that I have to be enlisted first then from that point on work towards being an officer. I looked into this and thought that one can commission by going to Academy Of Military Sciences without having to enlist. Can someone confirm this or is the recruiter trying to feed me bs?

 

[Stealth_81]

You can apply directly to National Guard units as long as you have a bachelors degree and are physically qualified. There is no requirement to be enlisted first. You will need to do a lot of legwork and you will apply to each unit separately. This process also involves visiting the unit during their open houses or UTAs (with invitation). You will apply and then they pick a certain number of applicants to come back for an interview. These visits are on your own dime and you will need to do it more than once per unit since it can take years to get hired by one. If you get hired, the unit will send you for a flight physical, Officer Training School ( https://www.airforce.com/education/military-training/ots ), and then UPT. Most squadrons will only hire between 1 and 4 new pilots a year so the competition is very tough. A PPL has become an unofficial requirement to be hired, also.

Some units will give preference to hiring enlisted applicants with degrees from within their own unit. That is maybe what your recruiter is talking about. The units use it as an incentive for people already in the squadron. Some applicants will join the unit as enlisted to get one of those slots, but it not a sure thing and locks you out of other units.

Stealth_81

 

[Humey]

Dont think of the Natinal Guard as one big employer. Think of each unit as a separate business where you will not only apply for a pilot position as an employee but also show that you will fit in with the people already there. There is no reason to enlist. While it is true that some units hire within the unit, you would be limiting yourself to that unit. Instead you will apply to each unit you want as a potential pilot. I guess the equivalent of enlisting would be to get hired by American Airlines as a mechanic on the hope they train you as pilot in the future. Not enlisting means going to all of the airlines and trying to be hired as a student pilot (assuming that even exists)

 

[Tbpxece]

Also, AMS (and old style OTS for that matter) no longer exist. All three components' line officer candidates go through the same route now: Total Force Officer Training at Maxwell.