Becoming an AF Pilot after USMMA?

[MMA19kid]

Honestly, I think USMMA is amazing. However, I would also say I have been here long enough and what I have not read in any of these posts is simple.
~ To get a flight slot you must be competitive. To be competitive your academics have to be strong. I have read many times that the Sea year at USMMA is hard to say the very least.
~~~ Rated board for AF includes their cgpa and their TBAS score. It is putting more of a burden on them. For AFROTC that board meets their junior yr. For USAFA it meets the 1st few weeks of their senior year.

It is hard for a kid at 18 to decide what they want to do basically for the next decade. If he loves the water, and flying is a 2nd thought than go USMMA

At USMMA we go through a ROTC detachment at a neighboring school in the Bronx called Manhattan College. You can contract junior year or senior year, but I think they prefer contracting junior year, and then you start getting the stipend that contracted cadets get. USMMA mids don't do any unit activities with that ROTC unit, their staff just administers the process I think. Sea year isn't really hard, and the sea term carries less credits than academic terms, so its not that big of an impact on cGPA. USMMA has pretty low GPAs in general though, if you have above a 3.0 you're doing alright.

A couple years ago at graduation, the anchorman (last in the class), probably carrying a 2.1 or less went up to get the cash that they always give the anchorman and surprisingly he was wearing the Air Force dress blue uniform (not sure about AF uniforms). And he commissioned as a 2nd LT.

 

[KenJ]

From what I understand, each academy has 10 slots for flight school for each graduating year. Given that, I would say that the AF academy would be highly competitive. USMMA is not. Your chances of going to flight school are pretty high at USMMA.

This is not true. Slots vary by branch/by year and there is no way of knowing today what the situation will be four years from now.

This is totally erroneous. There would/will be be no USAFA the day after they decide to produce 10 pilots a year. As to going to USMMA hoping to become an AF pilot, I would not encourage. It's simply a bad fit. Your son should either attend USAFA or accept an USAF ROTC scholarship someplace. Good luck.

 

[luv2fly]

I agree with others. Every year for the AF they wing over 1100 pilots. @550+ come out of USAFA. Than @400 from AFROTC. The remainder are coming from OCS.


1. Yes, there is a pilot shortage, but understand that this airline hiring frenzy is expected to end @2020-2022. That means if it goes back to the early 2000s than they will not need as many, and that means more pilots will stay in the AF, reducing the pipeline.

It is hard for a kid at 18 to decide what they want to do basically for the next decade. If he loves the water, and flying is a 2nd thought than go USMMA

Pima, you're incorrect on the airline hiring frenzy ending in 2020-2022. The hiring frenzy will go on for at least 18 more years.

Luv2fly.

 

[valjester]

The Air Force is severely understafffed with pilots. I am a pilot for a major airline. Several of my coworkers who are recently retired AF pilots have been offered to come back to active duty. Reserve pilots are receiving the same offer. The air force has notified all of the service academies that they will take any students who want to fly. In addition the AF has taken a major step in pilot retention. They are creating a two track system. One for promotion and one for flying to state it simply. If you choose the promotion track, you will be required to attend the C&S and War College and do your tours flying a desk. The other. Track keeps the pilot in the cockpit. The chances of even making 06 with the pilot track becomes none existent. With the airlines hiring and the looming civilian pilot shortage, a large number of military pilots are taking the money when faced with a three year stint at the pentagon. One final note, a graduate of the USAFA whose class standing was seventh from the bottom got a UPT slot. That says much about the possibility of obtaining a UPT slot in the AF.

 

[Humey]

The Air Force is severely understafffed with pilots. I am a pilot for a major airline. Several of my coworkers who are recently retired AF pilots have been offered to come back to active duty. Reserve pilots are receiving the same offer. The air force has notified all of the service academies that they will take any students who want to fly. In addition the AF has taken a major step in pilot retention. They are creating a two track system. One for promotion and one for flying to state it simply. If you choose the promotion track, you will be required to attend the C&S and War College and do your tours flying a desk. The other. Track keeps the pilot in the cockpit. The chances of even making 06 with the pilot track becomes none existent. With the airlines hiring and the looming civilian pilot shortage, a large number of military pilots are taking the money when faced with a three year stint at the pentagon. One final note, a graduate of the USAFA whose class standing was seventh from the bottom got a UPT slot. That says much about the possibility of obtaining a UPT slot in the AF.

The thing is that AF has no shortage of Rotc, Academy and OCS people who want to be pilots. They have more than enough each year and turn away people who want it. The issue is that the AF has a finite number of pilots they can train each year . More importantly, the Issue isnt that the Air Force has a lack of 2nd and 1st Lt pilots , they have a lack of captain, majors , and Lt colonels who are pilots . That is why they are going after guys who left and are now working for the airlines . The AF needs Middle mangement pilots. If the AF wants to train more pilots each year, they need to open more UPT bases

 

[valjester]

The Air Force is severely understafffed with pilots. I am a pilot for a major airline. Several of my coworkers who are recently retired AF pilots have been offered to come back to active duty. Reserve pilots are receiving the same offer. The air force has notified all of the service academies that they will take any students who want to fly. In addition the AF has taken a major step in pilot retention. They are creating a two track system. One for promotion and one for flying to state it simply. If you choose the promotion track, you will be required to attend the C&S and War College and do your tours flying a desk. The other. Track keeps the pilot in the cockpit. The chances of even making 06 with the pilot track becomes none existent. With the airlines hiring and the looming civilian pilot shortage, a large number of military pilots are taking the money when faced with a three year stint at the pentagon. One final note, a graduate of the USAFA whose class standing was seventh from the bottom got a UPT slot. That says much about the possibility of obtaining a UPT slot in the AF.

The thing is that AF has no shortage of Rotc, Academy and OCS people who want to be pilots. They have more than enough each year and turn away people who want it. The issue is that the AF has a finite number of pilots they can train each year . More importantly, the Issue isnt that the Air Force has a lack of 2nd and 1st Lt pilots , they have a lack of captain, majors , and Lt colonels who are pilots . That is why they are going after guys who left and are now working for the airlines . The AF needs Middle mangement pilots. If the AF wants to train more pilots each year, they need to open more UPT bases

Agreed in part. Do you have an opinion as to why the AF is culling for cross commissioning from other academies? Are they filling all UPT slots?

 

[KPEngineer]

~ To get a flight slot you must be competitive. To be competitive your academics have to be strong. I have read many times that the Sea year at USMMA is hard to say the very least.

Its not sea year itself that is hard, it is fitting sea year into the rest of your course load which requires completing a Bachelors degree in three years and still graduating in four years that is very very hard.

Kings Point ... easiest academy to get into, hardest to stay at.

 

[Humey]

The Air Force is severely understafffed with pilots. I am a pilot for a major airline. Several of my coworkers who are recently retired AF pilots have been offered to come back to active duty. Reserve pilots are receiving the same offer. The air force has notified all of the service academies that they will take any students who want to fly. In addition the AF has taken a major step in pilot retention. They are creating a two track system. One for promotion and one for flying to state it simply. If you choose the promotion track, you will be required to attend the C&S and War College and do your tours flying a desk. The other. Track keeps the pilot in the cockpit. The chances of even making 06 with the pilot track becomes none existent. With the airlines hiring and the looming civilian pilot shortage, a large number of military pilots are taking the money when faced with a three year stint at the pentagon. One final note, a graduate of the USAFA whose class standing was seventh from the bottom got a UPT slot. That says much about the possibility of obtaining a UPT slot in the AF.

The thing is that AF has no shortage of Rotc, Academy and OCS people who want to be pilots. They have more than enough each year and turn away people who want it. The issue is that the AF has a finite number of pilots they can train each year . More importantly, the Issue isnt that the Air Force has a lack of 2nd and 1st Lt pilots , they have a lack of captain, majors , and Lt colonels who are pilots . That is why they are going after guys who left and are now working for the airlines . The AF needs Middle mangement pilots. If the AF wants to train more pilots each year, they need to open more UPT bases

Agreed in part. Do you have an opinion as to why the AF is culling for cross commissioning from other academies? Are they filling all UPT slots?

Because they dont have shortage of people who are coming out of Rotc, Air Force Academy and OCS who want to be pilots. That has never been the issue. The two big problems is that they dont have enough resources to train new pilots and the older pilots are leaving because of money, culture and how the Air Force treats it pilots.

 

[valjester]

I agree with others. Every year for the AF they wing over 1100 pilots. @550+ come out of USAFA. Than @400 from AFROTC. The remainder are coming from OCS.

JMPO, if money is not an option, and he def. wants AF, I would say go ERAU. It is for many reasons.
1. Yes, there is a pilot shortage, but understand that this airline hiring frenzy is expected to end @2020-2022. That means if it goes back to the early 2000s than they will not need as many, and that means more pilots will stay in the AF, reducing the pipeline.
2. ERAU has a strong AFROTC program. It has been for years one of the top detachments in the nation. I believe the AFROTC unit there is @250 +. Their claim to fame is that after USAFA they give out the most pilot slots. Understand that is number wise, not statistics or percentages.
3. Bonding. See number 2. Our DS went to another large det. at his det. 13 went rated. There are 4 UPT bases. He showed up at Laughlin with 3 classmates that were already in the UPT program(commissioned a yr earlier) and 2 more that would be in his class. He had ready made friends, plus the ones that were in the program could mentor and show him the pitfalls.
~~ Going to USMMA and commissioning AF will most likely mean you could be starting that bonding from scratch.

Honestly, I think USMMA is amazing. However, I would also say I have been here long enough and what I have not read in any of these posts is simple.
~ To get a flight slot you must be competitive. To be competitive your academics have to be strong. I have read many times that the Sea year at USMMA is hard to say the very least.
~~~ Rated board for AF includes their cgpa and their TBAS score. It is putting more of a burden on them. For AFROTC that board meets their junior yr. For USAFA it meets the 1st few weeks of their senior year.

It is hard for a kid at 18 to decide what they want to do basically for the next decade. If he loves the water, and flying is a 2nd thought than go USMMA

Pilot shortage to end in 2022? Not what my tea leaves are saying. My airline alone will turn over 50% of its seniority list of 15,000 pilots in the next ten years. The airline industry as a whole will require in excess of 75,000 pilots in the next twenty years. If you want an airline career, this is the best time in recent memory.