Wow, I guess I miss out on all the good discussions at work! Dang you Pentagon Network Firewalls!
AFAMOM08,
First off, congrats on your son getting this far! I'm guessing he'a about 2/3's of the way through the T-6 phase since he's approaching the time to fill out his preference sheet. I'd be happy to give you my perspective on the differences between the fighter/bomber and airlift communities. Better yet, PM me and I can pass my contact info so he can call me direct if he wants (gets rid of the "middle man" that way)
Second, I'm sorry this thread got off track. Heck, it's a free internet discussion forum, you get what you pay for. That usually means dealing with opinions over the facts. LOTS, and I mean LOTS, of bad information and speculation being passed here. Done with good intentions perhaps, but just plain WRONG never the less. I will avoid getting into a mud-slinging contest (as KP correctly pointed out) and return instead to answering you basic question, but I might try to clear up some of the mis-conceptions being passed on.
OK, on to your question: “the pros and cons of each track?” and “would I do it all over again?”. CC did a bang-up job with the first response to your question. Allow a guy who spent a 20-year career as a WSO in the fighter world to add my $1.42 (this post will be long, so I had to multiply 71 x $.02 ).
I sat down over beers many a times with my Airlift and Tanker Bros, discussing the plusses and minuses of each other’s jobs. Quite frankly, a LOT of “grass is always greener” from both sides of the table. The heavy guys get jealous of the amount of “glory and prestige” the fighter (and bomber) guys seem to get, the amount of time we stay home compared to them, and the cool “missions” the fighter community participates in daily, both at home training and deployed. The folks on my side of the table were jealous that they got away form home station so much more than us, that EVERY mission of theirs was a “real-world” mission, with a real world focus, and without the “home station” nit-noid stuff we had to put up with. But you know what, we all realized that each of us had an important part to play in today’s battles, and without each other, neither could succeed. Then we would just sigh and drink more beer together, each side thinking to itself, “lucky dogs”….
Despite what has been said on here about flying skills, physiological abilities, and maturity levels at UPT, what it really boils down to are cultural differences between the two communities, and which one your son feels he would want to be of. His instructors at UPT have been looking at him and evaluating him from day one, they know what it takes for each community, both in aptitude and attitude, and will provide their guidance to him as well. They will also take into account his preferences, and let him know early on if they feel he is a right fit for his top choices.
But ultimately, it is your SON’s choice. You say he has always wanted to fly fighters. Why change that dream now? If he ranks high enough in his UPT class, he will have that chance to strive for that dream even farther. Where the maturity part comes in is if he doesn’t get that dream, either through performance on his part or lack of available airframe slots on the AF’s part. How he deals with that situation will demonstrate his maturity level. But let’s not dwell on that scenario. I say, if he always wanted fighters, and he has the shot, then go for his dream, and what I (or anyone else) says about the matter about “lifestyle” or “mission focus” or “days deployed” really shouldn’t matter a hill of beans.
As to your second question, I’ll keep it short. Would I do it again? Heck yes, twice over, in a heart beat! And for more reasons than I could list in a forum without crashing the thread.
In the end, the offer stands. PM me and I’ll pass my contact info. I’d be happy to talk to him some night or some weekend and pass my thoughts. I promise to be brutally honest about all the good and the bad from both sides. But don’t be surprised when he calls you afterwards and says “I want to fly Strike Eagles! They kick butt!”