Getting Into the AF After College Without Doing AFROTC

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unkown1961

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Oct 20, 2016
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Does anyone have thoughts on the likelihood of a college grad getting into the AF straight out of college without going the AFROTC route? Is AF manning at a stage where that route is viable? How about to fly? Thanks.
 
-Refer to >> https://www.airforceots.com/ and familiarize yourself. Didn't do OTS but I see that website mentioned regularly for going that route. Someone else here will most certainly have better info but I believe you are eligible to begin applying for OTS a sem/term before you graduate...i.e. eligibility opens up spring term for spring graduates...
-Flying wise, refer to the forums on https://www.baseops.net/ -- I believe there is a lot of talk on those forums about OTS grads going pilot in ANG or AFR...Compare stats, etc.
-No clue on manning #s but I'd imagine, given the new administration, more $$$ will allocated towards each branch.
 
We have a friend's DS that went that route. He applied for OTS for the July board as a rising senior in college. Found out right before returning to school in the fall that he was selected for CSO. The most important thing is to realize that if you want to fly you cannot just apply for pilot. They may give you a RPA, CSO or ABM slot due to the needs of the AF so you need to be willing to accept that too.
 
AFROTC is much more straightforward. It also has a lot more pilot slots available. If your daughter can, try to go the AFROTC route. Also, while its true that you may get RPA or ABM, when I saw the accessions for each rated AFSC (flying jobs) for 2016 most ABM slots were filled by Academy grads. There are way more pilot/CSO positions than RPA positions too. So at the end of the day, your daughter has a good chance for being selected for either pilot or CSO.

In case you don't know the acronyms:
ABM = Air Battle Manager (these guys coordinate Air Battles)
CSO = Combat Systems Operator (Navigator)
RPA = Remotely Piloted Aircraft (Drone Pilot)
 
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I would imagine you have to have a college degree to go OTS (you need one to go Army OCS). Why would you spend 4 years in college not doing ROTC and then roll the dice to see if there are still OTS slot's available. Attending college with the plan to do OTS when you graduate makes no sense to me...I don't usually comment on AF threads, but this one is kind of a no brainer in my mind.
 
My initial post stated a college grad going into OTS. But, the question is based on a grad weighing ROTC and going straight into the military vs. the OTS route after college which would also allow all career options to be considered and weighed along with a military career - a great job opportunity; grad school or a graduate program opportunity such as Truman Scholar or Rhodes; etc.
 
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