How close to the action/excitement are you in AF?

[Cactuswren]

Hello all! I'm trying to decide between USAFA and USNA, and wanted to ask: how close to the action are you in the AF? Are there many exciting missions, or is it a lot of training and transport missions? I'd really appreciate some responses from both those with experience with heavies and fighters in the AF.

 

[Devil Doc]

I have experience with heavies but not the kind you’re talking about.

 

[Casey]

Like any military branch, I would imagine it depends on the job, unit, and what politically the military is being asked to at that given time. All will influence where you’ll be, your training requirements, and what deployment opportunities you’ll have. What are you defining as exciting? Some of my most “fun” or “legit” flying (Army, not AF) has actually been stateside for different customer support events

 

[Cactuswren]

Like any military branch, I would imagine it depends on the job, unit, and what politically the military is being asked to at that given time. All will influence where you’ll be, your training requirements, and what deployment opportunities you’ll have. What are you defining as exciting? Some of my most “fun” or “legit” flying (Army, not AF) has actually been stateside for different customer support events

I suppose I would define it as making a difference. If I'm stuck training and just flying to keep current, I'll feel like I'd be put to better use somewhere else.

 

[Thunderbolt462]

99% of what you're gonna do is training. There's no way around it. That 1% you see in the movies or on Instagram is the result of all that, but they're not gonna show that because it's not exciting. When you see an F-16 pilot put a bomb through a bad guy's front door, that split second of excitement is the result of four years of college, almost a half decade or more of courses and classes, thousands of training sorties, and hundreds of hours of briefings and debriefings. After he or she gets back, it's gonna be more hours of debriefings then potentially years and years of additional training before he or she gets to do it again.

This is gonna sound harsh, but if you hate training, just don't even join the military.

 

[Casey]

I suppose I would define it as making a difference. If I'm stuck training and just flying to keep current, I'll feel like I'd be put to better use somewhere else.

The cliche but very true statement is every mission set is important. There are some that are much more tangible to see the impact you’re having on the guys on the ground (attack comes to mind) but the less “sexy” mission sets are just as important to keep the military functioning.

The good thing about airframe communities is that when you get into it, almost without exception, even if it wasn’t your first choice during selection, you’ll end up indoctrinated into thinking your airframe is the best one to fly.

The other reality is that deployments are drying up. Our military will continue to operate overseas, but the shape of what that looks like and where at constantly shifts depending on politically what we are being asked to support. Training to get better so that we’re ready to deploy at a moment’s notice somewhere to do what the country needs us to do and build relationships with our ground customers that we support is always going to be a reality, and like I said, some of my most fun flying has been either stateside or in a non combat environment overseas even though it was all “training.”

I’m not saying you don’t have a valid point for asking. The chance for having a real world mission outside of combat is actually one of the reasons I didn’t go attack because I wanted to make a difference. My airframe provides the opportunity for humanitarian work domestically that I’ve had the chance to do that gave me a real job even when we were training at home station.

I would focus on doing well to get to the point you can make your best bet at choosing the mission set you’re looking for. I would just caution you though that life as a pilot isn’t like Top Gun or similar portrayals. The majority of your time, in the current state of affairs, will be training based and your chance of getting into a dogfight somewhere, unless we kick off a hot war somewhere that I really don’t want to go in the next decade, are pretty nonexistent

 

[Devil Doc]

I suppose I would define it as making a difference. If I'm stuck training and just flying to keep current, I'll feel like I'd be put to better use somewhere else.

Do you not realize how this sounds?

 

[Heatherg21]

A recent conversation over in the USCGA thread brought up buoy cleaning and that it may not be glamorous. But damn those clean buoys sure do keep ships off the rocks and in their proper lane. Never mind some of them relaying sea temperature, air temperature, barometric temperature, sea height, average wave timing, etc., that sounds like pretty important work to me.

All jobs are essential, regardless of what the current media may tell you, and they aren't all super glitzy, but I am grateful for all of those in uniform who do their jobs.

 

[Cactuswren]

The cliche but very true statement is every mission set is important. There are some that are much more tangible to see the impact you’re having on the guys on the ground (attack comes to mind) but the less “sexy” mission sets are just as important to keep the military functioning.

The good thing about airframe communities is that when you get into it, almost without exception, even if it wasn’t your first choice during selection, you’ll end up indoctrinated into thinking your airframe is the best one to fly.

The other reality is that deployments are drying up. Our military will continue to operate overseas, but the shape of what that looks like and where at constantly shifts depending on politically what we are being asked to support. Training to get better so that we’re ready to deploy at a moment’s notice somewhere to do what the country needs us to do and build relationships with our ground customers that we support is always going to be a reality, and like I said, some of my most fun flying has been either stateside or in a non combat environment overseas even though it was all “training.”

I’m not saying you don’t have a valid point for asking. The chance for having a real world mission outside of combat is actually one of the reasons I didn’t go attack because I wanted to make a difference. My airframe provides the opportunity for humanitarian work domestically that I’ve had the chance to do that gave me a real job even when we were training at home station.

I would focus on doing well to get to the point you can make your best bet at choosing the mission set you’re looking for. I would just caution you though that life as a pilot isn’t like Top Gun or similar portrayals. The majority of your time, in the current state of affairs, will be training based and your chance of getting into a dogfight somewhere, unless we kick off a hot war somewhere that I really don’t want to go in the next decade, are pretty nonexistent

I realize that I didn't communicate that very well- my apologies. Thank you for your response and insight!

 

[Casey]

I realize that I didn't communicate that very well- my apologies. Thank you for your response and insight!

No worries. If I could do things over, I would be an A-10 pilot. Since I can’t, I’ll stick to the Black Hawk which does some pretty cool things in its own right stateside and abroad. Research mission sets and think what best fits your personality and go from there. It’ll probably make you happier in the long run

 

[Cactuswren]

I suppose I would define it as making a difference. If I'm stuck training and just flying to keep current, I'll feel like I'd be put to better use somewhere else.

I realize that I worded this very poorly and would like to elaborate- for instance, if I got a fighter position and spent 99% of my time training and 1% executing like one response said, I would prefer to go do something like air refueling or transport, because then I'd know that most missions I fly are directly effecting the mission at all times- that's just a personal preference, and I respect those who have the incredible discipline to train endlessly for a day that might not come. I just know that for me, personally, this would be frustrating. I know there is a lot of training involved, and as a student pilot, I enjoy flight training immensely. I fully appreciate and respect all positions in the military, and I am thankful that you all called me out on this slip-up. I don't want any of you to think that I look down on any member of our armed forces, as that's not how I see it at all. I have dedicated the last few years of my life to get to the point of being accepted to a service academy, so this decision is not one that I take lightly. I ask for your understanding that I do not, and never have, disregard any part of the military. I'm in a transition/decision-making period at the moment, and am trying to find where in the puzzle I think I would fit the best, and how I could best serve my country. I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding or perceived disrespect.

 

[Heatherg21]

No disrespect felt by me. Just a different perspective and you cleared up your position very well. Well done. It's amazing the tone words can convey even when we have the best of intentions. Kudos to you for clarifying and doing a deep dive on where you see yourself being the most effective.

 

[Capt MJ]

Navy’s Top Gun? All you do there is train. Mav had to do it. So boring. Deployments and flying routine missions off carriers to keep skills sharp. More of that boring stuff. You train and train and train so that in the moment, your reaction time, muscle memory, ingrained mental checklists of trouble-shooting actions, confidence under the stress level of live engagements or alarms going off in the cockpit or on the bridge or in the armored vehicle - it is there for you on demand in the moment when you need it, because in that moment, it could indeed be life and death, and your training will equip you with your best chance of survival.

Life in the military, regardless of Service, specialty or rank, involves the highest highs of achievement and back-slapping emotion to “everyday routine” to grinding drudgery of endless reports, frustrations with logistics or budget or personnel. That is the reality of military service. And I wouldn’t trade my 26 years of it for anything, even the crappy parts.

 

[Thunderbolt462]

I genuinely hope you do get your wish and get to fly for the military. If we come off as harsh, it's because we want you to realize that if you wanna go down this path it's gonna suck, which is why the vast majority of people never do it. The USNA or USAFA are gonna suck. Pilot training is gonna suck. All the training missions you fly are gonna suck. However, those 1% moments are well worth all of it.

To leave you with something upbeat, I have a friend who got a plane he didn't want out of pilot training. Recently, I turned on the news and saw them talking about a world event I know he and his crew were directly responsible for. Pretty cool feeling.

 

[Cactuswren]

I genuinely hope you do get your wish and get to fly for the military. If we come off as harsh, it's because we want you to realize that if you wanna go down this path it's gonna suck, which is why the vast majority of people never do it. The USNA or USAFA are gonna suck. Pilot training is gonna suck. All the training missions you fly are gonna suck. However, those 1% moments are well worth all of it.

To leave you with something upbeat, I have a friend who got a plane he didn't want out of pilot training. Recently, I turned on the news and saw them talking about a world event I know he and his crew were directly responsible for. Pretty cool feeling.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I understand what you mean by it all being worth it, and I know I'll come to understand it even more deeply in the near future. What makes the "suck" worth it is the people you're surrounded with who are going through it too, and the harder the situation, the closer friendships you forge with those around you. This is why I'm pursuing this path, because that's an experience I've been blessed to have been through, and I understand that it's so much more rewarding than the easy route. I've been getting in my head about which is the "right" choice for me and focusing on details, and am losing sight of the simple fact that both are a dream come true- thank you for the wake up call. This probably seems pretty routine to you but my slip up and y'all calling me out on it has really helped, thank you.

 

[Cactuswren]

I really appreciate everyone's input. I understand what you mean by it all being worth it, and I know I'll come to understand it even more deeply in the near future. What makes the "suck" worth it is the people you're surrounded with who are going through it too, and the harder the situation, the closer friendships you forge with those around you. This is why I'm pursuing this path, because that's an experience I've been blessed to have been through, and I understand that it's so much more rewarding than the easy route. I've been getting in my head about which is the "right" choice for me and focusing on details, and am losing sight of the simple fact that both are a dream come true- thank you for the wake up call. This probably seems pretty routine to you but my slip up and y'all calling me out on it has really helped, thank you.

Hopefully my little realization will help out other candidates with a similar problem 😂

 

[Stealth_81]

One thing that hasn’t been brought up is that you seem to make the assumption that “training” is somehow boring. Son #1 is a fighter pilot and is currently an instructor for the B-course. He flies 4-5 times a week and they are all “training” flights. But during these he gets to practice all kinds of fighter maneuvers, strafing the New Mexico desert with 20mm cannon, and shooting missiles at drone targets. Some of his “training” flights have included doing flyovers at professional football and baseball games as well as Daytona and Homestead racetracks. Last month his squadron took 16 jets (instructors and students) across the country to the Florida panhandle to hang out on the beach for a few days and do some more “training” flights over the Gulf of Mexico. That also did some training on air to air refueling while flying there and back.

My point is that all the training is probably just as fun as what you’d call the action.

Stealth_81

 

[StPaulDad]

Or you could go Coast Guard, where only like 80-90% of your flying is training and you get to do "real" SAR work far more often.

 

[raimius]

Agreed on training being fun. Honestly, some of our training sorties are way more interesting than our normal mission flights. That said, I fly security, rather than close air support.
Sometimes just being a taxi ( )is enjoyable:

 

[T-37IP]

The AF is all training, all the time. Even real world missions have a huge training component. I cannot recall a C141 mission that didn't incorporate training for someone on the crew. I taught UPT in the Tweet and T6 for years. All training, all the time, stared death in the eye daily, had a great time doing it, and made a giant impact on the students for the rest of their lives.

Right now, focus on conditioning for BCT. Everything else is either currently completely out of your control or will change drastically.