I want to be the best pilot in the U.S. Armed Forces. Navy or Airforce?

by the, the air force is going through a huge "reduction in force". so if you go air force, you might find yourself out of a job by the time you graduate (or something like that)
 
thanks for those websites, i appreciate them a lot.
 
I have to second VMIN. I have a friend who is a Major and she told me that the AF is "cutting" their pilots. I was in denial at first because I was in love with the AF:shake:. But I did some research and it's true, you could find yourself flying a desk.
 
Just keep in mind that current USAFA applicants are not going to be getting into any cockpits for at least 5 years. A lot can change between now and then.

While it's wise to consider all options and to be a bit cautious, don't pretend the sky is falling when it isn't.
 
Just keep in mind that current USAFA applicants are not going to be getting into any cockpits for at least 5 years. A lot can change between now and then.

While it's wise to consider all options and to be a bit cautious, don't pretend the sky is falling when it isn't.

well, how about "the sky is falling NOW but it might have stopped when you are climbing into a cockpit?" :shake:
 
I think the best attitude is, "I want to be a USAFA graduate and an USAF pilot. I'm going to persue those goals come hell or high water, and the powers that be can piss off in the meantime. If I find that they have disbanded the USAF and sent them all off to drive buses when I get there, I'll deal with it then."

Doesn't exactly fit on a bumper sticker, but you get the general idea. :thumb:
 
i think zaphod pretty much nailed it with both of his most recent posts. thanks for the insight z!
 
by the, the air force is going through a huge "reduction in force". so if you go air force, you might find yourself out of a job by the time you graduate (or something like that)



What is the job security going to be like for all the 5 branches in the next 10-20 years.
 
Coast Guard = very very good, more money than we've ever seen.

Yeah, my dad's a retired Coastie and he kind of wants me to go in the Coast Guard for a couple of reasons, including job security. I'm starting to think about it seriously more and more.
 
This could be the topic of another thread perhaps -

from what I have seen -
Army, Coast Guard and Marines - excellent due to WOT and serious shortages in personnel.
Navy - ????
Air Force - fighting a reduction in force. That said - the AF is NOT going away. There will always be a demand for pilots.
Speculation for the next 5 years is one thing but going out 10 and esp 20 years is a whole 'nother ballgame.
 
UAVs will become huge in the next generation. The Navy is already commencing testing getting them aboard the CVs. They are a way of life already in the AF. Eventually, probably SAR and hauling cargo and troops will be the only missions remaining. And probably not that far down the road.
 
SkyNet, anyone?

I seriously wonder why the HELL I had children. :frown:
 
The current (Mar 08) edition of Flying magazine has an interesting article in their Aftermath column about a UAV crash in Arizona last year (one used along the southern border). I tried to find a link to it, but it doesn't appear to be available on-line yet. The gist is that the Predator crashed but no one could figure out why. Turns out the flight had a data-link glitch which is not ordinarily a problem because of backups. As in a "real" plane, an alarm went off. Instituting the backup procedures, however, caused some console controls to be used for other purposes, one of which was the fuel selector, which was (inadvertently) commanded "off." The engine quit; the UA went down, but only later -- long after the crash -- did anyone figure out that when the engine quit, it also triggered another alarm... which to the remote "pilots" was assumed to be signaling the same problem as the first alarm -- the initial lost data-link. As the article states, if there had been a pilot aboard, the engine shutting down would have become "immediately apparent" as a new, and more critical, problem. Even so, while there are still some kinks being worked out, UAs are going to become increasingly refined and used in new ways. And, I was surprised in talking to my son after his SLS interview with two ALO's, that in response to the question of "what do you want to fly" they discussed UAV's and how they may impact a career.
 
Back
Top