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MEGA - Thinking about joining the military.

Also just found out your sitting height must be between 34 and 40 inches. I guess measure yourself to see what your sitting height is.

Also have you thought about joining the navy instead? In the navy you have a better chance of piloting a fighter jet as the air force has many different planes to fly while the navy usually carries more fighter jets.
 
freddy47 said:
I'm not in the air force but I'm utterly fascinated by fighter planes and use to wanna be a pilot so I know a few things about it.

First off in order to become a fighter pilot you have to have pretty much outstanding grades, perfect vision, plus I think they do a pretty thorough background check. Remember they are trusting you to fly equipment that are worth many millions of dollars so the training and selection is very very tough.

Second you have to become an officer. The United States Air force takes officer candidates and train them at Colorado Springs. Their requirements for admission are:

1. Be a citizen of the United States.

2. Be unmarried with no dependents.

3. Be of good moral character. (hence background check)

4. Be at least 17 but less than 23 years old by July 1 of your first year of entry.

5. Meet high leadership, academic, physical and medical standards.

You would also need a nomination for the academy either from a Senator or a member of the House of representatives just like West Point.

You could also enlist in the air force. But then you most likely wouldn't be able to be a pilot but someone on the ground. Although I think enlisted men can become helicopter pilots if they qualify.
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This is a good post but you do not have to attend the AF Academy in Colorado Springs to be an officer for the same reason you don't have to attend West Point to be an army officer.

Yes, the service academies are prestigious and would give the candidate a step ahead of the competition but they are not a prerequisite for success in the military. IIRC all a person has to do is obtain a bachelor's degree, enlist, and go to officer candidacy school. Many universities have ROTC programs to groom candidates for OCS.
 
^Yeah you're right.

But I assumed that if she wanted to join she wanted to be the best. So thats why I brought up the air force academy as the best example.
 
freddy47 said:
^Yeah you're right.

But I assumed that if she wanted to join she wanted to be the best. So thats why I brought up the air force academy as the best example.
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Eh, "the best" is subjective and it all depends on the person and whether a specific program is a good fit for him or her.

I am aware of a dark side to the service academies that a lot of people don't know about. One of my good friends from high school got accepted to the AF Academy and he said the hazing from upperclassmen was unbelievable. One of the friends he made in the program was literally beat to death by some upperclassman while being hazed. My friend witnessed it and tried to stop it and was beat pretty badly himself. Eventually the perpetrators were prosecuted but my friend had seen enough and he dropped out of the academy.

Sure if the OP wants to go into politics after her tenure as a fighter pilot then a service academy might not be a bad idea. The cream always rises to the top and sometimes one needs to weigh whether they want to "be the best" by having a certain school's name on their degree or by taking a more realistic route and "being the best" by working hard, making good grades, and showing leadership in the community.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams, I'm just trying to demonstrate that there are other options and trajectories to being a fighter pilot.
 
So bring a tire iron if you want to go to the academy?
I'm just curious what the hazing was about. Was it specific to a certain club, or were they simply bullies attacking at random?
 
I am aware of a dark side to the service academies that a lot of people don't know about. One of my good friends from high school got accepted to the AF Academy and he said the hazing from upperclassmen was unbelievable. One of the friends he made in the program was literally beat to death by some upperclassman while being hazed. My friend witnessed it and tried to stop it and was beat pretty badly himself. Eventually the perpetrators were prosecuted but my friend had seen enough and he dropped out of the academy.
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Wow that is fucked up. I was aware that someone had died because of hazing at West point but I always thought that was a West Point/Army thing as you know they are ground troops and have that whole tough guy act going. I guess I always just assumed the Air Force was I dunno better than the army in that respect but guess I was wrong. Hope those guys got what they deserved that shit is unacceptable.

As for it being subjective yeah I guess so. But I always thought that the standard of education in the service academies were higher than your standard state college or university but I guess I could be wrong about that too. But in terms of prestige yeah the service academies will really give you a leg up on the competition. I'm sure some of the top brass in the military will just look at your record and see the name West Point or Air Force academy they'll immediately have a better opinion of you.

So bring a tire iron if you want to go to the academy?
I'm just curious what the hazing was about. Was it specific to a certain club, or were they simply bullies attacking at random?
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Well hazing is kind of ritualistic and in the military I assume its a form of initiation. I know that in West Point hazing is a huge problem and it is almost always done by the upperclassmen on new recruits. Its similar I assume to what fraternities do to new or potential new members although since its the military it is often taken to the extreme. It is really nothing new though. I'm sure that in the old Roman days new legionnaires had to go through some form of ritual to be considered part of their new cohort and I'm sure some probably died as well while undergoing those rituals. Not that I'm justifying hazing. It's just the nature of the beast.
 
CoffeeDrinker said:
So bring a tire iron if you want to go to the academy?
I'm just curious what the hazing was about. Was it specific to a certain club, or were they simply bullies attacking at random?
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According to my friend, the majority of the hazing was upperclassmen being bullies toward freshmen.

The guy who died was a frequent target because his older brother went through the academy a few years prior and supposedly was an asshole. The upperclassmen who were beating that specific guy the night he died were doing so because they didn't like his older brother :(
 
freddy47 said:
Well hazing is kind of ritualistic and in the military I assume its a form of initiation. I know that in West Point hazing is a huge problem and it is almost always done by the upperclassmen on new recruits. Its similar I assume to what fraternities do to new or potential new members although since its the military it is often taken to the extreme. It is really nothing new though. I'm sure that in the old Roman days new legionnaires had to go through some form of ritual to be considered part of their new cohort and I'm sure some probably died as well while undergoing those rituals. Not that I'm justifying hazing. It's just the nature of the beast.
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I get that, but I'd rather defend myself with some sort of equalizer than just sit back and take it because it's the done thing to do. You'd still get a good beating even if you had a tire iron with you, but maybe their headaches make it so they don't kill you.
 
Freddy47, I had a friend recommend the Navy to me the other day, so maybe that's something I need to look into? Thanks everyone for your advice!
 
^I would say the navy has more options than the air force. Just be careful though. I have a friend in the navy right now and they promised them this and that when he signed up. Basically said he would be stationed in Japan on land and wouldn't have to serve on a ship that long.

After he joined they pretty much tore up his contract and now he is stuck on some small destroyer as a cook (he has never cooked a day in his life) and is suffering from panic attacks because he is claustrophobic. Suffice it to say they royally screwed him and now he can't do anything about it but serve out his tour and come home.

But I guess any branch in the military is capable of this type of bullshit.
 
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I'm in Canadian Forces in the Army side, so I can't offer too much on U.S.A.F. specific stuff. But if you want to ask some questions about NATO militaries and the lifestyle in general, P.M. me.
 
Prior AF here....

To be a fighter pilot, you have to be basically be Captain America. Yes its all the above and as far as your degree, get a Bachelors in Engineering, Physics or Math....Thats the only applicants they'll even think about.

And no you dont have to have attended the AF Academy. But your chances of becoming a fighter pilot are pretty slim unless you do.
 
LOL

one does not simply
join the air force to become a fighter pilot

that's like saying you want to "join" NASA to become an astronaut or "join" the NFL to become a star running back. my advice is to pick a realistic career choice, and pursue that instead.

Tude said:
Freddy47, I had a friend recommend the Navy to me the other day, so maybe that's something I need to look into? Thanks everyone for your advice!
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If anything, the Navy probably has way more rigorous standards. They have relatively few aviators, and a lot of the time they're flying under more stressful conditions than air force pilots (over water with no visible point of reference, landing on aircraft carriers, etc).
 
Is the Air Force really hard to get in?

I have been thinking about the Air Force a lot lately..and people have been telling me that the Air Force is very picky and hard to get in. Is this true,and I am kinda offended to here this because it's like people are saying I am not good enough?
 
I would say that the best thing you can do is go to a recruiting office and do a preliminary interview with one of their recruiters. They will ask you some questions about your background and tell you if you're eligible to enlist.
 
airforce is hard to get into. If you dont do well on your ASVAT dont even think about getting any job that you could make a carrer out of
 
A buddy of mine would've been accepted to the airforce but they said his leg tattoo was too big. It can be covered up by pants but that just made me think they go out of their way to find a reason not to accept a person. He has actually been accepted into the army though and is going to basic this summer.

Not sure if that helps but that is all I know on the subject.
 
I believe the USAF is more selective the US Army or USMC, but it really depends on the job you want. Applicants are scored on a standardized test, and each job has minimum score that is acceptable, and higher scoring applicants are selected first.

Or that is my understanding of it; but I am not in the US military and thus not overly familiar. I'm an M.O. in the CDN Forces Health Services Group Reserve, and my understanding is based off having talked with U.S. service members while on joint exercises, including USAF members.

Your best bet is to talk to recruiting officer.
 
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