When you're ready to interview with a major air carrier or Fortune 500 flight department, you'd be welcomed by the human resource folks. And, you didn't have to invest a vault full of cash for the training, nor pay your dues as a CFI or regional airline pilot. You chose the career path of a military pilot.
If you're one of the more than 16,000 future professionals enrolled in a collegiate flight program, check around. For reasons too numerous to mention, you'll find that only a handful of your peers have given any serious thought to flying for Uncle Sam. Three reasons why most aspiring pro-pilots go down the civilian flying career track-versus the military-are the rigors of the military lifestyle, the length of commitment, and the gnawing thought that one might ultimately meet personal demise at the hands of a goofy missile-jockey from some remote nation that's difficult to locate on a map.
Countless courageous aviators, despite initial fears and all the other reasons to choose another career, have devoted a significant portion of their young lives to piloting airplanes in defense of the U. S. citizenry. Call it pride. Call it patriotism. Call it astute career planning too!.
Whatever the challenges of flying in the military services, important personal and professional rewards accrue to a career military pilot. Also, flying for the Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Army doesn't have to be forever.
One strategy for career success in the civilian sector is to enlist with the intent of serving just the minimum commitment of eight years. The military pilot exits the service with a load of kerosene time and all the personal and professional qualifications that perfectly fulfill the hiring profile for any "Big 7" airline or corporate flight department.
A review of 1996 data compiled by AIR Inc. reveals that half the pilots hired by such companies as Delta, FedEx, Southwest, UPS, and Alaska Airlines have had previous military flying experience. Major airline hiring trends have reversed in favor of civilian pilots in recent years (in 1996, of all of the pilots hired by major airlines, an estimated 64 percent had civilian flying experience only). However, the ex-military aviator continues to be the top contender for civilian cockpit jobs. The apparent shift by the airlines toward non-military applicants is not because of preference, but supply.
A landmark study, "Pilots and Aviation Maintenance Technicians for the Twenty-First Century," says, "The military services have traditionally provided a rich source of supply for pilots. The high quality of training, sophisticated equipment used, and excellent operational experience gained during even a short period of service are invaluable. The military's training facilities, equipment, and instructors are of very high quality and are relatively well-funded. In addition to experience, intangible benefits accrue to military veterans - responsibility, judgment, and discipline - and make them even more attractive employees.
"The production of military pilots recently has been and will continue to be reduced because of the restructuring of U.S. military forces. All the services combined will train fewer than 2,000 fixed wing pilots each year through at least 1997.
"In the past, military pilots have satisfied between 35 and 85 percent of air carrier flight crewmember hiring demand. This number will decrease through the 1990s, given the low production and loss rates forecast for the military services."
Perhaps the foregoing will prompt some thought about restructuring your career plan. As a present or future collegian, the prospect of a military flying career, whether short-term or long-term, begins to sound appealing. But, which branch of the services?
If your ultimate goal is to fly professionally for the airlines, statistics gathered by AIR Inc. clearly show the major airlines hire more former Air Force pilots than pilots from the other services. Of course, this may be because the Air Force employs more fixed-wing pilots than all the other services combined. You would be safe to assume, however, that regardless what branch, the airlines like to hire military-trained pilots.
If you've set your flying career sights on the military, you can start preparing as early as the freshman year in college. How? - through enrollment in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).
All branches of the military offer ROTC programs, which typically lead to immediate commissioning as an officer upon graduation, and all are essentially the same. Because the Air Force hires more fixed wing pilots, we'll use the Air Force program to illustrate ROTC.
The USAF develops officers through one of three sources: The Air Force Academy; Officer Training School (OTS); and AFROTC. However, more Air Force officers are groomed through ROTC than through any other avenue.
The Air Force ROTC program is an educational program designed to give men and women the opportunity to become an Air Force officer while completing a degree. The AFROTC mission is "To Produce Leaders for the Air Force and Better Citizens for America." The mission is not to produce fighter, bomber, and transport pilots. Some flying opportunities exist through affiliations with the Civil Air Patrol, and air base experiences can be had through field training, but flight and flight preparation don't occupy a position of prominence in AFROTC. Remember, an Air Force pilot, like a pilot in any branch of the military, is - first and foremost - an officer.
The Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS), which includes both the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Officer Training School, is headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama. It is commanded by Brigadier General Brian A. Arnold. General Arnold's AFROTC branch prepares more than 15,000 officer candidates at 144 host universities.
Says General Arnold, a former FB-111 and B-52 pilot, "Despite our recent downsizing, your Air Force is open and hiring. This year, we'll produce approximately 2,000 new second lieutenants and enroll about 4,000 people. The drawdown is behind us. Today's new officers are offered technical training opportunities, advanced education, equal pay and promotions, great health and vacation benefits and an excellent retirement plan. We offer great opportunities for advancement because we grow our own leaders. We can't hire a Bill Gates to take over our top management positions - we develop him or her from day one. The bottom line is that it's a great time to enter the Air Force ROTC."
Enrollment takes place at a college or university which hosts what is termed an AFROTC detachment. Generally, classes and credit information are listed in the school's catalog. Students can choose to participate in either a four-year program or a two-year program.
The four-year program begins during the freshman year and allows the student to try out the AFROTC for the first two years of schooling without incurring any obligation unless the collegian is on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. The only enrollment prerequisites are that the applicant be a full-time student at a school offering the Air Force ROTC, be in good physical condition, have good moral character, and be at least 18 years old.
During the first two years of the four-year program (referred to as The General Military Course), a cadet learns about Air Force history, mission, organization, airpower, and air doctrine. During his (or her) junior and senior years, an AFROTC cadet takes courses in leadership skills and national defense policy. In addition, a student must attend a four week field training experience between his sophomore and junior year.
For those opting to bypass AFROTC during their freshman and sophomore years, the Air Force offers enrollment in its two-year program to anyone who has at least two years of school remaining. This program is especially beneficial to students who transfer to a host university from a junior college.
The two-year program (known as Professional Officer Course), features the same leadership and defense policy courses offered during the final two years of the four-year program. This program is intended to attract prospects interested in selected scientific and technical areas, such as mathematics, physics, meteorology, engineering, and computer science. Students who aspire to AFROTC should apply early in their sophomore year.
The two-year track is competitive and doesn't accept all applicants. Selections are based on scores achieved on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, overall grade-point average, and a rating from an interview. Additionally, the applicant must pass a physical examination; perform endurance tests; receive an enrollment allocation; and, if chosen, attend a six-week field training camp.
The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test is a 4.5-hour examination that measures verbal and math skills as well as aptitude in academics, pilot, and navigator/technical areas. Depending on the campus, the AFOQT is administered several times each semester and can be taken a maximum of two times with at least six months between tests.
Field training offers a firsthand look at the Air Force environment by attending a camp at selected Air Force bases. During the experience, cadets will receive career orientation, officer training, aircraft and aircrew indoctrination, survival training, weapons introduction, physical training, and familiarization with the organization and the function of an Air Force base. The Air Force pays for transportation to and from camp and compensates the student $19 per day while participating.
Once accepted into either the two- or four-year program, the student's on-campus commitment is nominal. Coursework generally requires a cadet to attend classes for one to three hours weekly and to participate in Leadership Lab for one to two hours per week. Leadership Lab is centered on cadet training and features orientation flights, military speakers, Air Force base visits, films, drill and ceremony practice, and social functions.
In addition to formal classroom study, membership in the AFROTC offers a myriad of extra-curricular activities, such as sorority and fraternity activities; community service opportunities; dances; dinners; picnics; parties; and intramural sports teams. These activities all serve to develop the cadets' social and professional abilities. Likewise, many specialized training options exist through elective programs, such as the Professional Development Training Program, where cadets may volunteer to participate in a two- to three-week visit to an Air Force base to learn the challenges of being a junior officer.
Besides getting off to a head start on a military career, the AFROTC has these additional benefits:
- Scholarships in the range of $10,000-$50,000, depending on the school, with most paying full college tuition along with most textbooks, lab, and incidental fees.
- AFROTC textbooks and uniforms provided on a loan basis.
- College credit for AFROTC courses in most academic majors.
- A nontaxable $150 monthly allowance during the last two academic years and earlier in certain circumstances.
- Free space-available military air travel if on scholarship.
- Delaying active duty for graduate degree study in some cases.
- Orientation flights aboard Air Force aircraft.
- Air Force base visits.
- A challenging job immediately after graduation.
Okay, so it all sounds tempting and quite manageable. But it's that flying thing that propels you. You know the Air Force offers fulfilling assignments as navigator, missile launch officer, nurse, or any number of slots in technical and non-technical categories - but you simply have to fly. Graduating as a second lieutenant and guaranteed employment mean nothing to you unless you get to steer an airplane.
Will there be a future demand for Air Force pilots? According to AFROTC sources, despite the recent downsizing of all the military services, Air Force pilot positions are increasing at a phenomenal rate. As a matter of fact, the Air Force is predicting a possible pilot shortage in the near future.
The question then becomes - When and how does a cadet know if he has been accepted into pilot training?
Perhaps more important, what happens if the Air Force does not accept the cadet into the flight program?
According to Colonel John Gurtcheff, Registrar for the AFROTC, "Cadets compete for a pilot allocation in the spring of their junior year, long after they are on contract with us. Our goal is to produce officers first, and we want that commitment before we award an allocation to attend flying training."
Thus, if the pilot applicant is ultimately rejected for flight training, an assignment to another specialty can be expected. In other words, a cadet cannot rescind the contract because he was rejected for pilot training. However, the approval rate is good. This year, of the 753 pilot-qualified AFROTC cadets who applied for flight training, 558 were selected - almost 75 percent. In the next three years, pilot slots will increase to about 650 annually.
Cadets compete by meeting a board of senior Air Force pilots, who evaluate the cadet's performance in the AFROTC program to date. This process considers such factors as the unit commander rating, scores on the pilot section of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT), college GPA and academic major, performance during field training, physical fitness, and private flying experience. The board members review each applicant's credentials and make a "whole person" evaluation with an eye to selecting the applicants most likely to become successful Air Force pilots.
An applicant who is designated for pilot training will invest approximately a year at one of the Air Force's main training bases - Sheppard, Reese, or Laughlin AFB in Texas; Columbus AFB in Mississippi; or Vance AFB in Oklahoma. Then he's off to assignments around the globe dictated by world events and the political climate.
But, no matter what kind of equipment you fly, sometime about eight years later you'll face the "Big Decision" - stay in or get out. Either way, you will not lose.
Retired career military aviators abound who'll tell you it was a great time. They flew the good stuff, they were respected, they were well paid, they always had a job, and they received the great personal satisfaction of protecting the freedom we enjoy in this great country.
On the other hand, if you leave the squadron after a first or second tour to chase the goal of transporting people or packages for some mega-company, you'll definitely have the competitive edge in the civilian job hunt. It's been that way since the beginning, and it's not going to change.
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