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Does it really matter what schools people are "attending?" How about applying to the schools that are HIRING... TBPDQ.

Switch hit all the right points. Absolutely do not go to the academy (any academy) just because they'll give you a "leg up." Post-graduation, there is no benefit to having gone to the zoo, the only possible exception being networking, and even that is a long shot. You could be the most bad ass pilot ever, but depending on the year you graduate from UPT there could be 100 F22's or 0. Do your best, and make the best of whatever assignment you get. The guys that are unhappy are the ones constantly thinking the grass is always greener somewhere else, and it rarely is. At this point, you don't know what you don't know. If/when you go to UPT, there will usually be several briefings throughout the year about different aircraft from crews that fly in to talk to studs. Go to every one, even heavies, and get a good sight picture about what they REALLY do so you can make the most informed decision about what you want to do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not exactly. USAFA is your best chance at getting a pilot slot if you want to talk strictly about odds. Put it to you this way, the Academy by itself gets about the same number of pilot slots for one class that the whole country's ROTC class gets. So if you want to all but guarantee a pilot slot, go to USAFA. HOWEVER- once you get to UPT, you're competing on the same level playing field as everyone else- ROTC, OTS, and USAFA. Your diploma from USAFA isn't going to help you or give you a leg up on your peers in UPT who are also trying for a fighter slot. Since your goal here is to become a pilot, your degree won't really help you or hurt you. You'll take enough core engineering classes at USAFA regardless of your major that will "shape your mind" around techy subjects, so major in whatever you like. Everyone graduates with a Bachelor of Science, whether you major in Philosophy (and yes, that's a major at USAFA now) or Physics. That being said, if you have any aspirations to become a Test Pilot at some point in your career, you'll need to have majored in engineering. So keep that in mind when choosing... I knew a few homeschooled dudes there and they didn't seem to have any advantage/disadvantage. You're either a bro to your peers or you aren't. Be humble, help out your classmates, and don't take things too seriously. If you plan on trying to make the Flying Team, finish your PPL. I'm not saying you can't go to USAFA without a PPL and still find the time to get it before Flying Team tryouts, but I'm saying you can't go to USAFA without a PPL and still find the time to get it before Flying Team tryouts. And if you're like me and didn't find the time to finish it before I went, feck it. Try out for the Wings of Blue instead. As a former team member, we had the most fun of anyone at the academy, and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Ever. At this point, you're getting a little ahead of yourself. First, manage your expectations. Dropping a raptor or strike eagle out of UPT isn't just about how bad you want it or how hard you work. Timing is everything. Go check the most recent UPT drop out of Vance on another thread on this website, and you'll see that only one person in the class got a fighter which happened to be an F-16. When you graduate UPT, you're at the mercy of the needs of the Air Force. If they don't need any raptor pilots at the moment, then no one in that class will drop a raptor, even if the number 1 graduate listed F-22 as their number 1 pick. That's just the way it is. But to answer your question, start developing a solid work and study ethic. Lame answer, I know, but that's what will get you through any rated training program better than anything you can study or work on now. If you're talking about percentages, the Navy has the highest percentage of fighter pilots. So decide if you want to live on an aircraft carrier for a significant portion of your life. No thanks... Is it possible? Yes. Should that be your goal from the start? No. Every service academy class has a few of their graduates that cross commission in to a different service branch, but I wouldn't bank on it. If you drop a heavy out of UPT, you're flying heavies for the rest of your career. Have there been exceptions to that rule in the history of the Air Force? Sure. But those instances are few and far between. So the straight answer to that is no, you cannot cross train to fighters after entering the heavy world. That being said, don't knock it before you try it. I have plenty of friends that fly something starting with a "C" that wanted fighters originally but that now love their aircraft and are glad they fly it. Hope that helps man. You're welcome to PM me if you have any other questions. I don't come close to having all the answers and much is to be gained on this forum from folks wiser than me, but I'll pass on whatever I can to help you out. We've all been there in one way or another...

I'm with you guys, but seriously, what are you realistically expecting to change? It didn't seem like too long ago when the Chief of effing Staff directed people to stop doing dumb things that are wastes of time. What happened there? Not much change to speak of in my neck of the woods. That message got diluted, at best, as it trickled through the staffs and to the O-6 and below management crowd. I say "at best" because I've mostly seen it flat-out disregarded, only to have management scoff when someone in their organization is brazen enough to say "aren't we supposed to stop doing dumb things?" So if CSAF said to stop doing it, and it's still going on, do you honestly think the queep factor is going to improve?

The Rand Report was painful to read. The BL being the Airlines have no incentive to cooperate with the broke dick USAF. Fast tracking regional dudes seems appealing until you realize flying an Embraer from Valdosta to Atlanta 3 times a day has little transferability at least to the CAF. It seems the CSAF and HAF folks fail to realize is all people really want is choice and control of their life. I think the renovations to the retirement program will completely change some of these manning problems with folks not holding out for the 20 year carrot. I'd also change the ADSC for UPT back to 6 years, maybe 8 years if we also move to a 4-5 year PCS cycle. That gives someone a chance to make IP/AC in their MWS first assignment and go to another OPs for WIC/TPS consideration or ALFA to finish out their commitment. The WIC/TPS commitment will lock in folks to another gate at 10 or 12 years of service, which could be incentivized with the bonus. For the majority of AD pilots, at that 6-8 year point you need to make a choice, do I have enough hours for an ATP and go Airline/ARC route or take another assignment. Unfortunately, FAIPs would have to make the decision at the end of their first OPs assignment. With the 20 year retirement off the table we need to shift to a more frequent decision gate concept at 6, 10, 14, and 20 year points. The bonus would still be useful, but I think you're getting the folks that were going to stay for 20 years anyways. You could also incentivize the bonus to specific missions vice AFSC wide (ie. UPT, RPA, PIT), since you will have more frequent turnover and earlier departures from AD. While the turnover of this proposed system may be more frequent, giving your folks more choice and control in their life should help improve service morale to something north of pretty darn good.