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I took a screenshot so I can always remember the way I felt when AFPC acknowledged there are rules... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just can't imagine I'd ever have a personnelist point out a pilot error on my part, and all I'll I'd say is: "You are correct, I chose to pump #3 (sts) when I should have banzai-ed. Have a great Air Force day!" I mean, maybe I'd say that. Then I'd rip off my wings and self-immolate in front of the squadron patch. Like this: I don't feel like AFPC shares my sentiment. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

This is 100% anecdotal and not a standard. Granted it was well over 10 years ago when I was involved with it, but I saw plenty of people get admitted with less than that (myself included). Don't let a GPA dissuade you from thinking you can get in. Of course, if you've got a 2.5 you're probably not going to make the cut. Also, there are lots of secondary options to getting a spot at the zoo if it's really what you want. You've got the academy prep school itself, but there are several other prep schools that the zoo will send people to on what's called a "falcon scholarship." You spend one year there (there's on in CA, NM, and a couple others) and don't fail any classes and you're guaranteed acceptance to the zoo the following year. You can also pay your own way at these same prep schools and do what's called "self-prep" and it just makes your resume look a lot better for the following year. But don't get this starry eyed view of the academy either. ROTC (or OTS) is no less legitimate than the academy and there's a good argument that it's better. And once everyone commissions and pins on 2LT, where you went to school won't ever matter again. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

A great source of information is https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php. This website covers all of the service academies. As a junior in high school you need to take the ACT or SAT as soon as possible. The AFA superscores so you can take it multiple times to get the best possible composite score. Here is information on the Nomination process: https://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/nominations/ You need to have good grades, participation in extracurricular activities, volunteering. President of your class, National Honor Society, etc all add to points to your application. It is not easy but my son got into the AFA right out of high school. He is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering and will probably be going to Grad School after graduation next May. He has said on several occasions that he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It is a great school that offers a first class education. There are tremendous opportunities there. My son has been a glider instructor for the last two years and has really enjoyed it. Good luck!

I know you guys are tired of hearing the "which aircraft are at which base" question so I figured I'd try to help out future pilots and pilot-selects. Black=Operational base Orange=Training base Blue=Operational & Training base F-15E - Seymour Johnson (NC), Mountain Home (ID), Lakenheath (UK); Active force inventory: 217 F-15C - Kadena (Japan), Lakenheath (UK); Active force inventory: ? F-16 - Luke (AZ), Spangdahlem (Germany), Aviano (Italy), Osan (Korea), Kunsan (Korea), Misawa (Japan), Hill (UT), Shaw (SC); Active force inventory: 444 A-10 - Davis Monthan (AZ), Spangdalhem (Germany), Osan (Korea), Moody (GA); Active force inventory: 144 F-22 - Tyndall (FL), Langley (VA), Elmendorf (AK), Holloman (NM); Active force inventory: 91 U-2 - Beale (CA); Active force inventory: 31 B-2 - Whiteman (MO); Active force inventory: 20 B-1 - Dyess (TX), Ellsworth (SD); Active force inventory: 65 B-52 - Barksdale (LA), Minot (ND); Active force inventory: 85 EC-130H - Davis Monthan (AZ); Active force inventory: 14 MC-130H - Kirtland (NM), Hurlburt (FL), Kadena (Japan), Mildenhall (UK); Active force inventory: 20 MC-130P - Kirtland (NM), Eglin (FL), Kadena (Japan), Mildenhall (UK); Active force inventory: 23 AC-130W - Cannon (NM) , Active Force inventory: 12 HC-130 - Kirtland (NM), Davis Mothan (AZ), Moody (GA); Active force inventory: 13 AC-130U - Hurlburt (FL), Active force inventory: 17 AC-130H - Hurlburt (FL), Cannon (NM); Active force inventory: 8 C-130J - Little Rock (AR), Dyess (TX), Ramstien (Germany); Active force inventory: ? C-130H - Little Rock (AR), Yokota (Japan), Cheyenne (WY), Peterson (CO); Active force inventory: 186 C-17 - Altus (OK), McChord (WA), Charleston (SC), McGuire (NJ), Dover (DE), Hickam (HI), Elmendorf (AK), Travis (CA); Active force inventory: 134 C-5 - Kelly/Lackland (TX), Travis (CA), Dover (DE); Active force inventory: 70 C-21 - Keesler (MS), Peterson (CO), Scott (IL), Andrews (MD), Ramstein (Germany); Active force inventory: 35 KC-10 - Travis (CA), McGuire (NJ) ; Active force inventory: 59 KC-135 - Altus (OK), Fairchild (WA), McConnell (KS), Grand Forks (ND), MacDill (FL), Seymour Johnson (NC), Pease (NH), Birmingham (AL), Scott (IL), March (CA), Kadena (Japan) and Mildenhall (UK); Active force inventory: 195 RC-135 - Offutt (NE) ; Active force inventory: 16 E-3 - Tinker (OK), Kadena (Japan), Elmendorf (AK); Active force inventory: 33 E-4 - Offutt (NE); Active force inventory: 4 E-8 - Robbins (GA); Active force inventory: 17 CV-22 - Kirtland (NM), Cannon (NM), Hurlburt (FL), Mildenhall (UK); Active force inventory: 50 (planned) HH-60 - Kirtland (NM), Nellis (NV), Davis Monthan (AZ), Moody (GA), Kadena (Japan), Lakenheath (UK); Active force inventory: 64 UH-1 - Kirtland (NM), Andrews (MD), Yokota (Japan), Fairchild (WA), FE Warren (WY), Malmstrom (MT), Minot (ND); Active force inventory: 62 U-28 - Hurlburt (FL); Cannon (NM) Active force inventory: 6 MC-12 - Beale (CA), Active force inventory: ? NSA - Cannon (NM); Hurlburt (FL); Active force inventory: ? MQ-1B - Creech (NV), Cannon (NM); Active force inventory: ? MQ-9 - Creech (NV), Cannon (NM); Active force inventory: ? ANG/AFRC bases and aircraft (ANG, AFRC) A-10: Ft Smith AR, Ft Wayne IN, Baltimore MD, Boise ID, Selfride MI, Bradley CT (103rd), Moody C5: Westover MA (439th), NY (105th) C-17: March, Memphis, Jackson MS C-21: Bradley CT, Fargo ND, Battle Creek MI C-130: 109th NY, 107th NY F-15C: Great Falls MT, Portland OR, Klamath Falls OR, New Orleans LA, Jacksonville FL, Barnes MA F-15E: Seymour Johnson F-16: Homestead ARB, Sioux Falls SD, Des Moines IA, Madison WI, Tuscon AZ, Freson CA, Tulsa OK, Toledo OH, Andrews DC, Atlantic City NJ, Burlington VT, Buckley CO, Duluth MN. South Carolina, Burlington VT (158th), , Springfield OH, Lackland TX (FTU), NY (174th) F-22: Hickam, HI (199FS) HH-60: Patrick, Davis Monthan, Moffett CA, Kulis AK, Gabreski NY KC-135: Seymour Johnson, March ARB, Pease NH (157th), Bangor ME (101st), Scott, Birmingham Predator: Fargo ND

(Edited for link to PDF) The 163rd Fighter Squadron out of Fort Wayne, IN (ANG, A-10C) will have an open application window for Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) from Dec 1, 2016 through Feb 28, 2017. If selected, interviews will be held 5-6 May, 2017. If interested, please visit: https://www.122fw.ang.af.mil/Portals/21/documents/2016 Pilot Candidate Letter UPT questionnaire.pdf?ver=2017-02-16-133305-880 Good luck for all that apply.

Fortunately, BODN has a databank of obscure scenarios from UPT interviews. Try the search function.

Nope, I guess you've got this all wrapped up. Project that confidence and they'll have to take you!

You'll need atleast a 3.75 GPA with APs if you want to get into the Academy. It was insanely competitive in 2008 when I was first applying and the incoming classes are even smaller now. You're almost guaranteed a pilot slot if you're medically qualified, but there are better institutions you can go to (you'll just have to pay for them). Some ROTC dets get more rated slots because some dets have more rated applicants. My det had very few that wanted to go rated. Also according to a friend whos there now, almost 100% of rated applicants get picked up at ERAU. YMMV.

Holding one in each hand, the Danners are noticeably lighter, but I wouldn't call them "lightweight."

No ROTC unit is better than another for pilot slots. A package gets put in (grades, PT scores, PCSM, commander ranking) and it gets racked and stacked against everyone else in your year group applying.

I don't know much about getting in straight outta high school but I do know if for whatever reason you don't get in, it's not the end of the world. Two buddies of mine got in by joining the guard. AD and Guard/Reserve are offered the opportunity to apply and the pool of applicants are much smaller. Just an FYI Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Baseops Network Forums mobile app

Larger quantities of free booze at promotion parties?

From what I have seen it is a bit of first come first serve, age in some cases, and availability in others (OTS/UPT class date availability). I know my package was pushed through with some priority to it due to my age (I'm now 29). Also, I know my recruiter was emailing their contact at the GB nearly once a week for an update due to the timeline. Your unit can help press getting dates sooner depending on how quickly they need you or for varying circumstances. Long story short, if you have a few years before hitting the age cutoff, expect to wait longer but be prepared for only 2 months notice. You never really know what may happen. Typically if your recruiter has been around awhile, they can give you a decent estimate as to how long it may be.

So we both agree that maintaining combat capability at our current levels is critical. I'm good with that. I even think we agree with the how, but - as you said - we are talking past each other. Imagine: 1. CGOs being left to be the tactical experts they need to be. 2. FGOs making sure CGOs have the resources they need and are free of bullshit so the CGOs can do their jobs. We need both. I was focusing on the CGO side, and you're making sure we don't forget about #2. Again - I'm good with that. I think the fact that both #1 and #2 above have been mis-managed are our biggest CFs in this DFP. Pilots ARE our biggest asset, and the young guys feel like their time has been wasted by distractions that have held them back from being the tactical mofo CGOs they want to be. You said it yourself above: Masters degrees, bake sales, christmas parties...etc...that's not why guys have signed 10 years of their lives away to wear wings. They wanted wings because they want to WIN and wanted to be on a winning team. This is half of the manning problem. You're talking about the other half: Burn out. You can't change the fact that military life is hard, but treating manpower like it's some easily-replenishable resource (you know, the way A1 manages manpower...poorly) is killing us. You can't buy a CAF IP with 10 years of experience or just re-recruit one. There is a price for a CAF IP with 10 years of experience. A1 thinks that price is $25K/year for 9 years. I disagree. The price is a 10 year wait to replace that CAF IP. Our problems aren't going away until we recognize that we need to let dudes be tactical AND also be cognizant of the fact that they can find happiness elsewhere, should dissatisfaction with active duty grow too large.

Must have been the good ole days. Everyone gets a job now that's not going to start within a few weeks. I sat around 7 months waiting to start. It sucks, but hey, I got paid a great salary to fax some papers and browse the Internet. Some assholes played the system and got caught literally across the country when they were suppose to be manning their desk. One person shits, everyone gets a diaper.

I joined a guard unit to get in good with a fighter squadron who turned out to not want me because i'm too old. I spent alot of time that would have been better spent in college going to tech school, learning my job, going on trips, getting older and needing a better job. I got a slot by the skin of my teeth. If you join to go to college, mind the community you join. To wit: don't become a crew cheif and half ass it or you will be eaten alive.

Got my first interview coming up soon for UPT. Any last words of advice? "Just be yourself" "Don't try to be the cool guy"... all of that is obvious. I'm looking for more of the obscure scenarios that may come up.