Buzzkillington

Fingers crossed for the 1 in a million shot at Aviano AB, right?

The biggest thing has been the flight physical. I have driven to two different cities in two different states and have had four tries to get it done. The first time, I showed up for an appointment at 8 am that apparently never was made (even though my recruiter insisted it was). The second, I get a call from another AFB saying I missed an appointment that my recruiter failed to tell me about. The third (I learned my lesson and scheduled/coordinated myself), I show up and do the physical, which was painless enough. However, they called me two weeks ago to tell me they lost half the tests/paperwork and to drive back to do it again. Apart from the general running around chasing my own tail over the past year, I got promoted into a much less "Office Spacey" job/group with some really cool people. They also want to put me in a three year leadership program that will pay for my masters. Also, I've moved downtown from suburbia and get to ski every weekend (the one thing I love more than flying). BUT that all kind of feels like a bunch of nothing to me and I'm ready to give it up... just wanted to give you some perspective on what has changed since I was accepted. This thread has set me straight though and I'm in this 110%. It was just after reading so many "I'm punching the second I can" posts in other threads, I had to at least ask the question. Thanks everyone for the insight and motivating words!

I have 80+ hours and a PPL.

Thanks for all the insight and words of encouragement guys! I do wish I had looked into Guard or Reserve from the start rather than jumping in headfirst to AD. However, I think at this point I'd be throwing away a "sure thing" on the chance that the guard/reserve may or may not pick me up... in addition to stretching out my timeline even more (getting close to age critical, I'm 27). That doesn't seem like a smart thing to do.

I think I just had a bad streak of threads that I came across where it seemed like literally 75%+ people were saying how they regretted doing it. I'm ready to go into this 100% but just wanted to get some outside perspectives from people who have already made a living out of it. Seems like the consensus is that it's a stupid question to even ask...

Hi all, I'm really hoping you guys can set me straight here. I was picked up for an AD pilot slot last year and am waiting to go to OTS later this year. I currently have a great finance job at Lockheed and they are literally begging me to stay. While I don't hate what I do, I've spent the last 4 years of my life wondering... is this really it?? Am I just going to make my way up the finance ladder, then retire and slowly rot away? That caused me to apply for a pilot slot, as it's something that I've always wanted to do and offers a meaning to life that I don't think I'd find in many other places. Now, a year after being accepted and waiting in the OTS pipeline... It has been one disaster after another... the amount of incompetence I've seen is incomprehensible and now, the rose tinted glasses are slowly coming off and I am reading some of these posts more carefully and it seems that I'm really only just getting started. I thought I'd be able to put up with it as long as I was flying and doing cool/meaningful things but I'm sure most people say that and end up getting fed up. So here's the question, do you regret your decision becoming a pilot? Will I be crushed by all the queep and BS that gets thrown at me for 12 years? Or will I have an opportunity to grow as a person, experience cool things, and be a part of something bigger (sorry for being cheesy but it's really what is important to me). I always get stuck in these paralysis by analysis situations but I am making some HUGE sacrifices career-wise, all for the sake of being a part of something bigger. Thanks

Alright I'm going insane here... My mom just sent me a file with my medical records and going through them, I found a doctors report from about 7 years ago that I had completely forgot about and made no mention of at MEPS. What happened: I was extremely dehydrated (nothing to drink for >12 hours), had not eaten anything for nearly 24 hours, and was laying in bed for around 8+ hours watching movies... My mom knocked on the door and I jumped up and got dizzy and fell over into a table and chairs. My mom made me go to the doctor just to make sure nothing was wrong. My doctor incorrectly labeled it a loss of consciousness (I remember hitting the table and chairs) and was "required" by law to report it to the DMV. To be cleared at the DMV, I went to a cardiologist and neurologist for tests/consults and they all said I was fine and it was due to the lack of water/food/etc and was "near syncope". While it was not a loss of consciousness, I do not feel like splitting hairs with MEPS/whoever else if this comes back to haunt me. I am going to be up front with my recruiter but am worried that I'll just immediately be dropped from DEP and any future with the military. Anyone hear of similar stories? Also, what is the waiver environment like for explainable/one-time events like this? I'm still beating myself up that I didn't remember this but I was really only trying to think of any official conditions/diagnoses I had when filling out the paperwork, not one-off things. I'm in for a pilot slot too so this will kill me if it causes a DQ. I appreciate any advice/insight.

One thing that I found helped me dramatically on the extremely time pressured sections was not only studying the material but looking at how efficient I was during the section. This may be a bit over the top but I planned out every movement I was going to make during the table reading section. From the position of the booklet/answer sheet on the desk to where I put my pencil/finger, I made sure I was as efficient as possible. For example, I always kept my pencil glued on the current question, so I wouldn't lose my spot and waste precious seconds on finding it again. I ended up finishing just as the clock hit 0 so it was well worth the 30 minutes of planning/practicing.

Throughout my training for my PPL I made a variety of mistakes (most of them stupid) that caused me to receive a nice chewing out from my instructor. Most of them were just me not really thinking and doing something like trying to pull flaps out 20 knots over max flap speed. My most memorable one was during a simulated engine failure 2000 ft above a field, and I tried to fly a rectangular pattern all the way out and back rather than just circling to a lower altitude. How often did you guys make mistakes like these during your flight training? Did it cause you to hook the ride? Maybe I have put AF pilots on too high a pedestal, but I have scared myself into thinking that, for the most part, UPT studs are the best of the best and rarely make mistakes (or at least the mistakes described above). Thanks for the responses!

Not sure why I am asking this, but would there be any reason whatsoever to hold off on finishing my PPL so I can go to IFS?

HIFlyer, that was exactly what I was looking for and now that I look back on my post, I don't think I really specified that. I am definitely looking for the boost on my OTS application since a lot of it is just looking at test scores, GPA, leadership, etc. Once (and if) I get into OTS I feel like I could prove myself as an excellent student/officer. I'm just concerned with that first "hurdle". Thanks for the answers guys, I appreciate it.

I did, but could only find one topic comparing glider vs. PPL and it wasn't very informative.

I (along with everyone else) hope to join the AF and become a fighter pilot within the next couple years and was wondering if it is worth getting a glider pilot's license or a PPL. A few family members keep encouraging me to go for the glider because it has the "fighter feel" (granted, I don't think any of them know what the "fighter feel" is). The other side of the coin is that a PPL would give me a much more traditional flying experience. I have 0 flight hours but I did take an aerobatic glider flight which I really enjoyed. Thank you for the help.