Stoker

It's definitely possible for a Reservist to FAIP, one prior Nav did it a little while ago. He was unsponsored and wanted to stick around, apparently.

Yeah, you should be an easy pickup for any Reserve heavy squadron. What FDNY said about it being quicker for the Reserves than Guard is true.

It definitely depends. You'll get more familiar with standups at IFT... but that's probably not something you want to waste a month of your life to learn, when plenty of people figure it out at UPT with little problem. If I was within a few hours of finishing my private, I'd get it, because not having to go to IFT will save you MONTHS of your life (sitting at UPT base waiting for IFT, IFT itself, sitting at your UPT base after getting back waiting for class to start). If money is tight or you're more than a dozen hours away, I'd probably hold off.

Traditional drop nights have already started to go away from what I can tell. They're mixing and mingling classes together, whoever is close to dropping based on their place in the syllabus. Not sure if that's how it always was. 19-08 is the last official "class" at KCBM, should be dropping sometime around February.

Just a little joke, when I was applying it seemed like they posted a call for applications every month or two, and they were just about the only heavy squadron I never heard back from.

You're likely in striking distance for fighters, finish your PPL and you'll likely be able to land some interviews provided you show up to the meet-and-greets and mesh well. But you'll be among the less well qualified candidates, at least on paper. Not insurmountable though, and potentially worth spending six months or so chasing that dream before switching to applying to heavies. Get your PPL and you should get a call back from any heavy squadron you apply to (except McDill).

Competition for UPT slots with the Guard and Reserve is pretty minimal right now, people are getting hired by bomber squadrons with ~20 flight hours and a degree in zoology. But if you're set on fighters, a PPL is almost mandatory to be considered by them.

As far as I can tell, the FACT isn't pass-fail anymore. We still took it, and maybe because I'm auto T-1 tracked (Reserve) I missed the memo, but I didn't hear of anyone "failing" or not being allowed to track -38s. Maybe it's behind the scenes consideration for track select?

The 11-248 hasn't changed since 2016, but a lot of the maneuvers aren't done anymore (or at least, required in the syllabus).

Question: I'm a reservist at UPT currently living in the dorms, getting BAH for my home location based upon still having a house there while I'm in training. My Guard friend here in the same situation isn't getting BAH, period, much less BAH for where he's paying a mortgage while in training. Does anyone know what reg is allowing me to do this, and if there's any reason it would/wouldn't apply to a Guard student? We're talking something like a $25k difference in pay over the course of UPT, for no reason I can figure.

Solo students are expected to either land the plane via normal overhead, or eject. No ELPs, and we don't practice them in the aircraft. Still have to know the details of an ELP for GK. Instructors and some international students still do ELPs.

We just had the biggest influx of new people to the dorms (Academy folks showing up), so it might be a while. I was given the offer to get out about two months after getting here, but they were trying to clear space for the ring-wearers coming in.

Taxes should be for the purpose of raising revenue to fund government, not to punish people who government decides have too much money.

That's kind of a fundamental misunderstanding of how saving works. Very few people are literally Scrooge McDucking their savings in a giant vault. The estate tax hits productive enterprises that have a monetary value, or stocks that represent capital investments. Even if it's just cash in a bank account, the bank can now lend that money out to people who want to accomplish things with it. The issue with the estate tax is that it's relatively easy to evade, and the incentives to do so are extremely high. People with $100 million estates are paying a smart lawyer to set up trusts and shells to avoid paying much, if anything. Heirs of people with a relatively small family business, say, $10 million, are forced to sell out in order to pay the taxes. You often can't really just sell half of a small company. Even in your farm example, it's not so simple as selling a few hundred acres. Now you don't really have the land to justify that $400k combine you bought, and maybe a fulltime manager just isn't really in the cards... in a few years, your productivity is down so much you sell the rest.

You'll have to go to the UOQs first, even if it's full there's a waitlist to get out, so you'd take someone's room and they'd get to move. They're also intermittently letting single students find a roommate and share a base house, pocketing ~$400 of leftover BAH. YMMV. For the UOQs, the beds are Full XLs in case you want to order sheets that actually fit. Don't listen to the UOQ lady if she tells you different. Casual jobs are much less of a thing than they used to be, you mostly don't get one unless you're in the wrong place at the right time. Instead, expect to be assigned as a casual to a T-6 flight room for at least a few weeks before you start academics. The idea is you can study, ask questions, etc.

Fighter units don't look likely, I'd say you'd have a decent shot at heavy squadrons provided you rushed/interviewed well. PPL will likely do the most to improve your chances, especially as it gives you a talking point about your dedication to this goal.

You should storm through your PPL as fast as humanly possible. If this is something you seriously want to do, spend the $10,000 or so it would take to go to a dedicated pilot mill that can get you done in two weeks. As you said, time is not on your side. There's a 35 year old in my UPT class so not out of the question, but every day you delay puts you further towards the point of no return.

That's not a bad idea. I had horrible grades at the first college I attended, transferred and did better (not great, but a solid 3.something). I didn't just let the numbers speak for themselves though, I made it a talking point about dedication to doing better. You should get your AFOQT done first, this can probably be done easiest by going to the nearest AFROTC detachment. It can also be scheduled through a recruiter, but the less you have to deal with one the better. After that, you take the TBAS which generates your PCSM. I'd probably go to local flight doc and get a first class FAA medical. It doesn't count for anything with the military, but some Guard units require a First Class (vs a Third Class) to apply, and it costs only a few dollars more, usually. Getting your civilian medical will at least ensure you aren't disqualified right off the bat, say, you have no color vision.

Just go to college and have a good time, don't worry about the Air Force in any significant way. Get a PPL in your spare time. You're five years away from when you'd be first eligible to get picked up for a flying slot (and that's if you finish college in four years; you're smarter to do it in six). No telling if you'll still want to be a pilot then, much less a member of the military. People change. Don't commit your life so far from the goal. That said, if you have actual problems paying for a decent state school, enlisting to get that paid for might be a good idea. Given the current hiring environment, enlisting to up your odds of getting hired by a Guard or Reserve squadron is a fool's errand - people are being hired with practically zero flight time and degrees in art.

It's MEPS. Odds are you'll have to go back twice anyways because your paperwork got lost / shredded / eaten by a Marine. While lying might be a little more convenient, I wouldn't put yourself at risk just to save wasting a day.

Your numbers are more than good enough to get an interview with a heavy squadron. From there, it's all on your personality. FYI, the seated height restriction for the T-38 (which is the most restrictive) is 40 inches. Not sure if it's changed since you were told you couldn't fit.

Absent a PPL, you probably have zero shot (at a Guard/Reserve squadron). With one, you have a shot, provided you rush the units, make best buds with the people there, and are just plain good. On the plus side, given your age, you have plenty of time to chase the dream of fighters and still have time to apply for transports and tankers when/if that fails. If you're on the hunt for fighter slots for a year, say, and you don't even get called for an interview, you know you probably aren't competitive and can shift your sights or refocus your future plans. I'd say five letters of rec is too many, pick your best three.

A little late, but if your degree is in engineering as your username implies, you should be able to make the argument that your 2.5 is easily an underwater basketweaving 3. And I say that as an underwater basketweaving major.

The value of a degree is like 80% signalling. It's letting prospective employers know that you were smart enough to get in, and dedicated enough to show up for (enough of the) classes for four years. The more selective / better brand name schools are obviously going to be better at that. In other words, Utah Valley U has a 100% acceptance rate. Maybe that should give you an indication of how others will perceive your attendance there.

You absolutely don't need to be enlisted, especially for Reserve squadrons. More job announcements will come. The hiring boom isn't ceasing anytime soon. Your scores are good enough to be more than competitive at any tanker or airlift squadron out there (even more so if the location is undesirable). Get flight hours, most units will want you to have a least a few to be seriously considered, and a PPL is variously required officially or unofficially.