va121mir

I live about 15 min away and I'm enlisted in the reserves (AF) in Phoenix. They straight up told me no for the last two boards because I was not in the AZ guard.

Tucson has required applicants to be in the AZ national guard (army or AF) the last couple years. I doubt they will change that.

@kleveling you can apply to any unit you want. You will likely have to work with the unit's recruiter when you get hired by the unit. So any preliminary work with an AFRC recruiter does not commit you to AFRC.

@dt92 Typically the age limit is 28 or 28.5 for guard units. I have never seen it at 27. Plus, some units, even fighter units, are willing to do age waivers. Since you are in the guard already, it should be pretty easy for you to get a FC1 knocked out at wright pat. Having a cleared FC1 will def help your chances. If you have already taken the AFOQT and TBAS and your scores are ok then apply with what you have now and plan on retaking it. Also, get as much flight time as you can. Additionally, I know some dudes that got picked up at fighter units past 30.

At 26 you still have alot of time left to find a fighter unit. Once you start UPT on the reserve dime, it will be practically impossible to switch to guard. Leave the unsponsored route as a backup...just my 2 cents.

I put together a simulator that is based on the requirements of the TBAS. Now I have taken the TBAS twice and have no use for it any longer so I am looking to sell it. The setup consists of a Thrustmaster Cougar joystick and throttle mounted to a plate and CH Pro pedals. The pedals are the exact ones used for the TBAS. The joystick is the same one that used to be used for the TBAS but some locations have switched to the Thrustmaster Warthog which is very similar. Additionally, I wrote a game that is very close to the first couple of sections of the TBAS. The game has two windows, one for tracking in 2D with the joystick and another for tracking 1D with the pedals. The difficulty is adjustable and can be set to way harder than what is on the TBAS. The game runs on win7 or win10. The whole package would come with all the hardware, the drivers, the game, and the source code for the game. Send me a message for further details, pictures, etc.

@AlwaysUp96 have you taken the TBAS? Also how old are you (i would guess around 20-22 considering that you are still in college)? Keep in mind that you can only take the AFOQT twice (3 with a waiver) in your life time. Def retake is after doing some serious studying, its really not that hard. Same with the TBAS, I took it twice, once without any prep, then a few years later with a bunch of prep and killed it. You are in a stem field, so i assume you do some programming. I wrote a TBAS simulator (for the joystick part) in a few hours and it significantly helped my score - feel free to message me for details. Anyway here are my two main points: 1.If you are young then you have plenty of time so figure out what you want to do (fighters or cargo) and go for it. 2. The reserves provides an option for you to go to UPT unsponsored. If you go this route you will be tracked to T-1 and then cargo but you can get picked up by a fighter unit and that will land you in T-38s. So before applying AD and possibly ending up as an ABM (not that there is anything wrong with that) consider all your options and do not be afraid to work for and wait for what you want.

@HuggyU2 I have seen a few left over on the flight line but I believe the plan is to move all the F16s to Holloman. Not sure on which squadrons (active duty) are still flying the F16.

@YoungnDumb I've talked to them several times about it. Even had my CFI, who works w the commander ask them. At this point, I'm too old to cross train.

Yea...really sucks cuz I live just down the road and cant even apply because I am in the reserves not the guard...

@brabus I think you are talking about the F16s at Tucson International Airport. They will send you to UPT but you have to be in the Arizona National Guard (Army or Air Force) to apply to their UPT boards. At least that is the way it was for the last two years.

The reserve unit at Holloman is 944th FW Det 1 which is a training only unit. They will not send anyone to UPT. The same goes for all 944 FW units (Luke F35s, Holloman F16s, Seymore Johnson F15Es, Davis Monthan A10s). F16 training used to be at Luke but has now moved to Holloman.

@FDNYOldGuy For the NGB, the waiver is routed thru the squadron that hires you, then the group, then the wing, then the state, then the NGB and could take upwards of a year from what I have been told. Many units don't want to deal with the headache, hence the 28.5 age limit that most ANG units have. However, some ANG units are willing to push age waivers. I would just contact the POC for each unit, explain your situation, and ask if they are willing to consider it. That is what I have been doing and the answers range from "Hell No old man" to "Yes" and I'm only 29.

@FDNYOldGuy AFRC A3RB (the guys in charge of the AFRC UPT board) said that they will not take anyone needing waivers unsponsored. Your best chance would be at an AFRC unit since the process for age waivers is easier than the NGB.

Does anyone know where the money actually comes from for unsponsored guys going thru UPT? I would assume that OTS, IFS, and the T6 phase are centrally funded by AFRC. Does the T38/T1 phase and B course funding come out of the sponsoring (assigned) unit's funds or is it still centrally funded?