Navy or AF?
07-09-2008, 12:46 PM
#21
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: FAA 'Flight Check'
Posts: 13,839
I say take whatever you can get. My father was 24 years in the Navy and I thought I would be too and then the Air Force offered me the best scholarship for ROTC so that was an easy choice. They all have their advantages and drawbacks...I definitely think you should also check out the Coast Guard. They get forgotten about sometimes but have flying opportunities also...
The fastest way to build hours IMO though would be a heavy Air Force aircraft (C-17, C-5, KC-10 OR 135) or P-3s for a tour and then flight instruct in the Navy if that is what you want...
The Navy is almost always on the coast which is a plus...but the Air Force is centered on flying and pilots are always going to be running the show.
You will have to figure out what you want for your life though...
The fastest way to build hours IMO though would be a heavy Air Force aircraft (C-17, C-5, KC-10 OR 135) or P-3s for a tour and then flight instruct in the Navy if that is what you want...
The Navy is almost always on the coast which is a plus...but the Air Force is centered on flying and pilots are always going to be running the show.
You will have to figure out what you want for your life though...
As I look around the beautiful town of Lemoore, CA today and sit in the plane baking under the 110+ deg heat - I wish I could see the coast 
USMCFLYR
07-09-2008, 02:09 PM
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Posts: 711
07-09-2008, 03:36 PM
#23
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: King Air (both)
Posts: 124
Blazer,
All good advice here but I'd start a few squares back. Stop thinking job or flight experience and think basic.
Do you want a military life, to wear the uniform and put up with the good, bad and ugly of that lifestyle? Do you want the phrase "Sorry (insert significant other name) gotta go, again, but only for (blank) months this time" to be part of your vocabulary? Do you want the deployment difficulty set by the percentage of divorces in the unit.
If you can begin to work with that then start thinking about which service. The previous posts covered a little on each but I'm a highly biased opinion.
From there you can narrow the aircraft types and the service will stick you where they need you with no regard to your preference.
It may sound like I'm being negetive but don't take that decision lightly. I had a great time in the Navy and wouldn't trade it for anything (strange for an AF brat but true). Twenty years went by fast. My wife was there for my entire career and can tell you hard it was. Now that I am retired she wears the "badge" like a combat decoration and tells everybody how much she loved being a Navy wife.
Best of luck,
SC
All good advice here but I'd start a few squares back. Stop thinking job or flight experience and think basic.
Do you want a military life, to wear the uniform and put up with the good, bad and ugly of that lifestyle? Do you want the phrase "Sorry (insert significant other name) gotta go, again, but only for (blank) months this time" to be part of your vocabulary? Do you want the deployment difficulty set by the percentage of divorces in the unit.
If you can begin to work with that then start thinking about which service. The previous posts covered a little on each but I'm a highly biased opinion.
From there you can narrow the aircraft types and the service will stick you where they need you with no regard to your preference.
It may sound like I'm being negetive but don't take that decision lightly. I had a great time in the Navy and wouldn't trade it for anything (strange for an AF brat but true). Twenty years went by fast. My wife was there for my entire career and can tell you hard it was. Now that I am retired she wears the "badge" like a combat decoration and tells everybody how much she loved being a Navy wife.
Best of luck,
SC
07-09-2008, 03:40 PM
#24
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: King Air (both)
Posts: 124
07-09-2008, 06:28 PM
#25
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Joined APC: Dec 2007
Posts: 141
Another thing to consider when flying for the Navy/Marines/AF is that you are an officer first. That kind of experience and the things you do besides just flying will help translate to a career outside of aviation as compared to folks who plot along in the standard civilian pilot track. I'm getting out the Navy and since the airlines look so freaking weak I'm seriously considering a transition to the corporate world and my experience as an officer is getting me interviews with pretty big companies with starting salaries in the $80-100k range.
Think about what stepchild wrote though, you have to want to be in the military, not just want to fly.
Think about what stepchild wrote though, you have to want to be in the military, not just want to fly.
07-09-2008, 06:58 PM
#26
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 40,044
I think Salty and the AF guys have it right...the AF probably has more available pilot opportunities and QOL.
Navy/USMC...for some folks there's just no other way to go, and you probably already know who you are.
Navy/USMC...for some folks there's just no other way to go, and you probably already know who you are.
07-11-2008, 07:32 PM
#28
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2007
Posts: 137
Think about what stepchild wrote though, you have to want to be in the military, not just want to fly.[/quote]
Very true words.
Another point of view, funny
Dear DJ ,
Obviously, through no fault of your own, your young, impressionable brain has been poisoned by the superfluous, hyped-up, “Top Gun" media portrayal of fighter pilots. Unfortunately, this portrayal could not be further from the truth. In my experience, I've found most fighter pilots pompous, back-stabbing, momma's boys with inferiority complexes, as well as being extremely over-rated aeronautically.
However, rather than dash your budding dreams of becoming a USAF pilot, I offer the following alternative. What you REALLY want to aspire to is the exciting, challenging, and rewarding world of TACTICAL AIRLIFT.
And this, young DJ, means one thing--the venerable, workhorse C-130. I can guarantee no fighter pilot can brag that he has led a 12-ship formation down a valley at 300 ft above the ground, while trying to interpret a 9-line to a new DZ, avoiding pop-up threats, and coordinating with AWACS, all while eating a box lunch, with the engineer in the back taking a ****, the navigator reading a Penthouse, and the co-pilot puking in his trash can! I tell you, DJ, TAC Airlift is where it's at. Where else is it legal to throw tanks, HMMWVs, and other crap out the back of an airplane, and not even worry about it when the chute doesn't open and it torpedoes the General's staff car! No where else can you land on a 3000' dirt strip, kick a bunch of ammo and stuff off the ramp without even stopping, then take off again before range control can call and tell you you've landed on the wrong LZ! And talk about exotic travel--when C-130s go somewhere, they GO somewhere (usually for 3 months, unfortunately). This gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture enough to give any local population a bad taste in their mouths, not something those strat-lift pilots can do from their airport hotel rooms!
As far as recommendations for your course of study, I offer these. Take a lot of math courses. You will need all the advanced math skills you can muster to facilitate the calculation of per diem rates around the world, and when trying to split up the crew's bar tab so that the co-pilot really believes he owes 85% of the whole thing. Health sciences are important, too. You will need a thorough knowledge of biology to make those educated guesses of how much longer you can drink beer before the tremendous case of the ****s catches up to you from that meal you ate at that place that had the belly dancers in some God-forsaken foreign country whose name you can't even pronounce! Social studies are beneficial. It is important for a good TAC Airlifter to have the cultural knowledge to be able to ascertain the exact location of the nearest titty bar in any country in the world, then be able to convince the local authorities to release the loadmaster after he offends every sensibility of the local religion and culture. A Foreign language is helpful, but not required. You will never be able to pronounce the names of the NAVAIDs in France, and it's much easier to ignore them and go where you want to anyway. A study of geography is also paramount. You will need to know the basic location of all the places you've been when you get back from your TDY and are ready to stick those little pins in that huge world map you've got taped to your living room wall, right next to that gigantic wooden giraffe statue and beer stein collection.
Well, DJ, I hope this little note inspires you. And by the way, forget about that Academy thing. All TAC Airlifters know that there are waaay too few women and too little alcohol there to provide a well-balanced education. A nice, big state college would be a much better choice.
Good luck and see you on the SKE scope!
Maj. Hunter Mills
Very true words.
Another point of view, funny
Dear DJ ,
Obviously, through no fault of your own, your young, impressionable brain has been poisoned by the superfluous, hyped-up, “Top Gun" media portrayal of fighter pilots. Unfortunately, this portrayal could not be further from the truth. In my experience, I've found most fighter pilots pompous, back-stabbing, momma's boys with inferiority complexes, as well as being extremely over-rated aeronautically.
However, rather than dash your budding dreams of becoming a USAF pilot, I offer the following alternative. What you REALLY want to aspire to is the exciting, challenging, and rewarding world of TACTICAL AIRLIFT.
And this, young DJ, means one thing--the venerable, workhorse C-130. I can guarantee no fighter pilot can brag that he has led a 12-ship formation down a valley at 300 ft above the ground, while trying to interpret a 9-line to a new DZ, avoiding pop-up threats, and coordinating with AWACS, all while eating a box lunch, with the engineer in the back taking a ****, the navigator reading a Penthouse, and the co-pilot puking in his trash can! I tell you, DJ, TAC Airlift is where it's at. Where else is it legal to throw tanks, HMMWVs, and other crap out the back of an airplane, and not even worry about it when the chute doesn't open and it torpedoes the General's staff car! No where else can you land on a 3000' dirt strip, kick a bunch of ammo and stuff off the ramp without even stopping, then take off again before range control can call and tell you you've landed on the wrong LZ! And talk about exotic travel--when C-130s go somewhere, they GO somewhere (usually for 3 months, unfortunately). This gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture enough to give any local population a bad taste in their mouths, not something those strat-lift pilots can do from their airport hotel rooms!
As far as recommendations for your course of study, I offer these. Take a lot of math courses. You will need all the advanced math skills you can muster to facilitate the calculation of per diem rates around the world, and when trying to split up the crew's bar tab so that the co-pilot really believes he owes 85% of the whole thing. Health sciences are important, too. You will need a thorough knowledge of biology to make those educated guesses of how much longer you can drink beer before the tremendous case of the ****s catches up to you from that meal you ate at that place that had the belly dancers in some God-forsaken foreign country whose name you can't even pronounce! Social studies are beneficial. It is important for a good TAC Airlifter to have the cultural knowledge to be able to ascertain the exact location of the nearest titty bar in any country in the world, then be able to convince the local authorities to release the loadmaster after he offends every sensibility of the local religion and culture. A Foreign language is helpful, but not required. You will never be able to pronounce the names of the NAVAIDs in France, and it's much easier to ignore them and go where you want to anyway. A study of geography is also paramount. You will need to know the basic location of all the places you've been when you get back from your TDY and are ready to stick those little pins in that huge world map you've got taped to your living room wall, right next to that gigantic wooden giraffe statue and beer stein collection.
Well, DJ, I hope this little note inspires you. And by the way, forget about that Academy thing. All TAC Airlifters know that there are waaay too few women and too little alcohol there to provide a well-balanced education. A nice, big state college would be a much better choice.
Good luck and see you on the SKE scope!
Maj. Hunter Mills
07-11-2008, 09:00 PM
#29
China Visa Applicant
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Midfield downwind
Posts: 1,928
07-19-2008, 03:57 PM
#30
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2007
Position: Legacy FO
Posts: 4,105
As some have said, DO NOT join the military just because you are looking for experience (especially flying experience). We don't need people like you. We need people who are willing to serve the US -- sometimes the duty is not good (flying a desk) and you could actually be killed doing it. Additionally, you could flunk flying school and end up singing YMCA in a sub, or worse, spending a week with a dude in a missle silo in the middle of Deliverence-ville!
With that being said, if you want the best flying experience to prepare you for a transition to the airlines, go Air Force. If you stay away from the fighters and bombers, you'll end up with a couple of type ratings and have heavy, transoceanic, and international flying time that is second-to-none.
If you want the sun, fun, and glory, go USN or USMC; but your chances for flying fixed wing are reduced significantly. Airlines don't like chopper time and you'll end up back in the pool at your commuter airline trying to get flying time.
-Fatty
With that being said, if you want the best flying experience to prepare you for a transition to the airlines, go Air Force. If you stay away from the fighters and bombers, you'll end up with a couple of type ratings and have heavy, transoceanic, and international flying time that is second-to-none.
If you want the sun, fun, and glory, go USN or USMC; but your chances for flying fixed wing are reduced significantly. Airlines don't like chopper time and you'll end up back in the pool at your commuter airline trying to get flying time.
-Fatty
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