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National guard pilot to active duty navy pilot
- Thread starter pmt011
- Start date
Exactly my point. From what I've heard its harder to get a UPT slot from outside of the guard. It doesn't sound like hes in the guard, so why are they "guaranteeing" him this slot?
Sometimes its not what you know, but who you know...
When I went through Randolph we had 8 NG guys out of 28 in my class. One of the more interesting, and fun, bunches of guys and gals that I have met in the military. They knew the day they started API what they were going to fly and cared about passing, and not much else. Every single one of them had been enlisted in the Guard and all but one was going back to their home state Guard. The way they described it, selection for pilot and nav in the NG was almost entirely who you know. And they often had a 'rushing' process in order to get in. A lot of it rested on how much you got along with the other guys in the unit than a demonstrated ability.
At the same time, they were not going send idiots to flight school, their units' and state Guard's reputation was a bit on the line too. Only one of the numerous NG people I knew at Randolph was an idiot, she had failed out of AF Nav school and got a second chance when they started to send them to Pensacola (who the hell fails out of AF Nav school?!). Daddy was a Colonel (Dentist) in the state NG, which explained a big part of why she was still there.
The National Guard does things a bit differently than the Navy or regular AF, so it not out of the realm of possibility that someone would be offered a slot (though I would guess that he or she knows someone).
I wasn't trying to raise the BS flag or give him a hard time. I would seriously just like to hear the story. Some of the guys that I've known/met that were guard pilots had the craziest stories about how they got there. One of my friends dad's went from driving a Budweiser beer truck to flying F-16's. I would just be interested in his story.
christomlinson
Registered User
How exactly does this work? Where do you get information on how a person can enter the ANG directly as an aviator?
I looked on the ANG website before, and even talked to one of the live chat help people, and it was said that they selected their new officers from their enlisted guys. Otherwise all of the open billets that you saw advertised on their site were for those with prior military experience.
The whole "Budweiser truck to F-16 pilot," as described a few posts above, sounds interesting.
What is the training process for a new ANG pilot with no prior military experience?
I am in Florida where there is a F-15 squadron right here at the local airport. I have to say it could be the best deal going if all is true.
Thanks for the help guys.
I looked on the ANG website before, and even talked to one of the live chat help people, and it was said that they selected their new officers from their enlisted guys. Otherwise all of the open billets that you saw advertised on their site were for those with prior military experience.
The whole "Budweiser truck to F-16 pilot," as described a few posts above, sounds interesting.
What is the training process for a new ANG pilot with no prior military experience?
I am in Florida where there is a F-15 squadron right here at the local airport. I have to say it could be the best deal going if all is true.
Thanks for the help guys.
Like has been said in this thread before, you really have to know someone in order to get a slot in a NG unit. The eight guys who were training to be KC-135 or C-130 Navs when I went through training were all prior enlisted and had proven themselves doing that prior to being selected for flight school.
As for the fghter units, that is even more 'who you know'. In many instances, expecially the F-15 units (since there are so few of them, I think 4 to 6 at most), they really have their pick of who they can have. Several of the fighter units pick guys who are Weapon school grads, have extensive combat experience and have an excellent rep in their communities. They take Navy and Marine guys too but they usually have a lot of experience, Top Gun grads and instructors and are often in reserve units themselves (the reserve VFA squadrons in DFW and New Orleans are at the same base as Reserve/NG units).
So to put it to you simply, the chances of getting a fighter slot in the NG off the street are not all that good unless your dad's best buddy is the Wing Commander or somethign like that. There is the slim possibilty, and I do mean slim, that you could get one off the street. The best thing to do is talk to the NG unit and see how they recruit, they can and do have their own policies.
There are a couple wildcards out there like the DC National Guard, which has a squadron of F-16's
(they fly out of Andrews). I do know someone who was not a resident of DC but applied and got a slot right off the street. Antoher is Alaska, the one guy who was not to his home state unit was recruited by the Alaskan NG because they needed guys. You can always ask around, it does not hurt. P.S. You don't always have to be SH, one of Brett's favorite pilots got an F-16 slot with the NY NG. I don't think it hurt her paramour was a pilot for a 135 unit there......
invertedflyer
500 ft. from said obstacle
The F-16 ANG squadron that I spoke with a few years ago said that they valued multi-engine experience and flight time with regards to the selection process. Although I think this would help, I'm sure prior service would give you a huge boost as you've proven yourself in the military community. I need to stop reading this thread, its tempting me to go back and ask more questions... =)
There were several ANG dudes in my AF primary class. They had between 800 and 3000 civilian hours and were all basically hired off the street. Most were going to units in states where they hadn't even lived. I don't think any were really enlisted prior to applying for officer spots. The one guy with an F-15 slot was SH and pretty much aced the UPT program. Needless to say, getting an ANG slot off the street isn't easy. I hate to say it but I would have fought hard for an ANG slot if I had known about them.
I wouldn't admit it around the squadron, but I would still love to get into an ANG unit after I leave AD in the Navy.
There are a few out there but most of the guys in NG units had loads of prior flying or enlisted experience. Good on those guys to get in off the street, it is a sweet deal that is as close as you can get to the perfect deal flying for the military.
Getting picked up by the Guard/Reserve is tough but not impossible. There are many fighter and heavy units that have boards. Its the best deal out there. I thought the F-16 Det was gone at March? Everyone was based out of Fresno. If you have more questions go to baseops.net.
invertedflyer
500 ft. from said obstacle
The 144th det. has been gone for a while now... I heard they got deployed to Iraq and then went back to Fresno... for the last bit its been the Montana ANG at March.
pmt011
Registered User
Thanks for all of the advice and insight all. This is def an example of who you know, i'm no superman or ego maniac, good luck just got me rubbing sholders with the right person at the right time. XMID, no blood no foul, I'm just reluctant to specify which unit i'm talking about since the entire basis of this post is the question of using them to get a fighter seat, then switching to active duty. Keep the conversation going, the ANG is new territory for me. Thanks and good luck to all.
