WT Forums

Hello All. First, great site! I stumbled on this as I was searching for information on my most favorite aircraft, the A-10.

I am looking for some advice because I will be enlisting soon and I want to have an idea on how to achieve my goal. I am a 24 year old male who will be completing a Mechanical Engineering degree within a year. I am only a solo and a couple hours away from my private pilot's license which has only made my addiction to flying worse!

The local recruiters here in Alabama are not very helpful in planning for my enlistment. My goal, is to fly A-10's. My question is: What do I need to do? How do I need to enlist? Obviously I will be going to OTC, how do I proceed from there? Any tips on what to do to help my cause?

Thank you for all the responses in advance!

Before you do ANYTHING, wait for some of the pilots here to respond.

They'll tell you what the best course of actionis for you.

"Molon labe".
Leonidas, King of Sparta,
Thermopylae, 480 B.C.

Definitely do not enlist if you're that close to completing your degree (and you want to be a pilot). Take all of the required officer/flight aptitude tests. Go see your local recruiter, but make sure he knows you want to be commissioned as an officer. He'll still try to convince you, but don't let him. Have him point you in the right direction. Being commissioned as an officer is a much faster way to get to pilot training that enlisting first. Also, under the right coniditions, you can have a pilot slot waiting for you when you're complete with OTS (or whatever school they go to now).

Just remember, getting a pilot slot doesn't mean you'll get to fly the aircraft you want. You have to perform in pilot training to be given the choice. If you want a guaranteed aircraft, you'll have to join a guard unit that flies the aircraft you want. Of course, that's a much longer road and there are very few pilot slots available through most fighter units.

Blanket so to speak for all mentions of slots in the preceding.