Selection Process

I started talking to air force recruiters and was informed about the pilot selection process for the Air National Guard. Every state in the U.S. has an Air National Guard unit but only a limited few select people “off the street”. Most units have plenty of candidates from within the unit to where they do not offer positions to outsiders. The units that do open up their pilot selection boards to people outside of the unit typically only select one up to four pilots per year. Needless to say the competition is pretty intense. I had decided that I was going to do whatever it took to get a slot. In March 2007 I took the AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualifying). It was pretty similar to the SAT or ACT tests I had to take before college. Next I took the TBAS (test of basic aviation skills). This was a computerized test that evaluates the candidate’s hand eye coordination and ability to multi-task. Next it was time to start putting together “packets”. each unit requires different items to be included in your packet. I spent a lot of time and effort putting these together. I wanted to make sure that they where just right. I also spent a lot of time researching which units where hiring and when their annual boards where going to be held. I spent countless hours making phone calls across the country talking with units hoping that they would open up their pilot selection outside of their unit. I made a master list of all the units hiring and began sending off my packets. The following weeks were horrible. All I could think about was what the selecting officials thought of my packet and if I would hear from any of them. To make a long story short I was invited to interview with a unit in Spokane, Washington, Lincoln, Nebraska, Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was off to Washington and Nebraska first to interview with their units.
The interviews. Talk about intimidating! I was all decked out in my Army Dress uniform. Shirt perfectly ironed, shoes polished. I was ready to go! I was asked to enter the interview room. Eight men sat at a round table and asked me to take a seat at the head. I felt like I had just entered the Pentagon or something. They where all dressed in their Air Force Blues with like a million medals. They began asking questions. The whole interview lasted about 45 min. The interviews in Washington and Nebraska where on a Friday and Sunday of the same week so I was in the airport a lot just thinking of the interview and what I would say. The next couple of weeks after the interviews where horrible. All I could think about was if I made it or not. I finally got news that I was not selected and that they had chosen someone from their unit. Bummer! Around that same time I was invited to interview with a unit in Columbus, Ohio. I was very impressed as I drove the rental car around town thinking that I could see myself raising a family there. It was very green and the weather was awesome! (it was summer though, I heard that the winters are kind of brutal). I left the interview in Ohio with a good feeling. I really liked the people in the unit and was even invited to go out to eat with some of the pilots from the unit. A few days later I received a call and the voice on the other end said, “so….how do you feel about moving to Ohio?” I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy and excited that I could hardly say anything. The guy probably thought that I was a moron as I probably said thank you a million times.

Why the Air National Guard?

I have wanted to be a pilot ever since I was a little child. The pilot selection process started for me around September of 2006. I had just started my senior year at Arizona State University. I was studying Aeronautical Management Technology and was sure I wanted to be a pilot, but was not so excited about doing it the civilian route. I was working at UPS at the time as a ramp supervisor and was in contact with the pilots on a daily basis. Whenever the opportunity would arise I would always ask them where they got their training and then tell them that I was interested in flying. Surprisingly on more than one occasion the pilots would mention the Air National Guard as the best kept secret in aviation. The difference between being an Air National Guard pilot and an active duty pilot is that once an Air National Guard pilot completes his/her training they return to the state that they will be flying for and will only have to fly a few times a month and a couple of weeks out of the year (theoretically that is, there are still deployments here and there throughout the year). This means that pretty much right after training an Air National Guard pilot can most likely get a job with the airlines. An active duty pilot is a full time military pilot for I’m not sure but like 12 years. This means that they can be stationed any where in the world, and they don’t know what type of aircraft they will be flying until halfway through pilot training. As an Air National Guard pilot you are hired to fly a specific aircraft so you know exactly what you will be flying before you go to training. I was definitely interested in flying for the Air National Guard. I was in the Army Reserve at the time and so I was familiar with the military. Besides, after going 3 weeks without a shower and sleeping on the dirt while deployed to Iraq with the Army I was pretty sure that things could only get better as an officer in the Air Force.

Starting a blog

I have decided to keep an online journal as I proceed through the process of pilot training in the United States Air Force. I want to be able to someday look back and remember some of the feelings that I had prior to and during pilot training in the Air Force. I could keep a regular old fashion paper journal, but I have found that I am not all that great at that, plus many people have been asking a lot of questions as to what I will be doing and this is a perfect way to share my experience with everyone.