Expert: David A. NewMyer - 12/4/2007

Question
My boyfriend wants to go into the Air Force to be a pilot. My only concern is how often he will be gone. I know it depends on what kind of aircraft he decides to fly, so what kind of aircraft do you think would allow him to fly, but not be gone all the time? I've read a lot of the other stories posted about how long certain aircraft were deployed so which would be best for our situation? Also, what kind of requirements are involved in becoming a pilot?

Answer
HI,

With ALL aircraft types, there will be some form of time away from home base, duty time, that sort of thing.  It will be somewhat less with bombers, and tankers than with fighter and helicopter squadrons.  Some bombers are (such as the strategic bombers) are based largely here in the USA with some minimal overseas deployments.  Tankers tend to be deployed away a bit more than strategic bombers, with some basing in Guam and other locations.

Keep in mind also that training will take pilots away to their training locations for a while and those are not always accompanied tours--depends on how long the training is expected to be.  In some cases, the training can last up to a year.  These are all questions that shouild be asked of the Air Force before he joins......also, have him google or yahoo some of the questions as I think I have heard about some good websites that will explain some of these timing issues better than I can.

Best wishes on a good choice,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale