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Question
My son will be transferring to Utah State this Dec. where he will be entering into their AROTC program combined with the UTANG on an O9R scholarship program. I'm still unclear to me as to exactly what his commitment will be to the Guard after he graduates. Will he be a weekend warrior or is he required to be a full time soldier for 6 years? Also, he has made it clear that he wants to be assigned to their air unit with the intention of becoming a pilot. He says he has been told that they are holding a "spot" for him there, providing he qualifies for it...is that possible?
Thanks,
Bill
Hi Bill,
After graduation from college and ROTC, he'll be full-time while he goes through flight training. Depending on the type of aircraft he'll fly, flight training can last for around 12-24 months.
After graduation from flight training, he'll be required to drill (train) one weekend per month, plus two weeks per year. If he wants, he can apply for a full-time Guard assignment, but those are pretty hard to get.
Of course, like any National Guard member, he can be called to full-time duty at any time in support of State emergencies, or Federal military deployments (such as Iraq or Afghanistan). At any given time, there are about 8,000 Air National Guard personnel deployed.
The National Guard works differently from the active duty forces, or Reserves. Basically, squadron commanding officers have huge authority in who they want and who they do not want to serve in their squadrons. This is especially true when it comes to commissioned officers. It would not be unusual for a commanding officer to "reserve" a slot for a "by-name" pilot. My own son-in-law is currently an active duty Army helicopter pilot, who wants to leave the active duty Army early in order to join the Air National Guard as a fixed-wing pilot. There is an Air National Guard unit in Alaska, who is "holding" a slot for him, in the hopes that his request will be approved.
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my US Military information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
About.com US Military Guide
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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