Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 4/27/2009

Question
i am going to enlist in the air force but want to be a pilot later. i was looking into the Airmen Education and Comissioning Program (AECP) as a way of getting my degree. what i read about it is that you will go to school full time while remaining on active duty status. but everywhere i read about it, it says this: "AECP is not an avenue for undergraduate flying training."

what exactly does that mean? does that mean that if i enter this program, i will never be able to be a pilot? or are they just letting me know that just being in the program doesnt guarantee me a pilot slot? i know people get pilot slots from ROTC and i know that as part of the AECP, you will be in ROTC. so why does it say i cant be a pilot?

Answer
Dennis,
Enlisting in the Air Force and then becoming a pilot just can't be done.  "The AECP is not an avenue for undergraduate flying training", means you cannot become a pilot or navigator under this program.

The regular ROTC is not a part of the AECP.  You're confusing it with AECP ROTC, which offers active duty Air Force enlisted personnel a chance to earn a commission while working on their Bachelor's Degree.  They go to school along with AF ROTC, but come under a different program.  Think of it this way.  If an AF ROTC student fails out he goes home.  If an AECP ROTC student fails out, he goes back to work at his enlisted AF job.

AECP ROTC students are limited to 8 career fields only (the ones that the AF needs most) such as Foreign Languages or Nursing.  Skills that are normally hard to come by.

I know it's kind of confusing.  I hope I explained it so you can better understand.
Thanks for you interest in the Air Force.
Colonel H