Expert: Rod Powers - 2/7/2007

Question
Is the navy or the USAF better if you are going to join and want to be a fighter pilot and why?

Answer
Hi Chris,

The acceptance rate for both services are about the same. First, one needs to be able to pass a Flight Class I flying physical (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforce/l/blflymenu.htm). (Note: I gave the link to the AF Flight Class physicals, but it's pretty identical to the Navy and Marine Corps flight class physicals).

Next, one has to achieve a fairly high score on the pilot portions of the officer tests (For the Air Force, it's the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, and for the Navy, it's the Navy OCS Test. I wrote a book about both tests, and it can be found on Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Officer-Candidate-School-Test/dp/0764128930/sr=8-1...

For both services, you need a minimum of a bachelors degree, and a pretty high GPA to be competitive (about 3.1 or above). The actual degree program doesn't matter. Having a private pilot's license would be a bonus in the selection process.

If selected for pilot training, the training process is pretty much the same (except Navy pilots learn to take off and land on aircraft carriers).

If selected for flight training, you'll first attend basic flight training. Your "class standing", along with your preferences will then determine whether you advance to helicopters, propeller aircraft, or jets. If you get jets, you'll then attend advanced jet training. Again, your class standing, along with your preferences will determine whether you advance to tanker, transport, or fighter aircraft. In other words, the higher your class standing, the better chance you have of getting the type of aircraft you want to fly.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my Military information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com