Expert: Rod Powers - 12/8/2006

Question
hi my name is joe iam interested in joining the armed forces to become a pilot flying planes and helicopters ....i was wonder how long the tours were if your a pilot in the air force, marines, army, navy, coast guard...thank you it will help me alot  

Answer
Hi Joe,

First of all, I'm sure you know that becoming a pilot in the military is very competitive. With the exception of the Army (in which one can become a helicopter pilot with a high school diploma -- rare, but it can happen), you need a college degree, with a high GPA (3.2 or above) just to be competitive. You also have to score high on the particular service's flight aptitude test, just to get into the running.

If selected, the service obligation for the Air Force is 12 years, following graduation from flight training. It's 10 years for Navigators.

For the Navy and Marine Corps, the service obligation is 8 years for pilots (following flight training), and 6 years for navigators.

The Coast Guard only has a 6 year obligation, but they only accept experienced military prior service pilots to fly their aircraft. In other words, to fly in the Coast Guard, you must first get your pilot's rating in another service.

For the Army, commissioned officer pilots incur a total 8 year service obligation, following flight training, and warrant officer applicants incur a total 6 year obligation.

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