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Deciding between USNA and USAFA

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
View attachment 34464
That’s a quote, said with pride, from an AF fighter pilot colonel.

Maybe I’m just jealous because I know I’ll never be a yellow-thcarved Rocketeer. I just fly helicopters to pass the time between PI and Singapore.

Sweaty tee-shirt and the ability to hover beats a yellow ascot (not a scarf…ascot) any day.
 

kejo

Well-Known Member
pilot
USAFA has better mountain biking…USNA has better fishing (just don’t get caught)
 

DanMa1156

Is it baseball season yet?
pilot
Contributor
Both are great schools. Congratulations; you have a choice between two great options. In general, I think your lifestyle at both schools will be relatively similar (I say that as a USNA grad).

With that said, here's what I wrote the other day regarding USN vs. USAF:

1. I always liked ships as a kid for some reason, and when I saw TOP GUN and the planes land on the ship, I thought that was incredible. I was in 4th grade and I couldn't read or watch enough about it. (Still feel this way, and I absolutely love landing on ships even though I am a helo pilot. Small boy landings, I love that challenge even to this day.)

2. As I got older, I seriously considered two major factors between the Navy and the Air Force commissioning programs: (1) Where would I likely live in a career as a pilot for either one? Most USAF duty stations did not appeal to me whereas the locations for Navy locations did appeal to me; and (2), if, for some reason I didn't end up qualifying as a pilot, what was the worst imaginable job each service could throw me at in my 18 year old brain - for the Navy, it was subs, and for the Air Force it was Missileers (spelling?). I figured Subs would be way cooler and had a more interesting mission set than sitting in an underground bunker in the middle of nowhere waiting to end the world. (I made the right choice for me; my perception matched reality here as far as I can tell.)

3. I genuinely wanted to serve on ships. I have my bad days like anyone else, but in general, I don't entirely hate the boat like a lot of people do. I think I'd be more frustrated deploying to a town where I couldn't take liberty, or some remote part of the world where even if I could take liberty, it would be pointless. At least the Navy gets port calls and the expectations for work while in port are very low.

4. Navy uniforms seemed way cooler. (Still feel this way.)

5. The Navy culture both in and out of aviation is something I thought I'd fit in more with. (To a large extent, I think that was and remains true.)
Supposedly the percentage of pilot slots out of USNA is higher than USAFA. I’m trying to actually verify if that’s true.

Having seen both sides the airframe choices after flight school vary widely. What you fly after flight school is a crap shoot. Don’t base your choice on that.

I will say that on a whole, I prefer the culture of the Navy over the AF, but that can also be very squadron dependent. However, the AF does give you more opportunity to fly later in your career even if you don’t screen for command. For example, I’m a non-squadron command O-5 and I fly ~30 hours a month and I’ll finish my career flying.

Bottom line, flying in either service is awesome, consider the non-flying aspects to help guide your decision.

I would also suggest it's not just a numbers game in terms of pure pilot slots / graduate. I'd argue there are probably a lot more people that attend USAFA with the intention of "fly or bust," whereas, at USNA, there are genuinely people who want to be SWOs, Submariners, SEALs, Marines, etc.

Also, to the OP: you asked for those who didn't get jets do we still like what we fly? Yes. I am a helo guy and I love it. I got to live in some awesome places and have had a lot of fun actually flying the helicopter itself.
 

HuggyU2

Well-Known Member
None
As someone who initially wanted to be a Navy officer, and whose friends are probably 50% formal Naval Aviators, I know I would have really enjoyed a Navy career. I even tried to do an exchange to the Marine Corps (I was a finalist, but the exchange was cancelled).

I can also assure you that I believe my Air Force career was more epic than i could have ever imagined.

USAFA grads that are medically qualified are encouraged to take a pilot slot. While on active duty, I recall UPT students from USAFA quitting UPT because they didn't want to be there, but were pushed into going. This still happens.

The ubiquitous Bob Norris quote. It shows up here every 6-9 months, and is always a great read. It was written 40 years ago, so keep it in perspective. Your career won't be defined by the hottest chick in Singapore (and that's assuming "she" isn't a female impersonator), so make an adult decision on which Service will best suit your personal style, desire, and career objectives.

And as for scarves... they are comfortable and look WAY better than those cranials the Navy/Marines wear the moment they get near a flightline. I'm amazed I've avoided a head injury for so long without one! And don't get me started on the ancient ejection seat harness the Navy uses. Amazing.

Good info from Squirrel Girl. Update: no one is currently getting RPA's out of AF pilot training. I would also say that only about 15% of UPT grads are getting fighters.

Fighter options are F-22, F-35, F-16 F-15E and A-10. I'm pretty sure no one from active duty is getting an F-15C anymore since those are sunsetting.
Bombers are B-1, B-2 and B-52... though B-1 is sunsetting, so maybe not an option now or in the near future.
Heavies: C-17, C-5, KC-135, KC-46, C-130, EC-130, RC-135, E-8, C-21, C-12, E-3. With the KC-10 sunsetting, I doubt those are being offered much anymore.
SpecOps: HC-130, MC-130, AC-130, U-28, C-145, C-146 and maybe other fairly unknown stuff that they fly.
FAIP (what you would call SERGRAD): T-6, T-1, T-38

Here's the Active Duty assignment drop for Columbus' UPT class 2 weeks ago:
KC-46 x 2
C-5 x 2
C-17 x 2
KC-135 x 4
E-3 x 1
C-146 x 1
T-1 x 1
T-38 x 1
T-6 x 1
C-130 x 1
U-28 x 1
C-21 x 1
A-10 x 1
F-16 x 2

Here's the Vance AFB assignments from November:
C-130J, Little Rock
C-130J, Ramstein
HC-130J, Davis-Monthan
C-17, Charleston
C-17, McChord
C-17, McGuire
C-21, Ramstein
C-5M, Dover
C-5M, Travis
KC-135, Fairchild
KC-135, Kadena x2
KC-135, March
KC-135, Mildenhall x3
U-28, Hurlburt x2
T-6, Vance
A-10, Davis-Monthan
B-2, Whiteman
F-16, TBD x3
F-22, Eglin
F-35, Luke
T-38A, Langley (this will likely turn into an F-22 assignment after ~2 years).

I didn't include Guard/Reserve assignments on the above lists.

Disclaimer: past results are no guarantee of future performance.
 
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Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
And as for scarves... they are comfortable and look WAY better than those cranials the Navy/Marines wear the moment they get near a flightline. I'm amazed I've avoided a head injury for so long without one! And don't get me started on the ancient ejection seat harness the Navy uses. Amazing.

At least we can say words like 'head' and 'box' without giggling or saying "so to speak". :D
 

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
At least we can say words like 'head' and 'box' without giggling or saying "so to speak". :D

In his defense, they are actually called "cranials" for the troops. He also used the word "head" in his post, without a "so to speak", so Huggy is all right... for a USAF guy. ;)
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
In his defense, they are actually called "cranials" for the troops. He also used the word "head" in his post, without a "so to speak", so Huggy is all right... for a USAF guy. ;)

Oh I know, but I'm triggered after hearing that 'so to speak' crap way too many times.
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Red line side sea story: We had a COD det in Hawaii during RimPac 1992. We had just landed and one of our COD pilots didn’t want to wait for the crew van, so he decided to walk and take the direct path to Maintenance Control.

A few minutes later (after crossing the red line of death), he was flat on the ground, in his full flight gear, with 2 M-16s in his face. The rest of the crew at the COD were rolling with laughter.

/end sea story
 
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