Oh, I went to one of those big fancy schools: Cal State Uni at Long Beach. I had one of those big fancy degrees: Criminal Law. Attitude will get you farther then education, sometimes. Unless you want to go to TPS(Test Pilot School)you don't need an engineering degree. If you enjoy engineering , by all means go for it. I still have thoughts of going to Law School. My point is, don't stereotype yourself. I applied to flight school right AFTER that damn movie Top Gun came out. Just as a point, most of the Academy guys that I know were Political Science majors. They could get good grades and select what they wanted to do in the Navy before the engineers because they usually had lower GPA's. The academy, for MOS selection, does not look at your major just your GPA. There war cry is "Poly Sci! Gonna Fly!"
From 86-90, The military was great. Then we got bitch slapped by Tailhook '91 and then Slick Willy. I found myself deployed more but reduced flying. Aircraft were down for lack of parts. Last year, VMFAT-101(USMC Hornet RAG) in Miramar had 23 of 24 aircraft DOWN for maintenance because they did not have the parts or the manpower to fix the jets. The F-18 is the easiest of the Navy/USMC jets to fix. Can you imagine what the other platforms were like. I think the coming years should be better. It can't get much worse. Frumby
P.S. I don't want to read any comments from any of you Democrats because until you have walk a mile in my shoes, you just do not have the clout.
Attack Pilot
Major USMC