Looking into Air Force OTS

I am hoping for some advice. Has anyone here gone to OTS being a civilian or know someone who has? I have a bachelors in Business Admin., and I am taking the AFOQT next week. I would love to become a pilot, but probably more realistically a C&I or Intelligence Officer. Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

I'll let ya know in a few months. I'm in the process of getting in too.
I'm RN wanting to do flight.

Good luck!

 

go navy

 

I just left the AF, but I went through ROTC not OTS. Jhodge is right, you have to be under a certain age to be a pilot. Don't remember the exact age, but I know 30 is too old (sorry).

If no one from OTS chimes in, here's the best info I know/recall, but some of it might be slightly off or out dated. OTS is kind of like ROTC and boot rolled into one session, IIRC about 12 weeks. It was in Montgomery, AL at Maxwell AFB. The first few weeks expect it to be like boot camp: room inspections, drill, getting yelled at, uniform inspections. This is when they'll teach you how to salute, march, stand at attention, wear a uniform, etc. You'll be doing in-class instruction on AF history and rules/regulations.

After a few weeks, they'll start giving you limited base liberty and you'll transition into higher leadership education and you'll be expected to lead your flight (aka squad) through a marching/drill routine. You'll have responsibilities for the health, safety, and performance of your flight.

As more weeks pass, you'll get more base liberty and I think you can even leave the base on weekends (if not more). Eventually, the OTS candidates will be essentually running the show...a flight commander will answer to a squadron commander all the way up to a commander of all the officer candidates. It will be very good for you to step up and take on responsibilities such as these.

 

You will not become a pilot in the USAF..too old. I was in the same boat.

You are on the right track. Look into OSI (Office of Special Investigations) or Intel. Remember this, both have good opportunities for nice paying gigs on the outside. Also, contracting...HUGE HUGE right now. For the enlisted side of the house, its like a 90K retention bonus! Plus, very good civilian opportunities. Also, look at what will let you travel and have good assignments.

Look beyond your service in the USAF...figure out what will offer opportunities on the outside.

 

Thanks for your replies, I figured I was too old to become a pilot. I know that the selection process is very competitive for OTS, and I was hoping for any insight that might make my application stand out. Thanks again.

 

The USAF really does need officers right now...we have too many. There is a bit of a RIF (reduction in force) going on...which is typical of the USAF right in the middle of a freaking war.

 

Check out Airforceots.com
It will have all the info you need and tons of other people to help you with your application.
I'm deployed right now and i'm at an Air Force base.....they definitely know how to keep morale up. Facilities are top notch!!

 

Reduction in force (RIF) a.k.a. "force shaping" goes through cycles. If you want to join, it is a great career path and worth checking in to.

 

Looking for a career path for sure. I am currently working as an excavator for a plumbing company building new housing on Peterson Air Force Base, with no advancement opportunities or benefits, so I am anxious to get something started.

Thanks for the link JTaco.

 

subbed as i am considering a similar route. Let me know how your AFOQT goes....

That being said, How was the AFOQT for all those that have taken it? Im a little concerned with the math section since its been a while.

 

FU and ur Air Force base!! lol j/k i love you brotha! 39 more days till the USA!!!

 

I will be taking the AFOQT next month and I will post back afterwards. The book that has helped me the most is Barron's Military Flight Exam book. I'm not sure of the exact title off the top of my head but it's decent. There is another website called www.wantscheck.com There is a link up top that has a bunch of good AFOQT prep info. There is also a DOD sponsered website to where you can take the AFOQT practice test online and it will show you what you did wrong and how to fix it.

 

I just took the test on Monday. The 2 math sections weren't too bad, but some of the other sections don't give you much time to complete especially the block counting, 3 minutes for 20 questions, I was down to 6 questions to go with 15 seconds and had to start filling in bubbles randomly. I haven't gotten the results yet, but will keep you posted.

 

Sorry I didn't see this in time...the AFOQT is not as important as you think. It is part of your total score, but your overall academic grades and physical fitness are much more important. In other words, it's not a deal breaker.

Like you said, some parts are almost impossible to "pass"...they just want to see how fast you can recognize patterns and complete things quickly. Be fast and try to answer as many as you can, you'll never get all of them right.

 

Oh one more thing, I'm pretty sure you can take the AFOQT one more time. But I think you have to throw out your old score...so you risk doing worse the second time and it sticks as your final score.

Also, my recommendation for those training aids is to not study them perfectly, but to try to time your self and complete as many as you can in a short amount of time. Like I said before, it isn't so much "what" you know, but how fast you can answer them accurately. Learn the types of questions, then concentrate on increasing your speed.

 

Great Information Larry, Thank you.

 

I start AF OTS next week, Class 11-03. I've been enlisted for 6yrs tho, so I don't know much on the civilian side of applying. If you have any more questions let me know. I'll probably be able to answer your questions more in depth once I graduate in February.

Good luck on your application process!