The major airlines have traditionally hired their pilots from commuter airlines and the military. The larger airlines offer attractive job prospects with senior captains flying the largest aircraft, earning as much as $200,000 a year.
What does this mean to the Air Force? Simply that its ranks should include 14,000 pilots; but in early 1998 the service was 835 pilots short. As an inducement to remain with the Air Force, after fulfilling the nine-year service requirement, the government now pays those who stay another five years a $110,000 bonus. So whatever your eventual decision may be regarding leaving the service, the Air Force spells opportunity. If this interests you, read ahead!
A COMPARATIVELY YOUNG SERVICE
Until World War I broke out in 1914, the speed of warfare was determined by how fast foot soldiers could travel and battleships could plow through the seas. Armies and navies were the chief instruments of war until the first primitive, flimsy airplanes appeared over the battlefields of France and changed the future of warfare and the world. Thirty years later, by the end of World War II, military strategists knew that a nation must be in control of the skies before either the ground forces or the navy could operate safely.
Responsibility for ensuring the safety of the soldiers and sailors belongs to the United States Air Force. Its origins go back to 1907 when the Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division and purchased its first plane from the Wright Brothers. This craft cost $30,000 (a warplane now costs more than a million dollars) and was capable of flying at a speed of forty-two and a half miles an hour (today's fighters fly at Mach 2). Only ten years later, daring American and German World War I aviators engaged in dogfights. Even so, air power did not decide the outcome of the war. Nevertheless, after the armistice, Billy Mitchell, an army brigadier general who had organized and commanded the American air force, arranged for a sensational bombing and sinking of several obsolete warships to show the importance of the army's air force. Because Mitchell criticized the military leaders for neglecting air power, he was court-martialed. In 1926, he was sentenced to a five-year suspension from duty without pay. He resigned and continued his campaign for air power. His ideas were not adopted until Hitler's Luftwaffe dominated the skies at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. With America's entry into the conflict, the army air forces assumed a major role in the Allies' military plans to win the war against Germany, Italy, and Japan.
THE AIR FORCE-THE GLAMOUR SERVICE
If you are looking for a glamorous service, we suggest you investigate the U.S. Air Force. This, the nation's youngest military branch, was established on September 18, 1947. Then all the former aircraft, facilities, personnel, and property of the army air forces were transferred to it. The brand new Department of the Air Force became responsible for defending the nation against air attack. It conducts air warfare, giving the army combat and logistical support. It also cooperates with the other services in joint operations. This is only the beginning of the story, though. The United States Air Force:
- Flies its Strategic Air Force planes primarily to deter war.
- Serves as the first line of defense against missiles directed at North America and is constantly guarding against a surprise air or missile attack.
- Operates the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System with gigantic radar antennas (each as large as a football field) in Alaska, England, and Greenland to detect any missile approaching over the Arctic ice.
- Operates NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command, which provides air defense for Canada and the United States from headquarters deep under Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Crews at Arctic outposts, on shipboard, and in long-range search planes constantly watch for signs of enemy attack, while interceptor aircraft are ever on the alert to destroy bombers which might arrive following an air attack.
- Operates SAGE, the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, an amazing computer which constantly collects and interprets data fed into it from radar stations and sends the information on to defense commanders as it notifies and directs airplanes and missiles so that they can destroy enemy airplanes or missiles.
AIR FORCE COMMANDS
In order to get an even better idea of what the air force does, the following listing of the major commands with the responsibility of each will indicate the wealth of career opportunities in this service.
- Air Force Logistics Command provides worldwide logistical support to the air force.
- Air Force Systems Command advances aerospace technology.
- Air Training Command recruits and trains air force officers and airmen.
- Air University is responsible for the higher education of air force officers.
- Military Airlift Command provides air transportation for personnel and cargo for all military services on a worldwide basis.
- Strategic Air Command organizes, trains, and equips forces to participate in tactical air operations.
- Tactical Air Command organizes, trains, and equips forces to participate in tactical air operations.
- Electronic Security Command monitors air force communications to all parts of the world.
- Air Force Communications Command provides base and point to point communications, flight facilities, air traffic control, and automated data processing services.
- United States Air Forces in Europe provides combat-ready air elements to the U.S. European Command.
- Pacific Air Forces provides combat-ready air elements to the U.S. Pacific Command.
- Alaskan Air Command conducts aerospace defense operations.
- Air Force Space Command provides management and operation for various space programs.
AIR FORCE FLYING OFFICERS
Air Force Pilots
Air force pilots are among aviation's elite. Intelligent and in excellent physical condition, they are responsible and mature. They operate multimillion dollar defense aircraft and fly at technology's leading edge. A majority of air force commanders wear the silver wings of an air force aviator, and many commercial pilots owe their expertise to their air force flight training and experience.
After earning their wings, air force aviators are assigned to operational aircraft. Advanced training usually ranges from three to six months and is designed to acquaint fliers with their assigned aircraft and the characteristics of each. Once this training is completed, the pilot joins an operational flying unit made up of the aircraft in which advanced flight training was received. A normal assignment may continue for three to four years, at the conclusion of which the pilot may be considered for transfer to a different type of aircraft on a new base.
Helicopter pilot training is a separate entity within air force aviation. Requirements for these pilots are different from those of jet fighters. Should there be need for such personnel and you are selected for training, you might expect to spend thirty-four weeks in primary and advanced training before you receive the silver wings of an air force pilot, compared with forty-nine weeks training required for other pilots.
What about women pilots? Although public law currently prohibits women from flying combat aircraft, women pilot cargo jets, medical evacuation jets, and other support aircraft. Because of the success of women in pilot training, more are scheduled for such training in the future.
To qualify for air force pilot training, you must be a college graduate, not less than twenty and one-half years of age nor more than twenty-six and one-half at the time of your application. You must be no older than twenty-seven when you enter pilot training, and you must be physically, mentally, and morally qualified and be a United States citizen.
Air Force Navigators
To the educated eyes of the navigator, the radarscope's blur old light, lines, and shadow becomes a clear indication of coastline, land contour, and position.
Aircraft location is the primary concern of the navigator. The wind, weather, speed, heading, and the altitude must be considered. There is no margin for error. The trained navigator can guide the aircraft safely and surely between points hundreds or thousands of miles apart. He or she must be able to produce detailed flight plans for thousands of nautical miles in only minutes. A flight plan must be completed to tolerances of one pound of fuel, one foot of altitude, one-tenth of a minute in time, and one-tenth of a minute in latitude and longitude-a tall order.
As a navigator trainee, you begin with the basic foundation of air navigation-dead reckoning. You learn to maintain an accurate record of time, speed, direction, and wind effect, using them to determine the exact position of the aircraft without references to landmarks. You study map reading, radar, day and night celestial, inertial, radio, and low-level navigation. There are courses in weather, aviation physiology, flight instruments, aircraft flight regulations, and integrated navigation systems.
To be considered for navigator training you must be a college graduate. You must be not less than eighteen years of age or more than twenty-seven when you enter navigation training. You must be physically and mentally qualified, of good moral character, and a United States citizen.
OTHER CAREER AREAS ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
Technology touches virtually every aspect of the air force's mission. There are five major air force career fields that require people with scientific, engineering, or technology-oriented backgrounds. These are scientific, development engineering, communications-electronics, computer systems, and civil engineering.
Besides offering a wide variety of work settings in an equally wide range of organizations, these career fields also provide for a diverse specialization. There are more than fifty different branches within the five career fields, with an equal number of sub-branches. For example, in engineering there are needs for aeronautical, civil, developmental, electrical, electronics, and mechanical engineers.
Because the air force spends billions of dollars a year on civilian contracts for new electronic systems, aircraft, and space vehicles, it depends on its officer scientists and engineers for the overall leadership, management, and coordination of these projects. You will have an excellent opportunity to start out in a management position, making tough technical decisions and developing important professional associations. You will acquire priceless experience and assume increasing responsibility. At the same time, you may have a chance to work on super-sophisticated projects and lay a solid foundation for a successful and rewarding career.
Dentists, physicians, and nurses are in great demand, since the air force has a comprehensive health care program. It offers many unusual personal and professional opportunities for those with medical training. Many other professional skills are needed. If you are contemplating professional training or have a professional degree, discuss it with an air force recruiter. Find out how you might carve out a career.
There are three ways you can become an air force science and engineering officer: The ROTC program (see Chapter 8), the Air Force Academy (see Chapter 8), and officer training school. The latter offers an intensive twelve-week course for the college graduate. General eligibility requirements are that you must be between the ages of eighteen and thirty (which can be waived up to age thirty-five), in good physical condition, and of good moral character. You must meet the air force officer qualifying criteria, and you must hold a degree from an accredited college or university. All applicants must be U.S. citizens.
