Military piloting advice

[scramjet]

I aspire to be a pilot and eventually astronaut. I would like to fly fighter jets, but due to my opposition to the Iraq War and war in general (I know that sounds contradictory), I am hesitant to do so. Are some fighter types used for ground strikes? If so, which ones are and aren't. I don't mind air-to-air combat because that does not usually involve innocent civilians. I appreciate any advice any of you may be able to offer.

[Star Alliance]

Don't know how old you are or when you plan to enter the service, but the current US Armed Forces aircraft with ground strike capibility/roles are the F-15E, the A-10, the Harrier, the Appache (helo), cobra(also helo), the P-3 and S-3 are NAVY anti-surface aircraft. I left many out, but in short, the answer is yes, but if you are anti-war/pro-peace, you might just want to go big iron or stick with GA type stuff.
Cheers,
330

[scramjet]

That was my original plan was to stick with airliners. However, I figure that high performance fighters was better on the resume for space piloting. I wish the Concorde was still in service or that the new replacement was going to enter soon. (Why couldn't BA agree to letting Virgin fly the old Concorde?!) By the time the new Concorde replacement enters service (if it ever does), I'll have enough flight hours not to need to fly it.

[YYZPICS]

I cant think of one aircraft in the USAF and USN that cant perform ground strikes,(excluding cargo, transport and reconnaissance aircraft)

I would go with Commerical aviation, the number one reason, its safer and you dont have to leave home years at a time.

[Star Alliance]

YYZ,
I was naming aircraft whos primary role was to perform strikes and I agree, practically any of them could potentially be strike aircraft.
Cheers,
330

[YYZPICS]

YYZ,
I was naming aircraft whos primary role was to perform strikesandI agree, practicslly any of them could potentially be strike aircraft.
Cheers,
330

i never saw your post before, you beat me to posting.. lol

cheers

[scramjet]

Too bad the Air Force doesn't still fly SR-71s.

[Star Alliance]

Well, If you are looking for some sort of reconnisance, you could always fly the Predator or Global Hawk UAVs.
Nite,
330

[MikeD]

Scramjet,

The problem you're going to run into as a conscientious objector (which there's nothing wrong with) is getting into military service, especially a flying position. In the military, as a pilot, you're still an officer first, and need to be able to be assigned anywhere the military would need you, be it in any airframe or job, air or ground. With the proliferation of people willing to do whatever job is necessary, and with the needs of the military coming first, they're likely not going to make an exception, or try to work around, your needs due to your beliefs. I'm not saying this to be a jerk or anything, just passing to you the reality of the situation. I respect how you feel, even though I feel different; but just want you to be informed of what you can expect in this endeavor.

MikeD

[YBBN]

Scramjet,

The problem you're going to run into as a conscientious objector (which there's nothing wrong with) is getting into military service, especially a flying position. In the military, as a pilot, you're still an officer first, and need to be able to be assigned anywhere the military would need you, be it in any airframe or job, air or ground. With the proliferation of people willing to do whatever job is necessary, and with the needs of the military coming first, they're likely not going to make an exception, or try to work around, your needs due to your beliefs. I'm not saying this to be a jerk or anything, just passing to you the reality of the situation. I respect how you feel, even though I feel different; but just want you to be informed of what you can expect in this endeavor.

MikeD

That sounded very well put.

[chrisburns]

What type of jet you fly doest have much to do with being an astronaut. NASA is selective and its more of a lottery to be one then it is just to apply and get a job with NASA. Which pull mostly from the USAF, but either way, not everyone has flown a fighter .

[wannabepilot777]

If you don't agree with the war the armed forces are fighting, do not join unless you are drafted.

[MikeD]

What type of jet you fly doest have much to do with being an astronaut. NASA is selective and its more of a lottery to be one then it is just to apply and get a job with NASA. Which pull mostly from the USAF, but either way, not everyone has flown a fighter .

Correct. The big traits for astronaut competitiveness, IMO, is education and background. Those military pilots with a very technical engineering background, plus having attended Test Pilot School, are the most competitive. As far as having to come from a fighter background or not, consider this: The command pilot from the upcoming Shuttle STS-114 mission, Eileen Collins, comes from a transport-aircraft background....C-141s to be exact. So having to have been a fighter pilot isn't necessary.

[TheMightyM]

Remember also that NASA has two types of astronauts: commanders/pilots and mission specialists. The pilot (what would normally be called the co-pilot) and commander (what would be the pilot in any other usage) are military test pilots (Air Force, Navy or Marines -- NASA has them from all three services.) Typically you'd fly two missions as a pilot before being assigned to command a mission.

The other three to five people on board are mission specialists -- roughly professional scientist astronauts. Some come from military backgrounds, some don't. Being a pilot isn't even the critical requirement. It's pretty much a given that you have to have at least a master's degree plus significant experience and in general be exceptionally qualified.

You can check out the bios of the latest batch of astronauts here:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ascanbio.html

MPL

[AA 1818]

What a coincidence! I jsut returned from a recurting/information session with a USAF recruiter. The session went well, but I too am opposed to the war (as a Hindu there are certain aspects of war, as well as the offensive rolse of the armed forces makes me seem a bit apprehensive...). The problems is that one of the qualifying questions was if I were opposed to the War. There was a psychological or complicated term involved. Answer yes and you are disqualified from entering the USAF.

There are some options that you can consider:
-There is the USAFA (United States Air Force Academy), which althoug being incredibly competitive to enter, is an amazing school. It is perhaps one of the most accredited schools in the US and offers a wide range of majors. Upon entrance there are no tution fees and after leaving you enter the USAF as a superior officer.
The down side: Recently there have been many allegations of bigotry and problems fore persons that are not "evanglists" (I appologize if it is spelled wrong.)

-There are many other jobs in the USAF that can be pursued that would look great on a resume, and avoid front line service.

You can fight in fighters such as;
F/A 22 "Raptor"
F-15A/b/c "Eagle"
F-15E "Strike Eagle"
F-16s
and F-117s

You can join Reconnaissance by flying:
RC-1355
WC-130H Hercules
U-25
C-26B

Or you can do obesrvation missions in:
E-8C joint STARS
E-3 Sentry (AWACS)
AC-130H/U Gunship

Ok i was going to write more, but my fingers hurt...the most intersting avenuse that you could go would be using The "transports and Special Duty" category where yo uwould fly civilian planes that have been retrofitted for military use (C9-A, E-4B, E-9A,C-32A/B, C-38A,C-40B/C,C-37A,C-12 Huron,C-20B/C/H,C-21A,and not to mention the tankers)

Oh yeah, one mre thing that you could do would be to join the training service, where they actuakky train pilots fly. You could become a trainer.

Any of these would look good. There is a magazine called "Airman" that explains all this. Stop by the USAF recruting office to get one! (Just dont give age and number...)

Good luck..there are over 150 jobs to choose from. But look into the AirForce Academy...