Dont get me wrong. I have nothing against enlisted. I was enlisted for 11 years before Igot my commission inhe army Guard. My father was enlisted in the USAF for 26 years. I work with youths interested in the military and I tell them that if you want to be apilot youneed to go to college and get into ROTC or go to one of the Acadamies. Many people think you have to enlist and go to basic training. The officer world and the enlisted world are completely different. You dont have to go do basic training to be an officer, but you have to be an officer to be a pilot.
Eventhough I am in the army, I dont really push youths to joining the armyif they want to fly. I really promote the Air Force or Navy mainly because I like fixed wing. My original goal was to be a Air Fore or Marine ilot but my vision knocked me out of that and now I am too old. I wshi I had known about the other opportumities in military aviation. If I were to do it all over again, I probably would have become a navigator or NFO. I tell young people toget all the information they can before making a decision that will effect them for the res of their lives.