The Start, Occupational Possibilities, Branch Choices, Research

What I Want To Do

Born and bred in the South, I am a red blooded American with a passion for my country. I  did the right things growing up, no drugs, got good grades, captain of the football team, and finally made it to college. Now it was time to pick your future career and I went with Engineering at UF. The pay is good, jobs are generally available, and it aligned with my likes/talents. However, the idea of sitting in an office crunching numbers ate at me. I thought flight test engineering might be a method to be more hands on, but at the end of the day they are a fraction of a percent of engineers and it takes loads of years of experience to reach that. Couple these doubts with the classic American Sniper idea that I was born a Sheepdog and want to protect the flock idea. I knew I wanted to serve and even more so fly. Of course when I was a kid I wanted to be a sniper and do crazy stuff all over the world, but as I hit college flight became the ever growing buzz in my ear. So why not do both. Fly planes at 500 mph at 500 ft and serve my country with honor.

This video of the A-10 did me in and I have had the bug to fly a fighter ever since:

Choosing My Hopeful Future Branch

Now when it comes down to being a pilot you would think the Air Force is the way to go, but hold your horses not so fast. The Air Force while great pilots, do not have to meet some of the requirements of the Navy or Marine Corps. Why you may ask? Carrier Landings! It takes more precision to hit a moving runway in multiple directions than it does your ordinary runway. So the best pilots are trained together, the Navy and the Marine Corps pilots. I mean who does not want the chance to live out real life Top Gun. Besides that,the Army is helicopter based and I want to go Mach baby. Further, I have been told that most officers in the Army plan missions instead of flying them, they leave that up to Warrant Officers. So we are down to Navy or Marine Corps. Superficially, to be a pilot the sure route is the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps offers the ability to take a flight aptitude test and do your flight physical before signing a contract, aka they can guarantee a pilot slot at training. They cannot guarantee that you will actually be successful, that is on you! The Navy cannot so you are contracted first then roll the dice on your abilities and needs of the Navy. Further, the Marines have a prestige about them. They are the tip of the spear. You get to train and become a Marine before becoming a pilot second. You will get to learn land based tactics and methods, run around in the forest, shoot big guns, then learn to fly. Becoming a Marine Corps Officer is a tough physical and mental challenge that not everyone can do. At the end of the day I want to fly, but I also want to be able to puff my chest out knowing that I heard the call and met the challenge. Marine Corps it is!!!