USAF or RAAF?

[metalfatigue]

My son is completing has completed a batchelor of engineering and is lloking to join the air force. I, aswell as my son are both US and Australian citizens. This is where the dilema begins. Where should he apply - the USAF/USN or RAAF? I have read a lot about the RAAF and know several fighter pilots whom i used to fly G.A with and they swear its the best trinaing in the world making the best pilot, with only so few getting onto pilots course and only the best making it through this seems to be true. Is this the case? I hear in the US that about 1200 are graduated each year and ******all are "scrubbed" becuase of the lower standard. AS I have said, most of what I have said is either heresay or what I have read in magazines. My son is an extremely smart lad with a burning desire to succeed and will at whatever he does but he wants to be the best - but my question is, where exactly is that?????:confused:

[Double Asymmetric]

Whoa, whoa, whoa...
take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It isn't a matter of simply going for Company A or Company B. They are significantly differing options.
(1) Where does your son want to live some of the most important formative years of his adulthood, and beginnings of his aviation career? I believe both the RAAF and the US (lumping USAF and USN together for simplicity) forces have about a ten year post wings training commitment, add your flying training and any initial officer training and you are up for twelve years minimum- I assume your son is not enrolled in an ROTC programme - which means he is effectively choosing where he will spend all of his twenties and perhaps a fair portion of his thirties. This alone is a major question. He needs to have a hard think about what nation he wants to call home (and lets face it, a nation he is happy to fight for). That is the all important question he has to answer. Once he has sorted that out, the rest is elementary.
(2) There aint much point in serving in the Air Force of one country because it appeals more than the other one, but he really wanted to live in the other country. That is really putting the cart before the horse.
(3) The US forces are as large as the ADF is small. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. In the US forces, your son will have more scope to travel, be stationed O/S, and frankly more chance at doing stuff that may involve people shooting at him. The ADF is a small but (biased) professional outfit with a far smaller scope of operations. Some would find the smaller and perhaps tighter nature of the ADF enjoyable, others would prefer to be part of the bigger organisation. Horses for courses. Both complain about lack of funding, although the Yanks have far better toys than us.
(4) Personal bias time. From friends who have instructed in the USAF, if you make to pilots course, and you work, you are gunna get through (putting on my flak jacket now). As your knucklehead mates alluded to, they scrub &%#$-all of their studes. Absolutely no guarantee in the ADF. Historically a 55-60% pass rate for pilot's course (RAAF), if you get to day one. I will put my neck out and say RAAF pilot's course is a tougher proposition that that of the US. The RAAF is only interested in graduating potential captains, we don't have the size or capacity to graduate people to sit as loafing C-141 copilots for years...we need a return of investment. That means studes perform or they pursue alternate career paths.
I am not going to bite and say who is more professional/better pilots/operators etc. I have met and flown with some exceptional US aircrew, and frankly, one or two decidely average ADF operators. Similarly, some shambolic US operators are out there. Arguing that one is a no-winner.
(5) If your son successfully negotiates a wings course in either country, he is going to love it, no matter where he is or what he does. It's a bloody great job, it'll give him the right SH!ts at times, but at the end of the day he will have a ball no matter if his aircraft has stars and bars or kangaroos painted on it.
(6) Decide which country he really calls home, then give it all to that country.
(7) Can you be a dual citizen in the US? If this was a wind up post, you got me hook line and sinker!!!

:D

[IwantmyHUDback]

Go to the States

Big picture; USA-Superpower. Australia-Superisland.

If your Son wants to be a fighter pilot then GO TO THE STATES. They have the kit, they have the money, and most importantly; they have the will to use it.

What point is it being the 'best pilot in the world' here in Australia if the only people you get to prove it to are your mates on the bl00dy Sqn??

Every Fighter Pilot I have ever met would give his eye teeth to do the job he has been trained to do. But only the American drivers actually get to do it (ok getting into politics now; better stop).

Reminds me of a story in 'NZ Wings' a few years back about a Kiwi lad who had just finished F-15C conversion in the USAF....poor ******. Bet he really regrets not joining the RNZAF :D :D :D

[metalfatigue]

Thanks for the info. Truth be told, its not actually my son, rather my daughter but i didn't think i would get a serios reply if I said it was my daughter. Also, I am now an Aussie Citizen again however my wife (ex) is still a US citizen who my duaghter lives with but would come to Austrlaia at the drop of a hat. I don't realy see her as the "war"type but she's really good with her hands so whether she goes to wat on not doesn't really concern her as long as she does what she does well and for her country - be it US or Australia. And I don't want her to fly with mugs.
Thanks again.

:) Hard Workin' man, R U from Syria?

[Barry Murphy]

Don't forget about the USAF Reserves/Guard. Each unit is allocated one or two Pilot training slots a year. The Pilots pick who they'll send to pilot training and he/she will be trained on the particular aircraft that the unit flys. So if you get hired by a F-16 unit, it's a guaranteed that you will fly f-16's. You can also join a reserve/air national guard unit after you finish your commitment with the Active Duty Air Force. The Air National Guard is refered to as the best kept secret in the USAF( or something like that) . 80% of the pilots fly part time with the unit and full time with the airlines. Plus they will let you fly JETS ( not desks) until age 55. It's a good organizations that is best describe as a family. There's tons of info on getting into the USAF on the Student Pilot Networks message board. http://studentpilot.net/indexie.html

Barry

[canberra]

dont forget that if your an aussie citizen you can join the british forces! saw the post about a kiwi, the members of the kiwi forces ive met have been very professional that saying about size not mattering must be true!

[Stan Evil]

There's a side of this that's hardly been touched on. What is an air force for? Its use is to go and kill people that its owners don't like. The way US policy is going at the moment your daughter might well get lots of chances to practise the art but will she want to kill those particular people???