[MadOnion]

Has anyone here ever served or serving under any state's air/army national guard? Interested in joining New Jersey's Air National Guard, while attending Rutgers University. What is the current policy for draft? at any time, my unit can be sent to Iraq correct? And other than that, any experiences or opinions would be great. Thanks.

[3DFlyer]

There is no draft anymore. There hasn't been a draft since Vietnam. If you are part of the Air Guard you are the backup in case more forces are needed, so yes, basically you can be called on at any time.

If you are going to college or have a job, you are protected. They cannot fail you, set you back, or not accept you back into courses, fire you, or hold anything against you. You are serving this country to provide this country with the freedom we all enjoy, and anything you have going here will not be affected negatively by serving our great country.

I have not served, but I've had plenty of family and friends who have, and some of them are over there now. I also talk with many people who serve in the Air Force and Air Guard as well as training pilots online at the flight simulator forums. There are many fighter pilots there.

If you choose to serve this country, it is one of the most noble things you can do. Think long and hard before you do it, and commit to it if you do. Also remember that many before you have done it, and you can too if you choose to.

I have a friend who is an old man, and he's also a Colonel, and he has been awarded the Purple Heart and the Congressional Medal of Honor for serving in Vietnam and fighting a brutal fight at the Cho Sin Reservoir. He is one of only a handful left. He brought in quad 46 caliber AA guns on a jeep they had a few miles away, and saved the men that was left under heavy fire after being frostbit, and starving for days. Every time I think of the service, I think of him, and also one of my Great Uncles who was also awarded the CMH. Sorry for the tangent, but it's uplifting to hear about somebody who is wanting to serve this great country.

[Enablingwolf]

National guard serves more than being called to out of country deployment. If there is a serious issue you will be deployed to help keep order.

If you feel you want to serve, don't think of where you will end up. Think of what you will do if asked to do some good. The guard serves to make sure things at home are all good in times of serious troubles. Like for example the guard in LA took care of New Orleans. In western states, in summer sometimes they get to become Wildland Firefighters in times of real need. I have worked alongside guard units in floods before. They were very cool to work with. The commitment was superb.

My point is sometime a rifle will not be your tool of the trade. If I remember right. Most guard units collect toys during this time of the year.

It takes one heck of a person to use their mind and body to make sure all is good for their neck of the woods, or country if asked.

I honestly believe the guard is a great way to make sure the community is whole. Awesome way to give back to your home.

[MadOnion]

sounds great, really considering it at this point. I would like to give back to the community like enablingwolf stated but i have a few questions -

what does it take to become a pilot (a fighter pilot)? Do i need perfect vision/ full color vision?

[Enablingwolf]

Here is the requirements list. Peek over that and see if you can meet the demands.


http://www.virtualarmory.com/promoti...g_Programs.htm

[MadOnion]

yea thanks, but it doesnt list any sight requirements?

[3DFlyer]

I would expect vision of at least 20/40 (farsighted). In fact, 20/40 would be actually better, because you need to see things far away. That is only a guess though.

I'm certain that you need good color vision. There is a light that ATC uses calld a "light gun" (gee, that's hard to remember hehe) . They aim the light at the aircraft, and it emits red/green/white and those can be "steady" or "flashing" to mean different things. They use it in case you loose you radios. Yes, it does happen, and you'd be surprised just how much it happenes.

I also know that you have to be an officer. If you want to become a fighter pilot, start working out heaviliy now, and learn to exercise regularly. You have to be in excellent physical condition. The G's you'll encounter during manuvering and BFM are extreme. Most people black out at 4 G's. You will have to be able to handle up to 9 positive G's, and people have been known to push the envelope and go higher. The person who can handle those G's and still be able to function in the cockpit will win the fight. If you weigh 200 pounds, 9G's is like you are being crushed into your seat with the force of 1800 pounds on you.

If you've ever seen a dogfight and they grunting and going "grrrrrr, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr" that's a special way they grunt to keep the blood in their upper torso to keep them from blacking out. It takes power in the legs, and good stomach muscles, as well as every other muscle in your body. If you ever go up in an aerobatic plane, you will learn to respect G's very quickly. hehe I am a Instrument Rated pilot, with a ME, and I've been up in a P-51, a Pitts S2, and an Extra 300L, and you quickly learn that your limits are well below what the aircraft is capable of. hehe You have to respect those planes and what they can do, and you have to be in top shape. It's very important.

[LoneWolf121188]

^^ Oh man, you've been in an Extra 300??? I am SOOO jealous. A friend of mine has one and makes a point of kicking my citabira's butt every time we're flying together.

Air Force vision requirements for pilots are 20/20 near vision uncorrected and 20/70 distant, correctable to 20/20.

[MadOnion]

haha p 51 ! great stuff.

[3DFlyer]

Dude, whiule your were straight and level thinking about entering a loop, he could pull back on the stick and do an Avalanche (loop with a snap roll on top) and come back around and meet up in formation with you by the time you built the airspeed to get through the manuever! LOL

The 300L is certified for 10+ and 10- G's. This particular one had some mods on the engine and had around 330HP and had the MT Prop on it. It was really nice. Those things really go, and they have vertical penetration...maaaa'ann it's awesome. Lots of G's though. Do NOT eat before you fly your first flight in one. I promise you, that you WILL get G sickness the first time you do it. It takes time to get used to pulling those kinds of G's. It ain't no rollercoaster. You will pull 5 and 6+ at times for short bursts. They guy who owned it said he regularly does 10 in it, and has gone 13+ instantaneous at times.

We did a Lomcevak, and I about $#!^ my pants. I thought my gut was gonna end up in my underwear, because we went from negative to positive 6 in the blink of an eye. We were literally tumbling end over end in that thing. The prop was cavatating through it's own prop wash! LOL

Keep on flying, you'll get some rides. You be out at the airports one day and be in the right place at the right time. Gotta hang around the satelite airports. They won't fly them around the bigger airports. Too much commercial traffic.

[3DFlyer]

Originally Posted by MadOnion

haha p 51 ! great stuff.

Yeah, that thing i didn't get any stick time in. It had a little jump seat modded into it. Just a thrill ride. I wouldn't want to fly one anyway. They are priceless antiques. It also takes alot of time in an AT-6 before you can handle the torque it has. It's very easy to screw one right into the ground on T/O if you don't know what you're doing. It's a little race frame, with a big huge Merlin Engine. The engine alone is worth about 2 million dollars. It is not something you fly if you're are not "on" 110%. It will kill you in a heartbeat if you screw up.

[LoneWolf121188]

Originally Posted by 3DFlyer

Dude, whiule your were straight and level thinking about entering a loop, he could pull back on the stick and do an Avalanche (loop with a snap roll on top) and come back around and meet up in formation with you by the time you built the airspeed to get through the manuever! LOL

The 300L is certified for 10+ and 10- G's. This particular one had some mods on the engine and had around 330HP and had the MT Prop on it. It was really nice. Those things really go, and they have vertical penetration...maaaa'ann it's awesome. Lots of G's though. Do NOT eat before you fly your first flight in one. I promise you, that you WILL get G sickness the first time you do it. It takes time to get used to pulling those kinds of G's. It ain't no rollercoaster. You will pull 5 and 6+ at times for short bursts. They guy who owned it said he regularly does 10 in it, and has gone 13+ instantaneous at times.

We did a Lomcevak, and I about $#!^ my pants. I thought my gut was gonna end up in my underwear, because we went from negative to positive 6 in the blink of an eye. We were literally tumbling end over end in that thing. The prop was cavatating through it's own prop wash! LOL

Keep on flying, you'll get some rides. You be out at the airports one day and be in the right place at the right time. Gotta hang around the satelite airports. They won't fly them around the bigger airports. Too much commercial traffic.

10 negative G's??? ****!!! The citabria's rated for -2 and +4, and I don't know what my friend's luscombe is but it can't be more than that...I can't imagine -10...

I am SO glad there are like 7 class E uncontrolled airports within a reasonable distance from me (though I live within denver's 30mi mode C range, class B doesn't start till 12000 MSL, which is about 6800 AGL). I flew into Jeffco the other day, which is class D, my first time in a controlled airspace...man, that sucks!

Sorry, we're threadjacking here, I'll stop if 3DFlyer promises not to tempt me more. PM me if you want to talk some more.

MadOnion: talk to some recruiters. Be sure to filter out the BS though, but nothing they say is an outright lie. Also, why the guard instead of the air force?

[TommyHolly]

Has anyone here ever served or serving under any state's air/army national guard?
-- Yup, I'm in the Illinois Air National Guard. I've been in for 9 years now.

Interested in joining New Jersey's Air National Guard, while attending Rutgers University. What is the current policy for draft?
-- Um, there is no draft like everyone else said above. The Military dreads the day a draft is reinstated because then you have a bunch of people forced in who don't try to do anything and give us all a bad name.

at any time, my unit can be sent to Iraq correct?
-- Well, yes and no. It really depends on your job. First of all, unless you are a SF (Police), you won't even get to hold any kind of weapon in Iraq most likely because it's the Air Force. My unit has people lined up to go! I'm on the waiting list again. I went for 110 days this year but only because I volunteered. Most people in Iraq are volunteers. (Try telling that to the TV stations and movie writers)

And other than that, any experiences or opinions would be great. Thanks.
I love it, because of the Air National Guard I have made some great friends, went from getting paid $10/hr to making 6 figures a year as a civilian (not any more though...ugh I miss the money), and have been involved in things I am very proud of. Choose your job wisely! Think about how your job in the USAF will benefit you in the civilian world.

Anything else just do a search for my name on threads that i posted in... The Military is a common subject here and I have posted alot about it.

[LoneWolf121188]

It really doesn't get better than getting paid a decent amount of money to fly multibillion dollar planes at mach 1 that can blow up anything that even thinks about looking at em the wrong way, violating half of the FARs in the process . Oh, and they pay for college. And you feel the pride of serving your country. Seriously, can it get any better?

"Aviation is proof that, given the will, we have the capability to achive the impossible" - Eddie Rickenbacher