Forum: Careers & Assignments

Hi, I'm Indonesian. I'm 17 years old. Now I'm in my final years of High-School. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot. My country's air force only (I think) recruiting men ranging from age 18 till 22.

But I want to go to college first to get Bachelor Degree, so by the time I finished, I won't make it to my air force because my age will already exceed the maximum.

So, I want to join USAF as a fighter pilot. But the bad thing is I'm not a US citizen. Can I still join after college? I estimated I will finished college at age 21+ or 22. And what's the maximum age of joining the Air Force?

Please reply.
Thanks.

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Apa kabar!

Have you contacted a USAF recruiter office yet for general info concerning your interest? I have to say I'm very surprised to hear Indonesian AF won't induct post-grad applications for service?? Have you contacted an Indonesian armed forces office to verify the information relative to the timing of your specific goal and desire to serve your nation's AF?

Unfortunately, with regards to USAF fighter pilot slots and the such, there will most likely be increasingly far fewer slots available going forward and it will be most competitive/selective within the next 5-8 yrs and thereafter. The tactical aviation fleet will simply be nothing as it is today or even as it is expected and advertised to be in say 10+ yrs.

Respects and good luck. Smile

I'm going to be brutally honest here. There are probably thousands of young American men and women out there who dream of becoming Viper drivers. Of those only a handfull may get to realize their dream. Your chances I'm afraid are slim to none.

Regards, El Guapo

Thansks for the info.
I'm planning on getting [Link pending approval] Citizenship after I graduated from college. Right now I'm concentrating on preparing for my upcoming Final School Test/Exam and Test to get into College. I will do my best at College to achieve good points in my faculty. After graduated from college, I will go to [Link pending approval], and if I must(maybe this is part of my life plan), I will apply for [Link pending approval] Citizenship.
My dream for the whole of my life from my childhood is to become a fighter pilot. And I'm interested in joining the USAF. I will do my best to pass the qualification. Perhaps joinning the US Navy is a good alternative because they also have fighter pilot position.
Anyway, Thanks for the reply and information given to me. These'll be good guidance for me.
Thank You. Smile

geogen wrote:

Apa kabar!

Have you contacted a USAF recruiter office yet for general info concerning your interest? I have to say I'm very surprised to hear Indonesian AF won't induct post-grad applications for service?? Have you contacted an Indonesian armed forces office to verify the information relative to the timing of your specific goal and desire to serve your nation's AF?

Unfortunately, with regards to USAF fighter pilot slots and the such, there will most likely be increasingly far fewer slots available going forward and it will be most competitive/selective within the next 5-8 yrs and thereafter. The tactical aviation fleet will simply be nothing as it is today or even as it is expected and advertised to be in say 10+ yrs.

Respects and good luck. Smile

Yes, That's right. I've read the official website of the Indonesian AF. To become a fighter pilot, one must join and graduate from the Indonesian AF Academy, which also a few of them will be picked to the available slots. Unfortunately, it says: to join the academy, must be directly from High School and only Natural Science Students(that doesn't matter to me, because I'm a Natural Science student) can join the academy. The minimum age of joinning is 18 while the max is 22. I noticed that the USAF max age of joinning is more than that and one must be a college graduate(which is contrast to my country's Air Force). That really interested me. Because I want to get at least a Bachelor Degree.

Even though it is very,very1000x competitive, I still gonna try and I will do my best to pass the qualification. Maybe joinning the US Navy is a good alternative option. Maybe I also goin' to apply for [Link pending approval] citizenship.
Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it.

Maybe you could just run for US President instead? It has worked once.
fisk Smile

Hi captain_roach,

To be a pilot, who is an officer, you have to have minimum of 4 years college degree, and must be a US citizen. That is MINIMUM.

I assume you have a green card now, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship after 5 years with a green card. If you enlist in any branch of service, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship anytime. To obtain citizenship from green card status usually takes anywhere from 4 mos to a year.

After you obtain a US citizenship, rest of process should be same as anybody else. As others are written here, it will be competitive process. Plan your time frame accordingly, and do your best. Good luck!!

fiskerwad
> Maybe you could just run for US President instead? It has worked once.
No first generation immigrant cannot be a president in US. He/She has to be a natural US born!! More detail, see Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution.

To be a pilot, you need to have minimum of 4 years degree from a reputed university, and must be a US citizen which is MINIMUM. If you have a green card, you will become eligible for [url=[Link pending approval]]US Citizenship[/url] after 5 years.

Forum: Careers & Assignments

Non-U.S. Citizen wants to join USAF