[Biscuitsjam]

I'm an E5 in the Army National Guard currently deployed to Afghanistan. This is my second tour, and by the time I ETS in 2010, I'll have 6 years 4 months in, and be just a few months shy of my 30th birthday. I'll also be about 1 semester shy of graduation college with a bachelor's degree. By the time I finish college, I'll be 30, with a degree from a good school but with a low GPA.

I recently married the most amazing woman who is in Air Force ROTC and wants to be a pilot. I'd like to also commission as the officer in the active-duty Air Force.

Which job would I want?
1. I've been a trigger-puller my entire time in the military. It would kill me to sit behind a desk every day. I need to be active.
2. I need something challenging. I have high ASVAB scores, so I should be qualified. The job needs to be interesting.

Furthermore, I have several concerns:
1. Will my age be a problem?
2. Will it be harder to commission being prior-service army?
3. How hard is it to get into OTS? Will I need to pursue a Master's Degree so I can do ROTC instead?
4. Will my GPA be a big problem in commissioning or in choosing a branch?

I'll be talking to a recruiter in the next few days, but I wondered if the fine folks here could offer me any advice.

[AF-Odin]

Can't really offer a good opinion on the age issue. ROTC would take at least two years which could be problematic based on your current age. In the past, i saw a number of grad students doing the two year ROTC trip, but they were usually in their mid-20s.

As for being a trigger puller, might consider Air Force Security Forces. They do a lot more stuff than just be cops. There are a number of USAF SF guys (yea, I know all the jokes about AF SF, I remember when they were SPs-Security Police and even APs-Air Police) here who can give you some good info.

Good luck!

[bluelineman]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

I've been a trigger-puller my entire time in the military. It would kill me to sit behind a desk every day. I need to be active.

Remember, the higher rank you have, the more desk time you get.

[mallcop]

This doesn't answer your question, but is rather interesting fact about potential in the Air Guard. My current CO is a Brigadier General that started his career enlisted in the Air Guard and was commissioned after completing his degree. If that isn't impressive enough he also is a F-16 fighter jock. He isn't the only one that went big time after starting out enlisted. There is also a light Col in finance that is a gun freak like myself that also started his career enlisted. So, I guess almost anything is possible if you have the "stuff" they are looking for.