Use this guide to identify the recommended paths to commission for your situation, then click on the links to go to more detailed information on each.
Or, jump ahead to the five main paths to serve:
| USAFA | ROTC | OTS | Enlisted Active Duty | Air National Guard & Reserves |
You must be a US citizen to become an officer in the US military. You do not need to have a US passport, as long as you are eligible for one. If you were born in the US, you are considered a US citizen.
If you are a legal permanent resident (you have a green card), you can become a naturalized citizen by serving as an enlisted member of any US military branch. See Enlisting First. You could be eligible to become an officer through ROTC or OTS after becoming a citizen.
If you have any other immigration status, such as a J visa, H visa, or DACA, you are not currently eligible to serve in the US military.
Before you reach the point of applying for college, all you can do is research. Your high school GPA and class rank will significantly affect the opportunities and scholarships you’ll have available in the future, so work hard in school.
You may also be interested in participating in the Civil Air Patrol. CAP is the civilian auxiliary of the Air Force that contributes to emergency response missions, such as search-and-rescue flights. It has a youth development program for 12- to 18-year-olds that can offer exposure to aviation experiences, mentorship, and can bolster a college application.
Read on to the next sections for more information.
High school students have the best opportunities to become military officers.
If you have a strong college application (including GPA, SAT/ACT, activities, etc.), you can apply to the US Air Force Academy. This is a selective process, and less than 30% of applicants are accepted. This is the best way to become an Air Force pilot, or to be placed in another career field of your preference.
Another good option is Air Force ROTC. This is a program where you go to college and take military studies classes in addition to classes for another college major. After graduating, you will commission as a second lieutenant and serve at least 4 years of active duty.
Depending on the strength of your application, you may be offered a ROTC scholarship, which can be up to a “full ride”.
If you’re not ready for college right after high school, you can consider Enlisting First. After serving for four years, you can separate, then do ROTC during college and return to serve as an officer after graduating. Alternatively, you can use tuition assistance and GI Bill benefits to pay most of the cost of a college degree.
If you have perfect or near-perfect grades in your first few semesters, you can apply to transfer to the US Air Force Academy, but very few slots are available for transfers and the nomination process is lengthy.
Your best path is to join an Air Force ROTC program. If your school does not offer one, you may be able to join the program at another nearby school with cross-town dual enrollment. The ROTC classes are in-person. Contact your enrollment advisor for more information, or the AFROTC admissions & recruiting contacts at a host school.
This age is where your options start to become limited.
Air Force ROTC is still your best path to commission, but ROTC requires that you are able to participate in the program for 3 years while in college. If you don’t have three years left of your bachelor’s degree, you can extend your time in school with a master’s degree to meet this requirement.
Read on to the next section for your options after graduating.
Unfortunately, it is very unlikely for a recent college graduate to join as an officer. While a four-year degree is a required to become an officer, having one does not mean you’ll be able to commission. The Air Force fills its needs for young college graduates mostly with the cadets who completed the ROTC program.
Your only path to commission now is to apply for OTS. OTS is very competitive: only 2-8% of applicants who get all the way through the 1-2 year application process are selected. Successful candidates typically have STEM degrees, college GPAs above 3.5, no arrests, no negative credit history, and have other accomplishments and leadership experience to highlight.
Your alternatives include:
A four-year degree is required in order to become a US military officer.
If you’re ready to go to college right now, and are under 31 years old, you may be able to join an Air Force ROTC program, then commission after graduating. If your GPA is strong enough, you may qualify for a scholarship.
If you’re not ready to go to college yet, or need help paying for it, you might want to enlist. You’ll earn college credits for your military training towards an Associates degree through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), and you can use tuition assistance and GI Bill benefits during and after your service, respectively.
Many states also have valuable tuition assistance benefits for Air National Guard members who only serve part-time.
Your only direct path to serve as an officer is to apply to OTS. While OTS is very competitive, your professional skills and certifications can contribute to the strength of your application. STEM degrees are particularly valuable.
You could enlist to join Active Duty, but the dramatic lifestyle change and probable pay cut may not make that an attractive option. You may instead want to consider serving part-time as an enlisted member in the Air National Guard or Reserves.
These three fields have specialized paths to be selected as a medical officer, JAG, or chaplain through OTS. Fully-qualified medical doctors are very likely to be offered a commission, while JAG and chaplain positions are still quite selective.
Unfortunately, it is essentially impossible to become an officer in the Guard or Reserves without any prior military service. These wings generally promote their own airmen and NCOs into officer positions.
The Air Force Academy is a selective military college, like West Point, that offers majors in a variety of subjects in addition to military studies courses and other required programs for cadet students. There are no direct tuition costs. About half of Academy graduates become pilots or air crew, making it the best path if your dream is to fly for the Air Force.
For more information, see US Air Force Academy Admissions and the USAFA Reddit community.
Air Force ROTC is a program offered at certain colleges to prepare cadets to become officers after they graduate. Cadets must complete at least three years of the program to commission, and therefore must have at least three years of college left in order to join (though this can include masters-level classes). AFROTC programs offer scholarships towards bachelor’s degrees only, based mostly on GPA. Accepting an AFROTC scholarship requires committing to serve after college.
AFROTC is the largest source of officers for the Air Force. Top performers in the program are more likely to be placed in the career field of their preference, including as a pilot if medically eligible.
Most major universities can support AFROTC students, either with an AFROTC program hosted at the college, or by dual enrollment at a cross-town campus. The full list of participating campuses is here: AFROTC College Locator.
For more information, see AFROTC Requirements and the AFROTC Reddit community.
OTS refers both to the training program for future Air Force officers, as well as the application and selection process for that school for applicants that won’t complete the Academy or ROTC programs.
OTS is an extremely competitive selection process that involves working with an Air Force officer recruiter to submit a package to a selection board. The application process often takes 12-24 months, with selection boards typically being held four times each year– two for pilots and air crew (“rated”) and two for non-flying jobs (“non-rated”).
The vast majority of Air Force recruiters can only recruit for enlisted positions, not officers. However, if you are a strong and fully qualified candidate, they may refer you to an officer recruiter for your region. Otherwise, contact information for officer recruiters is difficult to find.
The Reddit community Air Force OTS is a nearly-mandatory resource for OTS hopefuls.
Airmen serving in Active Duty can earn an associates degree through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), and may use the tuition assistance program to take online classes towards a four-year degree while serving.
After serving, you can use GI Bill benefits to pay for most of the cost of college, or you can transfer them to a spouse or child.
Each year, there are a small number of openings for enlisted servicemembers to commission through OTS. This is typically an option between 4-10 years of enlisted service.
Another option is to serve as an enlisted airman for 4 years, then separate and attend college for 3–4 years while participating in AFROTC. Then, you can return to the service as a lieutenant. Your years of enlisted service will count towards your eligibility for retirement, making this a surprisingly attractive path.
For information about all things related to enlisting, see the Air Force Recruits Reddit community, the USAF Shippers Discord community, or your local recruiter.
The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves are part-time service options that have distinct benefits and drawbacks, as compared to Active Duty. Guardsmen and Reservists typically serve for one weekend per month, plus about 2 weeks each year.
Additional deployments and mobilizations may be available on a rotation, volunteer, or selection basis, depending on the wing. Both Guard and Reserve members could be called up to Active Duty in war time. Only Guard members can be activated for state emergencies, though this is uncommon in most states; the Army National Guard is usually activated instead.
The Guard and Reserves are not a reliable pathway to serve in the military full-time. Guardsmen and Reservists generally cannot transfer to Active Duty voluntarily, and there are limited opportunities for full-time work. You’ll need another job to pay the bills.
Officer positions in Guard and Reserve wings are typically filled by promoting enlisted members of the wing, and also with officers transitioning out of Active Duty.
Which one should I do: Guard or Reserves? In short, the Reserves allow more flexibility in moving between bases in the US, while the Guard is larger, has more bases, and has better education benefits in almost all states. Guard units can be activated for state emergencies; Reserves cannot. If you plan to go college while serving, you should strongly prefer Guard. Otherwise, choose whichever has a base closest to you with an open job you’re interested in doing.
For more information about enlisting generally, see the Air Force Recruits Reddit community and the USAF Shippers Discord community, or contact a recruiter at a nearby Guard or Reserve wing.