<p>Yeti,</p>
<p>Let me offer some advice from someone who has been out of the Academy for a while and some perspective on the bigger picture with respect to what KP has to offer - as well as what you need to consider if you want to become a military pilot.</p>
<p>First, the thought that KP’s only mission is to provide licensed officers for the US Merchant Marine is one that you hear from time to time, but it is simply not true. Kings Pointers have served on active duty in the military, including as pilots, since the Academy was established. Simply flip through our alumni magazine (the Kings Pointer) and you’ll see dozens of photos of military pilots in every single edition - as well as Surface Warfare Officers, Submariners, Intel Officers, Soldiers, Coasties and Marines. The Academy takes pride in our diversity and uses it as a major selling point with both prospective students and with Congress (they pay the bills and are interested in the return on investment).</p>
<p>You will not find a single institution that offers a wider array of opportunities - hands down!
- Free education
- Active Duty OR civilian employment
- Commission in ANY branch of service
- and something for YOU to consider… What if you go to USNA/USAFA and don’t get picked up for pilot? What will you do? At KP, if you don’t get picked up - apply again, and again and again - if you still don’t get it… do something you want to do, rather than be burdened with a service contract in a field you don’t want to be in. Hell - sail for a year and buy your own plane!</p>
<pre><code>The other posts are not off the mark… KP’s CORE mission is to train officers for a career in maritime industry as either Marine Engineers or as Deck Officers in support of national defense - that is why the taxpayer pays for your education. You will not be trained to be an aviator at USMMA - BUT here is a blinding flash of the obvious… you wont be trained to be a pilot at USAFA or USNA either! The majors at KP are all structured around the maritime industry, but this should not discourage you. The Navy, for obvious reasons, values the education and skills you acquire in these majors, and so do the other services.
</code></pre>
<p>Don’t forget that being a pilot, regardless of service, is only the beginning…you will be required to be much much more as you progress in your future career. Most junior folks think that your warfare specialty is your only job - not true… You will have many jobs as you progress in the military - rotating between your warfare community and general staff/support work, flying jobs and non-flying jobs. Your main job, even in a flying tour as a pilot in the navy, will not be as a pilot! On average you’ll get a few hours of flying a week but many more hours as a manger, an avionics officer, a safety officer, a maintenance officer, etc… Everyone has a job besides being a pilot. A strong background in the sciences, logistics, engineering have afforded Kings Pointers an advantage over those from other Academies/ROTCs. Your professional education and training as a mariner will make you unique and valuable. There will be dozens of USNA grads in your squadron, and dozens of ROTC grads with poly-sci, history and English degrees - you will be the only logistics expert (a fact that will not be lost on your future COs).</p>
<p>So here is the bottom line: If you get accepted to KP you will have the same chance as everyone else at KP to go on to a career as a pilot, and unlike USNA and USAFA most of your classmates will NOT want to be pilots - most wont want to go on active duty. </p>
<p>Here is another flash - many of your classmates when you report will want to be pilots and almost all of them will wind up doing something else. In my class, none of the hard-core pilot wanabe plebes actually became pilots - they found better jobs at sea - paying more money with a better quality of life. Most of the guys that became pilots in the military did so after they were exposed to aviation as a midshipman at KP, or because they could not find work…</p>
<p>Here is my best advice: VISIT THE ACADEMY!!! Go in person. Be a “drag” (a candidate that gets to spend the night and go to classes with the mids). When you get to KP ask to visit the Naval Science Department and USAF Rep and get the facts.</p>
<p>I was dead-set on USNA and my congressman had a rule that no one got a nomination unless they had visited the Academy they were applying to. He further told me that he would not offer me a nomination to USNA unless I also agreed to visit USMMA. After my trip, I never completed my application to Annapolis - I was dead-set on USMMA!</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>USMMECOM
[url=<a href=“http://www.cafepress.com/USMMAonline]KPStore[/url”>http://www.cafepress.com/USMMAonline]KPStore[/url</a>]</p>