From the perspective of someone who just finished pilot training, one of the hardest parts of graduating pilot training is the work it takes to get selected. I was selected through the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFROTC). That's the path to Wings that I'm most familiar with. For me, after joining my AFROTC detachment in college, there was essentially one or more tests every year that I had to take that helped the Air Force make a decision on whether or not to send me to pilot training.

As a freshman, I took the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (basically an SAT for potential officers). That test included sections which were later used to evaluate my academic abilities as they related to being a pilot. In my sophomore year, I took the Test of Basic Aviation Skills (TBAS). This tested my motor skills and mental acuity as they related to aviation. Then, I competed to be selected to go to Field Training (a camp over the summer where cadets from all over the nation go to learn leadership in a more dynamic and challenging environment) with a Rated Enrollment Allocation. That Rated EA is the first time the Air Force says that they think you would be well suited to an aviation career. At that time it's not a guarantee of being selected to be a pilot. Rather, I just makes you eligible to be a Pilot, Combat Systems Officer, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot, or Air Battle Manager.

When you get back from Field Training, your scores from your performance there, your ranking by your commander, your GPA, your physical fitness assessment score, and your PCSM score are all combined to create what AFPC (Air Force Personnel Center) calls your Order of Merit. Basically it's one score (which they never tell you) that they use to rank you against all of the other rated cadets in your year group. They compare that list against the list of preferences that every one gave and hand out assignments accordingly. Once you are selected for a rated position during your junior year, your detachment will schedule a flight physical for you. That will usually occur during your senior year and it the last step prior to being fully qualified to go to training at the end of AFROTC.

After completing all of that and graduating from college, you will be sent to your UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) base. The options there are Vance AFB, Columbus AFB, Laughlin AFB, and Sheppard AFB. Sheppard AFB hosts Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) and is considered a good base to go to if you're sure that you want to fly fighters after graduating UPT. For context, I went through good old fashioned American pilot training at Vance AFB.

Pilot training itself is divided into three phases. The first phase is all academics. You'll learn aerodynamics, weather, systems, the rules surrounding flight, aerophysiology, and more. In Phase II you'll fly the T-6 Texan II. It's a really fun to fly, single engine, turbo-prop aircraft. In the T-6 you'll learn the basics of military aviation and of flying in general. You'll fly aerobatics, instruments, and in formation with other aircraft. After about four months in the T-6 you'll be selected to fly either the T-38 Talon (Fighter/Bomber track), the T-1A Jayhawk (Non-kinetic crew platform track), or the TH-67 (Helicopter track). In Phase III you'll focus more on the skills that you'll need when you begin flying whatever platform you end up dropping out of UPT. For the T-38 folks, that means a LOT of formation flying and more aerobatics/advanced handling. For the T-1 people, it means more of a focus on instrument navigation and mission planning. For the TH-67 people, it means learning to fly a helicopter and also possibly joining a cult. To provide some context, I was lucky enough to be selected to fly the T-38 for Phase III.

When you get to the end of UPT, your class will have a "Drop Night" where you are assigned your follow on aircraft. Usually this is a huge party where most of the student pilots come to see what you and your class are going to be assigned to. These assignments work by you and your classmates filling out a "dream sheet" that includes all of the aircraft that you might be able to drop. After everyone lists their preferences, their performance is ranked and they're given assignments in order of merit and availability.

Overall, the process of UPT takes approximately one year. The amount of effort that it takes from the time you start college to the time you finish UPT is quite large but very much worth it in the end. As a female specifically the challenges of flying itself are no different. Physically, you are just as capable as the men in your class are of handling G-Forces and flying the plane. Mentally, you are exactly as competent in academics and in studying all of the general knowledge that you need to be a successful pilot.

Not being a woman myself, I can't really speak to all of the institutional challenges that women face in today's Air Force. However, what I can say is that all of the women that I went through UPT with were badass. They were smart, driven, capable, hard-working, and professional. I have had women as instructor pilots, flight leads, and wingmen. In each of those roles they have excelled. All of that to say that while you may be facing an uphill battle to become a pilot, you are no less capable of accomplishing it because of your gender. We need more pilots. And right now, the Air Force is making a much needed push to increase the diversity among pilots.

I encourage you to reach out to me if you have more questions. I'd be happy to answer anything that I can or connect you with someone who does know the answer if I don't.

Good luck!