What is the difference between the Air Force Academy and AFROTC?
AFROTC is the primary commissioning source of Air Force Officers
and is available at numerous public and private universities across
the country. The Air Force Academy, or USAFA, is a school
specifically created for the training of Air Force Officers, and
while it commissions fewer total officers than the AFROTC program,
it does commission more than any other individual college.
The selection between the two is largely a personal one based
upon what a person wants from their college experience. An AFROTC
cadet will get a much more traditional college experience with some
military training interspersed throughout, while USAFA is a
strictly regimented school in which the military life is the
primary focus.
A good way to compare the two is to look at AFROTC as being
members of the Reserves; they live a normal life away from the
military, while still doing occasional military training during
college. In contrast, USAFA is more like active duty, in which you
live in your squadron under the authority of your chain of command,
with the primary military duty of earning a bachelors degree and
your commission along with it. This is actually more than just an
analogy, as I do believe AFROTC cadets are officially members of
the Reserves while Academy cadets are officially on Active
Duty.
Aside from the lifestyle, there are other stark contrasts
between the two, date of commission and job availability. So far as
date of commission, an important factor in promotions later on, all
USAFA cadets commission the day of graduation and this commission
is guaranteed for them as soon as they begin their four years, so
long as they meet as performance requirements during their four
years. If the slot for their job is not open at the time for
graduation, they are put on "casual" status and given a job such as
an athletic coaching position at the Academy until their slot opens
up. AFROTC graduates do not commission until their slot opens up,
meaning it could potentially be months after graduation that an
AFROTC cadet becomes a lieutenant, also not all AFROTC cadets are
guaranteed commissions. Their commission is not locked in until
they have completed field training the summer before their junior
year at the earliest.
In terms of job availability, the most visible job is that of
the pilot. While USAFA only graduates 20-30% of all Air Force
officers, they are allotted approximately 50% of pilot slots. The
other 50% are distributed between AFROTC and OTS graduates.