What is the difference between the Air Force Academy and AFROTC?

Answer 1

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.