How to Become an Air Force Officer

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 3, 2023 References

There are four main ways to become an Air Force Officer. You can apply to go to Officer Training School, attend the Air Force Academy, go through Air Force ROTC in college, or enlist and work your way towards becoming an Officer. Each option has different requirements and advantages. No matter which path you choose, the Air Force has many valuable resources, both online and in person, to help you through the process.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Enrolling in Officer Training School Post-College

1
Check to make sure you meet the qualifications. To jump right into Officer Training School, you need to have earned a college or postgraduate degree. You also must be between 18 and 39 years old and be a U.S. citizen.^{[1]
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2
Submit an online application to get connected with a recruiter. Go to the U.S. Air Force website at https://www.airforce.com/ and click on "Apply Now." This will take you to an application asking for some personal information about yourself. After submitting the form, you'll be connected with a recruiter who will help you through the rest of the process.^{[2]
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- You'll be asked for your name, contact information such as email and home address, and a little bit of information about your education.
- You'll be contacted by a recruiter shortly after filling out the application, either by email or phone.
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3
Study for and pass the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test. The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) is designed to test you on your skills. This includes your knowledge of math, how to communicate efficiently, and several other topics relating to the Air Force. The test is multiple choice and you can take it up to 2 times, so be sure to study and prepare plenty of time in advance.^{[3]
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- Your recruiter will give you information on how to sign up for the AFOQT. To help prepare for the test, visit sites such as http://www.militaryaptitudetests.com/afoqt/.
4
Go through a physical and mental screening. Being an Air Force Officer is both mentally and physically demanding, making it necessary for you to be checked beforehand to make sure you’re ready. To complete the screening, you’ll go to a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) where they will assess you.^{[4]
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- Your recruiter should work with you to create an appointment for the screening.
5
Wait to be sent to Officer Training School after passing all of the requirements. If you completed the application process and are accepted into the Air Force by the selection board, you’ll go into the Delayed Entry Program. This will be the program you're in while you wait to be sent to Officer Training School.^{[5]
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- It’s recommended that you use this wait time to begin a physical fitness regimen to get in shape for the training program. You should include running, push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching into your routine.
- People in the Delayed Entry Program are encouraged to attend meetings and classes at your local recruiting office.
- You can be in the Delayed Entry Program for 365 days at most.
6
Go through the 9.5 week training program. Officer Training School is broken down into 4 phases and takes 9.5 weeks to complete. The 4 phases allow you to work on teamwork, discipline, the fundamentals of leadership, and many other important skills. For a complete list of the concepts worked on in each phase, you can visit https://www.airforce.com/education/military-training/ots.^{[6]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Attending the U.S. Air Force Academy

1
Check your eligibility. To enter into the U.S. Air Force Academy, you must be between 17 and 23 years old and a U.S. citizen. You can’t be married, and you shouldn’t have any dependents.^{[7]
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- You don't need to have gone to college to apply to the Air Force Academy, but you do need a high school diploma or GED.
2
Find your Admissions Liaison Officer. Your Admissions Liaison Officer (ALO) is the person who will be helping you through the application process, answering any questions you might have. Your ALO is assigned to you depending on which high school you attend. To find your ALO, go online to the Air Force Academy website and select your high school. When you find your high school on the list, you’ll be given your ALO’s name and email address.^{[8]
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- If you don’t attend a high school, you can just search by state.
- Your ALO is the person who will conduct your interview, so it’s best to start establishing a strong relationship with them.
3
Start your online U.S. Air Force Academy application. Your online application is where most of the application process will take place. It will guide you through the process, giving you access to the questionnaires, prompts, general information questions, and several other parts of the application. To start your Air Force Academy application, visit https://admissions.usafa.edu/gateway/gateway.aspx.
4
Apply for a nomination as soon as possible. To enter into the Air Force Academy, you must be given an official nomination by a person legally authorized to nominate you. Most candidates aim for Congressional or Vice Presidential nominations, meaning you would seek a nomination from your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative, or the Vice President of the United States.
- The nomination process can take a long time, so it's best to start as soon as you start the application. The nomination is due January 31st.
- For more information on how to apply for a nomination, visit https://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/nominations/.
5
Submit a Pre-Candidate Questionnaire by December 31st. The questionnaire will have questions regarding your class rank, high school GPA, and test scores. These questions, as well as some questions about your activities and personal situation, will be used to decide if you’re a candidate for admission. The Pre-Candidate Questionnaire can be started March 1st of your junior year of high school, and you should submit it by December 31st.^{[9]
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- You’ll be asked for your full name, birth date, social security number, and contact information, as well as the name of your high school and the class size.
6
Request transcripts and teacher evaluations if you’re moved to Candidate status. Once you're notified that you’re now in the Candidate phase, you’ll need to request your transcripts and teacher evaluations. You’ll be given a request form to give to your high school counselor so that the Air Force Academy can have access to your high school transcripts. You’ll also need three teacher evaluations.^{[10]
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- For high schoolers, your three evaluations must be from your Math teacher, English teacher, and 1 other teacher — the best option would be a Science teacher. The evaluation from your English teacher needs to be from your 11th or 12th grade teacher.
7
Take the Candidate Fitness Assessment. The Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) is a Pass/Fail test that you must pass to be considered for admission. Train for the 6 parts of the assessment: Basketball Throw, Pull-Ups/Flexed Arm Hang, Shuttle Run, Crunches, Push-Ups, and 1-Mile Run. You’ll need to find someone to administer the test for you.^{[11]
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- Your high school gym teacher or sports coach would be a good examiner. You can also visit the website for help finding a qualified examiner, as well as for tips on how to train for the test.
- If you fail the CFA, you'll be notified and may have the opportunity to retake it to get better scores.
8
Fill out your extracurricular activities record. The Air Force Academy will want to find out which extracurriculars you’re involved in, including athletic activities as well as non-athletic activities. The activities you list don’t have to be activities you participate in only at school, but they can only be things that took place from 10th-12th grade.^{[12]
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- Choosing activities where you showed leadership will be especially beneficial to your application.
9
Provide a writing sample. As with most other steps, your writing sample is part of your online application. You’ll be given three questions, and you must answer two of them. Try to use these questions to really show who you are as a person, and spend some time thinking about how you’d like to answer them. Make sure you proofread your answers before submitting them.^{[13]
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- The questions will have a word minimum of 250 or 400, with a maximum of 3,000 characters.
10
Take part in a personal interview with your ALO. You’ll need to contact your Admissions Liaison Officer to set up your interview. You should think of this interview as a job interview, putting your best foot forward and letting the selection panel get to know you.^{[14]
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- Prepare for your interview beforehand by thinking out answers to probable questions.
11
Submit the Personal Data Record and Drug/Alcohol Abuse Statement. You’ll be required to disclose your personal record, such as any citations or arrests you’ve had. The Drug and Alcohol Abuse Certificate can’t be accessed until your ALO opens it for you. After you’ve talked to your ALO, complete this part of the application by reading everything carefully and filling in all of the required boxes.^{[15]
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- The instructions for opening the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Statement section can be given by your ALO either in person or over the phone.
12
Complete a medical evaluation. To make sure you’re healthy enough to join the Air Force, you’ll need to schedule a medical examination with the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board. It can take up to four months to complete this process, so be patient.
- You need to have completed the Fitness Assessment, Personal Data Record, Activities Record, Teacher Evaluations, and Writing Sample before your name will be forwarded to the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board.^{[16]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Joining Air Force ROTC in College

1
Connect with an Air Force ROTC admissions representative. Your admissions representative will help you navigate the process of finding a college with a great ROTC program and applying. Your admissions representative is assigned by state. To find out who your representative is, visit the "Contact Us" page on the Air Force ROTC website (https://www.afrotc.com/) and then click "Locate a Rep."^{[17]
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Find a college that offers an ROTC program. Some colleges or universities are host universities, meaning they offer ROTC programs on their campus, while others are crosstown universities and require their students to take the ROTC classes at a host university. To find out which universities offer Air Force ROTC programs and which might be the best for you, you can use the College Locator on the Air Force ROTC website.^{[18]
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Apply for a scholarship by submitting an online application and forms. An application can be found online on the U.S. Air Force ROTC website and it must be turned in between June 1st and December 1st. After you’ve submitted the application, you’ll be able to download several forms that need to be filled out and uploaded by January 12th.
- Required forms include the form to acquire your transcript, a physical fitness test, and your test scores.
4
Schedule your interview with an Air Force Officer if selected. If you meet all of the qualifications, you’ll be contacted to begin setting up your interview with an Air Force Officer. Treat this interview as you might a job interview, and prepare for it beforehand.
5
Accept the scholarship offer by May 31st, if offered one. If the selection board decides to offer you a scholarship, you have until the end of May to accept it. Most of this process should take place electronically.
- If you aren’t given a scholarship, you’re still able to take ROTC classes during your first year of college.
6
Take all physical and medical exams. Once you accept the scholarship offer, you’re required to take a medical exam and meet specific physical standards. This includes meeting the Air Force’s specific weight and fitness standards, as well as certain health, height, and vision qualifications.
7
Meet the qualifications for the first section of Air Force ROTC. The first section of Air Force ROTC is the General Military Course, which you would complete during your freshman and sophomore years of college. To be part of this program, you need to be enrolled in an accredited college with an ROTC counterpart, be in good physical condition, have good moral character, be 14 years or older, and commit to taking the aerospace studies class as well as the Leadership Lab every semester.^{[19]
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- If you’re on scholarship, you need to be a U.S. citizen and be at least 17 years old.
- For a list of conditions that may affect your Air Force ROTC membership, visit the U.S. Air Force website at https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/high-school/requirements/.
8
Enroll in the Professional Officer Course upon completion of the General Military Course. If you complete the General Military Course, you’re able to enroll in the Professional Officer Course after meeting a few requirements. This course is designed for your junior and senior years of college. Your GPA, input from your unit commander, and aptitude test scores will all help determine if you’re eligible for the Professional Officer Course.^{[20]
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- Some of the qualifications include being a U.S. citizen, being of legal age or 17 years old with a parent’s consent, being in good academic standing, passing a physical and Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, and taking part in a field training course, among others.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Enlisting to Work Towards Becoming an Officer

1
Meet all of the basic requirements before enlisting as an Airman. You should be between 17 and 39 years old to be able to join, as well as a U.S. citizen or permanent, legal resident. You also need to have a high school diploma or have gotten your GED.^{[21]
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Go online to apply and submit an application. To show that you’re interested in enlisting, you’ll need to go online and fill out an application with some general information about yourself. Once you submit the online form, an Air Force recruiter will contact you and provide assistance if needed for the rest of the process.^{[22]
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- Apply at https://www.airforce.com/how-to-join/process/enlisted.
3
Take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. The ASVAB test helps decide if you’re able to handle the mental demands of the Air Force. It also highlights your strengths, which will help point you in a direction of which career is best for you. You’ll be tested on arithmetic reasoning, work knowledge, paragraph comprehension, and mathematics knowledge.^{[23]
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- You can prepare for the ASVAB test by taking practice tests online, found on sites such as http://www.asvabpracticetests.com/.
- If you don't pass the test, you can wait one month before retaking it. If you don't pass that one, you can wait an additional month and retake the test a second time. You'll have to wait 6 months to take the test a fourth time.
4
Complete a physical and mental screening. Your recruiter will help set up an appointment at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) so that you can take your physical and mental screening. During this time, you’ll need to give your jobs counselor a list of possible jobs and aptitude areas you’re qualified for or willing to train for. This list will help determine which Air Force career you pursue.^{[24]
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Go into the Delayed Entry Program to wait for Basic Military Training. If you pass all of the tests and become a part of the Air Force, you’ll have to wait a little while to be sent to Basic Military Training (BMT). When you’re waiting for your departure date in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), you should start preparing for training by working out and conditioning.^{[25]
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- Create a workout routine that includes running, push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching.
- You can be placed in the Delayed Entry Program for up to a year.
6
Obtain your unit commander's approval to begin training as an Officer. Once you're enlisted as an Airman, you'll work your way up towards becoming an Officer. To be cleared to begin the next phase of training as you prepare to become an Officer, you'll need your unit commander's approval, as well as other qualifications which can be found on the U.S. Air Force website.^{[26]
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- Visit https://www.airforce.com/how-to-join/process/enlisted-to-officer for more information.

Community Q&A

Question

Is my height important?

Community Answer

Your height isn't very important on its own, but it will determine what jobs you might be fit for.