Pirate04 said:
Just a crusty CW2 Blackhawk pilot here. This was my own personal experience and I have no knowledge of academies or other branches.
WOFT does not require prior service to apply. In fact, my WOCS class was half prior service and half street-to-seat. I have a degree from A&M but there was a good 7 year gap from when I graduated to when I joined the Army. In my WOCS class, no one was prior aviation (except crew members), including the street-to-seat candidates.
There are other non-degree paths that he can choose from too. Albeit, they are expensive. ATP Flight School is an option that will take someone from 0 time to a CFII and allow them to teach while building enough time to apply to airlines.
The program I'm currently in is a flight school in partnership with a community college. Same idea applies with their CFIIs.
I liked that you mentioned LeTourneau, I'm a Longview native so this made me happy.
Funny story here about LeTourneau. Way back in the early 80's, I'm a USN LT. T-2 Instructor, Beeville. This USMC 2ndLT comes in for his FAM 1, first hop ever in a jet. FAM 1 was a "freebie". ungraded, I did a lot of the flying, just to get the guy used to the fast paced environment. This kid was short, freckle faced, looked to be about 12 years old, and he had a chipped tooth which made him look like Alfred E. Newman. So in the brief I ask him where he grew up, where he went to college, he says "LeTourneau College Sir". I says " LeWHAT? Where in the hell is that"? " Longview, Texas Sir"
Now wait a minute, I wasn't from Texas, but my mom was born and raised in Henderson, just down the road. I had tons of kinfolk in and around Longview, but I had NEVER heard of La Whatever College.
So we go off on our hop. I did the TO, we got to altitude, I showed him some stuff, let him toss it around to get some feel, then we go back to the Field for some bounces. I do the first pass, show him how to fly the ball, then I let him fly the 2nd pass. And Alfred E. Newman proceeds to fly the most beautiful centered ball pass I'd ever seen. Every other FAM 1 (including me) was all over the sky, snakes in the cockpit. So I says "Do that again!" So he comes around and does it again, as good or better than me, and I had a Fleet Tour under my belt. We land, debrief...of course I ask him if he ever flew before...Nothing NADA. So I told Alfred E. that I didn't think that was just dumb luck.
Alfred E. Newman, from LaTourneau College wound up a squadron mate of my brother in the USMC!