1,200 Cadets Applied For 194 Awards Valued At $27,000

The Headquarters of the Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) announced the high school recipients of its 2025 scholarships who will attend an accredited private pilot certification program at aviation institutions around the country this coming summer.

The AFJROTC awarded the Flight Academy Scholarships to 194 students out of the more than 1,200 who applied from units around the world. The awards pay for transportation, room and board, and both ground and flight training to earn their private pilot certificate.

This is the seventh year of the AFJROTC Flight Academy program and is a collaborative program between the U.S. Air Force and the commercial aviation sector intended to address the ongoing national pilot shortage. The program has seen 1,059 cadets earn their private tickets, and the Flight Academy’s completion rate is over 80% compared to the national average of 20% achieved through civilian pilot training options.

The Flight Academy is not a military recruiting program per se, but it has significantly influenced the lives of those cadets who received awards and more than 65% of them joined a military accessions program after graduating from high school.

2nd Lt. Isaac Chang is nearing completion of the T-1A Jayhawk advanced training. He said, “My first solo was exhilarating – it was and still is hard to believe that I could fly an aircraft on my own at 16 years old. Having my PPL [Private Pilot Certificate] is a huge advantage when applying for jobs and internships, and it has [assisted] my Air Force pilot training.”

Ben Caro, Director of the AFJROTC Flight Academy, noted that this year’s selection process was the most competitive yet. He said, “We continue to see our best and brightest cadets compete for this prestigious program, and I couldn’t be prouder of the talent and dedication we saw in this year’s applicant pool. The future of aviation looks very bright!”

FMI:  www.af.mil/