@irish greg finally a post I can help with! I think the answer is that she will have to get hundreds of hours and the typical PPL/CMEL/etc ratings from a flight school. Nobody is legally allowed to fly for pay until you are commercially rated. If she's good at scouring the internet and has some trusted aviation mentors, she should be able to plot out how much time and money that takes. Sounds like that's the conclusion others on here have brought you to as well.
But the unfortunate reality is that a civilian with just a few hundred hours and those ratings probably won't ever be able to compete with the retired mil pilots that want those jobs, and who have flown big planes, under NVG's, dropping cargo and personnel etc.
As for the reclass into aviation in the reserves: in my opinion, the best way to go. I went Army to Air Force reserve pilot. It's a slow process, but I'd be happy to talk through the process. Fixed wing Army AV has gone to the wayside from my understanding, but rotary wing will get her foot in the door for some of those niche jobs or at least to flying a good amount and getting paid very well (relative to CFI work) to rack up some hours.
The Army NG/Reserve boards I've been privy to in the last few years were quite uncompetitive. E.g. no degree required for warrant, basic "why do you want to fly" questions. A friend of mine had an interview that was about 5 min long. With a commercial rating, they were about 100x more qualified than the other hires.
Air Force boards for the reserves and guard are pretty much the opposite. PPL is a pretty consistent requirement to be competitive. "Rushing" various units all over the country for a drill weekend to introduce yourself is a requirement. Is the Air Force juice worth the slow and expensive squeeze? That's gonna vary person to person.
Good luck! I'm happy to chat if you want some of the finer details on the non-flier to flier route, Air force or army.
