Air Force

[tws_112]

Looking t join the US air force.. Haven't been to a recruiter yet.. almost 25.. I want to know what are the positives and negatives of the air force.. does everyone get to join the airforce after the contract has been singed and after the basic training. Need Input. Would really Help.

Anyone in here.. currently in the military?

 

[Sam]

Welcome to the board tws_112,
Positives of the AF:
you get to sleep in a stable place usually warm clean and dry every night and you won't miss many meals.

Negatives:
you will have to work for pansies that are afraid you will get a scratch on you and 99% is boring.

Once you sign the contract, you will raise your hand and "repeat after me" and you are in. Ain't no "get to join after basic", you are in there.

It isn't bad, I survived 26 yrs AD and managed to have some fun, do some decent things and work with a few good folks.


Sam

 

[rero360]

I have to agree with Sam, I did two years on an Air Force base doing security, I'm Army though( and don't forget it) anyways it was the cake walk of all cake walk missions, nothing like garrison mp duty to bore the hell out of you, if you want to work with guns, and not just touch one once a year go into the security forces, otherwise you'll either be a desk jockey or a mechanic, so far I've never left the states with the military, but talking with the AF Security forces they were always talking about their training missions in grease and italy and the like, so basically if you want a really easy but boring and safe job, go air force, but if you want some adventure go army or marines

on a side note one other thing with the air force is that there tends to be very cut throat, people back stabbing each other to get promoted and the such, but you will get promoted very fast in the airforce, it took me 2 1/2 years to get my E-4, some of the air force guys I worked with got theirs in under 2, and I was fast tracked by army standards, heck, I was wearing a pair of boots on that mission that had seen more time in the feild than the one guy had seen in uniform and they gave him his E-4,

either way you go, good luck and glad you want to join and be a fellow soldier, hooah

 

[jtward01]

Welcome to the board tws_112,
Positives of the AF:
you get to sleep in a stable place usually warm clean and dry every night and you won't miss many meals.

Yeah, unless you become a combat air controller. Then you get to sleep in the weeds and mud with the Army or Marine Corps grunts. Now, if you get to be a regular air traffic controller in the tower at an air base you'll learn a trade that will set you up to make real good money working for the FAA after your hitch is done.

Do you have a college degree? Going in as a officer is a ton better than as an enlisted man. If you do go in as enlisted there are lots of decent jobs in the medical field - x-ray tech, etc. - that can set you up for a good career later in life. Of course, you'll have to score really well on the aptitude tests.

 

[af1acura]

I am currently active duty Air Force and have been in 3 years now. If you have any college it is a +, I had 2 years of college and came in E-3 with a 4 year contract and made E-4 a few months ago. I haven't touched a military firearm since basic because my base is only doing qualifications for people who are deploying. I have not deployed yet but depending on the career you choose this will differ. I would highly suggest researching what kind of work you want to do in the AF and make sure you get a guaranteed job when you sign up. Overall I enjoy the AF and plan on staying in but I don't enjoy my current career field and plan on re-training soon. Most jobs are being out sourced to civilians so the AF is getting smaller and certain career fields are shrinking so make sure you know what you want to do first.

 

[JL2152]

I am Army but was attatched to an Air Force unit for two years. It wasn't bad the mentality is a little weird the guys are a little wussy. But at the Dining Facility they made fresh french toast and even cut it in to little triangles for you.

If you want to play in the woods choose a different branch. If you wanna play with things that go fast go Air Force.

 

[Lennyjoe]

20 + years and still going in the Air Force. I know a thing or two about current active duty now adays.

The Air Force is a great life. Everything depends on what you want to do in the service. If your looking to get trained, gain experience and leave the service for future follow on jobs then be sure you get into the career field you want. Stick to the career and don't let the recruiter talk you out of it. If the field your wanting isn't open then wait until it is. By that I mean enter delayed enlistment until the vacancy opens.

After basic, tech school and then PCS to your first unit you will be busy. Once you get to your gaining unit you will be in upgrade training. Most days are 8-10 hour shifts. Once again, I say it all depends on which career field your in. Flighline guys work long hours as do cops, PJ's, ATC and some CE folks.

If your not a cop or some Prime Beef guy then you might not get to touch a weapon outside of basic and your 3 year qual training.

College classes are available and pretty much paid for. Time to take the classes might be tough depending again on what career field your in. See the pattern?

Promotion is obtainable depending on you. From E-1 to E-4 is on a time line. E-4 can be obtained 6 months early if you get Below the Zone. E-5 thru E-9 is by testing and other scores. Yes you can make E-5 by 4 years but after that it aint as easy as you think. Cut throat and back stabbing is for Officers. Not Enlisted. That stuff doesn't get you anywhere when you have to WAPS test for your promotion.

TDY's, Deployments and such all depend on Unit requirements and your AFSC. Once again, everything depends on what? Thats it, the career field your in.

So far I've enjoyed my 20 + years in. I am an A-10 crew chief by trade and know what 12 + hour shifts are 5 days a week and alot of TDY's and deployments are like. It's tough on the family but makes time at home much more enjoyable. I'm finally up in the top 3 ranks and can now throttle back a bit and let the youngins take the reigns.

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

Plus: You will get all-new equipment and toys, and be taken care of very well by the Air Force

Negative: You probably won't get to get dirty, live in a bombed-out building, be fired at or return fire.

I wouldn't do it. Ever. But I'm biased

 

[Oldtimer]

Hey, go ahead and talk with the USAF recruiter! They will be able to answer just about ALL of your questions! Then visit the Navy, Army and Marine recruiters while you're at it! The recruiters will probably give you some "BS" about how THEIR branch of service is the best, but at least you can get first-hand info directly from them!

There are pro's and con's with ALL of the branches. The final decision is entirely up to you and what your wants/needs/desires are.

Personally, if I had it all to do over again, I'd make the same decision as I did, back in 1966, and that was the USAF. I spent 13 months in the toilet (South Vietnam) as one of the few "ground pounders" in the USAF (CCT), but after that I was reassigned to a base in West Germany....and was able to see most of Europe. GREAT!

 

[Colt]

Great Opportunity

You can sign up for a guaranteed "career field," but not a guaranteed job. (I got a career field guarantee of "electronics" and ended up with a job (AFSC) of avionics) The only drawback is that you may have to wait a few months for an opening in your field. I was enlisted for 4 months before I went to basic, just waiting for an opening in electronics. Also, when you are sent to school for your specialized job, you'd better study. If you fail the tests and get "washed out," you lose your career field guarantee and are at the mercy of the AF. They can then give you any job they want, from handing out basketballs at the gym, to fixing lawn mowers.

Rank comes quick. I made E-5 (Staff Sargeant) in 4 years (2 weeks before I went on terminal leave) You don't have to be a butt-kisser, you just have to stay out of trouble, show up for roll call on time, and do your job. In my squadron, making E-4below the zone was just a matter of having a clean record.

Like Lennyjoe said, if a good portion of your squadron is on TDY or special assignment, you can find yourself working 12-hour days with no days off to compensate for the smaller workforce. On the other hand, when everyone's back on base, or the workload's light, you can head into work on your "Friday," and be sent home right after rollcall. There's no overtime pay, but there's also no 40-hour minimum work week.

Given the choice, I'd do it again. Even after you leave the AF, having it on your resume helps you to stand out. If the person interviewing you is ex-military, it can really go a long way towards getting hired.

 

[entropy]

At your age, maybe the Air Force is your best choice. I did Army Basic at 22 [Martin Sheen voice] and it damn near killed me[/Martin Sheen voice] You'll probably be called 'old man' in your Basic training unit. But then again, we had two 34 year olds in mine, although one washed out. But even at your 'advanced' age , you should be able to make the Air force Shuffle easy enough. If you think you're hard core, go CCT; those boys get to do the high speed stuff.

 

[Fly320s]

Just as a reminder... the Air Force is a military force. You may actually be sent to war. You may have to kill or be killed.

I just wanted to make that clear. It seems many people overlook that fact when joining-up.

 

[isp2605]

Just as a reminder... the Air Force is a military force. You may actually be sent to war. You may have to kill or be killed.

I just wanted to make that clear. It seems many people overlook that fact when joining-up.

Good point. Guys from my former Security Forces squadron have been in the thick of it. One has already received the Bronze Star with V. Another has been submitted for the Silver Star.
But then there was another group of 5 from my former SF unit that right after 9/11 pulled duty on an unmentioned island working with some unnamed folks all in civilian clothes and no military ID of any kind.
The USAF isn't all warm dry beds and hot meals. Depending on your deployment if in SF you can get all the dirt, rain, cold, heat, and MREs you would want. And if that's not enough misery for you then go CCT.

 

[hso]

While this may be the amusing impression - http://www.sgtstryker.com/weblog/archives/003579.php

I know USAF guys that have been sent to ground combat in Iraqistan.

 

[White Horseradish]

Be sure to ask the recruiter about the Stargate program...

 

[Roadkill]

My son has been in the Air Force five years, he tests F16 engines after they have been rebuilt. He loves it and is staying in. My recommendation to you as it was to him is to attach yourself to the most expensive piece of equipmenet. They couldn't care less about you but they will take care of the expensive stuff. In the Army (I'm retired ) the Colonel sends an eighteen year old kid out over the hill to see what is out there. In the Air Force the eighteen year old tanks up the jet and the Colonel goes over to see what is there.

rk

 

[Mr_Moore]

Naval Air

I was in Naval Air, which is the air force of the Navy. We had it better than most of the Navy.

It was good duty. I got to learn a trade - electronics. It was kinda neat to be working on multi-million dollar aircraft and seeing how they work.

Watch your butt when you sign the contract to join. Make sure any promises are in writing. Recruiters are under a lot of pressure to sign people up and will say anything - been there got burned.

You may wind up having to add on extra years just to get the duty station or specialty school that was promised to you when you enlisted.

I used the GI bill to get a degree in Electrical Engineering. I used my VA loan to buy a house. Also, I think the experience matured me.

Good tip to remember that you are in the military. Its not just a job.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

If you want real military the AF has a special forces group with beret. The guy in our flight to go special forces looked like a James Bond stand in and had the accent to go with it.

Me? I went in during the Viet Nam era at age 20 and went for Mandarin Chinese training at the Presidio of Monterey and security training in Texas. Nine months in Monterey, 3 months in Texas, 18 months on Okinawa and the remainder split between Grand Forks, ND as NCOIC of Education and March AFB, CA.


They asked if I wanted to fly in circles in a plane over Viet Nam but I decllined.

Otherwise, the 2 mile run in basic is round and round on a tiny track, the water hazards are closed at 60 degrees temperature, you get half a day and twenty or so rounds for rifle qualification. I am totally nonathletic and thought the obstacle course was a great bit of fun.

They do shout at you in basic just to let you know that it IS the military, but it is almost business like after that. When the big mean ol' army dudes at the Presidio asked us to clean up the grounds we went down the hill to USAF liason and the AF told the Army to be nice to their people. The squids and Marines were great to work with, too, since they didn't own the base.

 

[cowboybobb693]

If you want real military the AF has a special forces group with beret. The guy in our flight to go special forces looked like a James Bond stand in and had the accent to go with it.

Let me somewhat clarify something. The Air Force does not have "Special Forces", that name belongs to the Army, and yes, I do have the Honor to have that long tab on my uniform. The Air Force has "Special Operations Units" and yes I also had the honor of wearing the beret of a PJ for 6 years. They have Combat Controllers, PJ's and a few flight types that belong to the Spec Op's community.Spec Ops is the only way to go if you want to get into the thick of things. You can get promoted usually ahead of the other desk bound types.
The AF is a great gig. Try it

 

[AFhack]

I spent my first six years in the military in the Army (MOS 19E, Tank Crewman), and the next nineteen years in the Air Force as a PMEL technician (AFSC 2P0X1). I'm still in by the way.

Both are great services and both are very, very different ways of life. In my mind you have to be more careful about choosing your job (AFSC or MOS) than in picking your branch of the military. You got a lot of great responses in this thread and you know that there are what I like to call "trigger pullers" in both branches of service. If what you want is a tactical, combat arms, weapon using kind of job then the Army has more of that kind of thing, but they are available in the Air Force as well. If you want a technical job with a lot training and long term expertise involved then the Air Force has a few more options. That's not to say that the Army doesn't have those kinds of jobs, just that they're a little more prevelant in the Air Force.


Personally, the Air Force has a few more opportunities for out-of-job-skill kind of service. Enlisted personnel are frequently taken out of their career field for two, three, and even more years at a time to fill in various jobs like "Unit Deployment Manager", "Security Manager", "Safety NCO", "Resource Advisor"... the list actually goes on and on. I've been a Unit Deployment Manager for my group for four years now and while it has absolutely nothing to do with my AFSC, I've been enjoying the challenges daily.

My bottom line advice: If you're really interested in the USAF find the jobs you're interested in, and the ones that are either open or you're willing to wait for, and then find out as much as you possibly can about them. If there's an Air Force base within driving range have your recruiter organize a trip to visit the actual shop you are interested in. If there's no base within range either have your recruiter give you a phone number you can call and ask questions or PM me and I can set you up with either an email POC or a phone number you can call to get the straight info on a job you're intrested in.

 

[isp2605]

Question for you USAF types who are still in.
Are you seeing any takers on the Blue to Green program?

Just curious. I spent 2 yrs Army and the next 24.5 yrs combined USAF and ANG. Learned a lot in the Army but quickly found out the USAF definitely treats their people better.

 

[AFhack]

Question for you USAF types who are still in.
Are you seeing any takers on the Blue to Green program?

Just curious. I spent 2 yrs Army and the next 24.5 yrs combined USAF and ANG. Learned a lot in the Army but quickly found out the USAF definitely treats their people better.

I've only met 2 blue to green applicants (both got approved) both were what I call "bouncers." They came into the USAF from the Army and now were taking advantage of that program to move back to the Army.

 

[isp2605]

I've only met 2 blue to green applicants (both got approved) both were what I call "bouncers." They came into the USAF from the Army and now were taking advantage of that program to move back to the Army.

Seen those kinds. I worked on the civilian side with a guy who bragged that he'd been in all 4 branches. Started out in the USMC enlisted. Went Army. Then Navy Reserve where he somehow got a commissioned. Then hooked a deal and and took his commission to USAF as a PIO. He never completed 20. After working with him I imagine each branch was very happy to see him go to another. He had some juice somewhere and was riding a coattail.
Thanks for the info. Just didn't know if the program was working and if anyone was doing it.

 

[NMshooter]

One thing I will say for the Air Force, if they need bodies, you may be it!

I was a Ground Radio guy (2E153) and I spent more time than I care to think about loading aircraft alongside aerial porters.

At some places you may get the chance to be a security police augmentee.

Some units are like any civilian job with a uniform, I knew one very frustrated airman who spent four years asking folks if they wanted fries with their food. Others are not much different than the Army, except you do it all unarmed.

Whatever you do, you will be very busy, guaranteed!

 

[chris in va]

I was enlisted 92-96, got in at 21.

I made the mistake of accepting what the recruiter suggested instead of waiting for what I really wanted. All I can suggest is DEFINITELY research various AF jobs and know exactly what you want/getting into.

Like others have said, a certain amount of college will start you out at E-3 paygrade, along with the added responsibility. You'll probably be the shift supervisor.

I was based all 4 years at Offutt in Nebraska. Cushy furnishings...bigscreen TV's in the dayroom, nice dorms and at E-3 you have the option of off-base living (apartment, etc) or your own room to yourself. Food was *very* good. Don't worry about basic training, they start you off slow.

But unfortunately I hated my job. Stuffed in a mainframe computer room doing rotating shift work mostly. It was a job, nothing more. At least we hardly ever saw officers and never had to wear blues. BDU's are pretty comfy!

One thing, be sure to stay in all 4 years. The lifetime benefits far outweigh whatever you may struggle through during that time. My VA hospital benefits saved my life...