Air Force

[DunedinDragon]

I spent 9 years in the Air Force and enjoyed every minute of it, but a lot will depend on your attitude and the job you're in. I was very lucky in that a couple of guys during basic training convinced me to change my job to being a linguist (Chinese translator). I flew hundreds of missions, got air pay, hazardous duty pay, and because we were considered to be a combat crew, air medals which helped add up to rapid promotions. I got out as an E-7 only because I had started a family and wasn't ready to go back overseas on a remote tour.

My suggestion, I went in with a lot of guys younger than me and they simply did not "get it", and were generally miserable for their entire tours. They saw me as being "ate up", but that got me into the best schools, the best training, the best jobs, and the respect of my superiors. It's not about brown-nosing, it's about being dedicated to your mission. The one thing you will learn in the Air Force that will translate better than anything else you'll ever learn in your entire life is, the mission is EVERYTHING...all else is BS.

If you're lucky you'll spend most of your time overseas. The only time I really didn't enjoy was my time in the states. That's because all of the action and all of the opportunities are overseas. Do some research on the jobs and try to make a good decision there because that will make a HUGE difference in your experience.

 

[FPrice]

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.

One question: What do you want to do (job-wise)?

Before you can make the decision to join the Air Force or any other service, you should decide what you are interested in, what you want to learn, and what you want to do.

I've had more time in uniform than most people here and I enjoyed almost every minute. Okay, there were a few times I did not enjoy, but that's going to happen no matter where you go or what you do. Everyone has a slightly different experience and this produces a slightly different opinion.

I can recommend the Air Force, but you need to do some internal homework first. It's not a match for everyone but it can be a great experience if you understand what you are getting into and what is expected of you.

 

[YodaVader]

I spent my 4 years in the AF working as a "General Purpose Vehicle Mechanic" - the AF job title for mechanic. There were also Special Purpose Vehicle Mechanics in the other bay.

Sort of like having any other job in the civilian world for the most part. During the occasional exercises we had to work 12 hour shifts but they were just a few times a year. I was guranteed my job before going in and I even was able to get my first base of choice! Was only 70 miles from home so I was able to save a lot of vacation time.

Was sent to Germany for a month and during that time was able to see Paris ,France , Luxembourg and even attented the Oktoberfest in Munich. Have to say that was the funnest month I exeperienced while in the AF.

 

[eab]

One question: What do you want to do (job-wise)?
Before you can make the decision to join the Air Force or any other service, you

That is some of the best advice yet, better yet ask your self what career do you want? Your career could be maintence, you may hold several diffrent jobs in the career though. Cause most likely or not you are not going to have the same job the intire time you are in. You may start off turning wrenchs but then move up to supervising and stuff. Make sure what you are going into is what you want to do. That is what one of best friends just told me a couple weeks ago actually when I asked him a simaler qustion.

 

[middy]

yes I also had the honor of wearing the beret of a PJ for 6 years

You were a PJ!?

That is so cool.

 

[wingnutx]

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.

fyi, Prime Beef is what the AF calls their civil engineering guys. Think Seabees-lite

 

[FPrice]

fyi, Prime Beef is what the AF calls their civil engineering guys. Think Seabees-lite

RED HORSE is the AF heavy deployable CE types.

 

[wingnutx]

Them too.

 

[cowboybobb693]

Middy. Yes I was a PJ. If you look at me you would not believe it, I don't fit your stereotypical PJ profile, actually I don't fit your typical "Green Beenie" profile, kinda scary when you think about it.

 

[Olys45]

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?

Well you are in luck, I just finished a tour as an Air Force Recruiter. I have been in the USAF for almost 15 years with a break in service to boot. I am a Aircraft Mechanic by trade, but I have had two special duty jobs during my career. If you speak to the other branches, take note on how many times the RIC's tell you how the Air Force "cannot" help you out.... unless they have been in the USAF, how could they know? If you want the best quality of life and a decent chance at getting some college paid for, even while deployed, check out the Air Force.

There are many things you have to consider about the Air Force.

What do you want to do is the most important. Since you are 25, the RIC will have to run a credit check to check your income to debt ratio. Do you have any medical, Law or drug problems? All of these could possibly affect which jobs you qualify for.

If you have any college, it may help with an accelerated promotion. If you have a 4 year degree, it depends on the degree that you have weather or not the USAF will even accept you into the Officer Corps.

Once you get to the office, the RIC will probably give you a practice test to see if you even qualify for the USAF, we have the highest "QT" score for entrance.

Once the RIC determines if you are medically/law/drug qualified he will answer any questions that you may have. If you want to proceed he will run the credit check. If that comes back okay, he will schedule you for MEPS if you are commited to joining the Air Force.

When I recruited, sometimes I would schedule the applicant to only take the ASVAB so we knew which jobs you are tentativiely qualified for. Then I would proceed to the stage of commitment of you joining the Air Force. Before I sent ANYBODY down to the MEPS, I would gain the commitment to the Air Force and to listing at least 5 jobs and an Aptitude Area.

If you proceed to this stage... Please, PLEase PLEASE honor your commitment to your county and to the United States Air Force and ship to BMT. You have reserved a job and if you bail on the Air Force you have taken an oppourtunity from somebody else and just made your RIC's life a living hell.

If you want anymore questions answered, please send me an email to the one listed on my profile. There are many factors to enlisting into the greatest Air Force on Earth.

 

[Essex County]

This is a really late post

I joined the Air Force in 1966 when "Nam was going full bore. I had two years of college under my belt and no money to continue. I gave a tremendous amount of thought as to what service to join. Since I had always been interested in anything that flew, I chose the Air Force. I was extremely and pleasently suprised to find that after basic and tech school that there was no "chicken ????". If You showed up for work on time, had a positive attitude and a true desire to learn about your career field you had no problems. When my enlistment was up in '70 I did not re enlist soley for personal reasons. My wife's mother and Grandmother were in poor health and I felt it was more imporant for the family to be togeather and them to enjoy a few years with the grandchildren next door. I don't regret this at all and when my son went Air Force in '88 I was pleased as punch. It's a great way of life............Essex

 

[wqbang]

If you are looking for a Job that is highly marketable after a 4-6 year tour go for Computer Programmer = AFSC 3C0x2. You will most likely be stationed at Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex in Montgomery, Alabama or Offut AFB, Nebraska.

Other great marketable civilian jobs are Radiological Technologist (medical X-ray tech) and Air Traffic Controller (really high stress).

I was a Computer Programmer stationed at Gunter Annex, AL from 1994-1998. I seperated and immediately found jobs as a defense contractor at 21 years old. Job is 9-5 in most cases and usually only requires a secret clearance. If you are interested in salaries after seperating, just look at Monster.com for DBA jobs, System Analyst jobs, and Data modeling jobs. They start at 50K through 150K based on experience, technology, and location.

My sister was an Radiologic Technologist and seperated recently and has an excellent job at a major hospital bringing in an excellent salary. You can live almost anywhere in the US and do well as an X-ray tech (depending on specialty).

If you want to be a soldier, the options are limited in the Air Force, but it is possible. As others have said, Security Forces (basically police force), Combat Control (SOCOM), Pararescue (SOCOM), Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) (usually attached to Army Units).

Keep in mind that the AF trains technicians, not soldiers. The mentality is different from basic training level on up.

The Air Force saved my life and I have absolutely no regrets. My advice, go to college while you are in using Tutition Assistance and after that the MGIB. Also like others have said, making the AF a career has rewards as well. I sometimes look back and think about what would it be like if I hadn't seperated and decided to make it a career. I know that I would be at least as happy as I am now.

 

[beaucoup ammo]

Never Know Where You'll End Up

Joined the Army in '66..went to Nam..got shot..came back and was stationed at the Army Overhaul And Repair Depot at Corpus Christi N.A.S. (ARADMAC).

A tiny island of Army guys in a sea of Navy white...made it interesting during Army-Navy games!!!

All my wife's family were (are) Air Force (we live in San Antonio.. you will come here to Lackland!) and love it!

Take Care

 

[dm1333]

What is it you want to do?

I have 22 years in, most of it in the Coast Guard. As far as I am concerned the CG has the best opportunities for enlisted men. You can work in technical fields, law enforcement(anything from regular stations to TACLET, LEDET, MSST and PSU), SAR on a daily basis, and if you pick the right rate like BM you have a lot of opportunities to command stations or patrol boats. As an enlisted man you have responsibilities and opportunities that aren't available to senior enlisted in the other services.
I spent my first four years in another service getting job skills that were useful on the outside but my heart was not in it. After 4 years of civilian life, school and the Army Reserve I joined the Guard and have had no regrets. My advice is to figure out why you are joining the military and what you want out of it. Are you planning on staying in for 4 years and then moving on, or is this going to be a 20 or 30 year career? Have you looked at the other services and what they have to offer? If you want technical training with aircraft, computers, etc. the AF may be best for you. If your heart is set on flying as an aircrewman you might consider the CG or Army, for example. If you like to blow things up all the Army EOD guys I met loved their jobs. If you want to hear about my mistakes just get back to me, I pretty much made my decision to join that "other" service for all the wrong reasons so I can give you some advice on that subject.

Don

 

[C-grunt]

Im an Army grunt and my best friend is Air Force security forces.
In the last 3 1/2 years, half has been in Iraq.
His "deployment" to Qatar was 8 months.
I get to shoot A LOT more than him.
He doesnt get shot at.
Air Force gets paid extra for living in "sudstandard" conditions.
I wake up to camel spiders crawling up my leg.
I can run farther than him.
He doesnt do 8 mile runs.

Its a trade off. If you want to shoot machineguns, run things over with tracked vehicles, and blow stuff up, the AF is not the place to go.

If you want to live nicely and have training that might actually help you when you get out, go AF.

 

[Olys45]

If you are looking for a Job that is highly marketable after a 4-6 year tour go for Computer Programmer = AFSC 3C0x2. You will most likely be stationed at Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex in Montgomery, Alabama or Offut AFB, Nebraska.

Other great marketable civilian jobs are Radiological Technologist (medical X-ray tech) and Air Traffic Controller (really high stress).

Please do not go to your Recruiter in a "job locked" mode, please please please!

If I remember correctly to qualify for the 3C0x2 you have to pass an additional test. The AF only has less than 10 class slots a year for X-Ray Tech.

Please keep this in mind when you visit your Recruiter.

 

[amprecon]

Depends on what you want to do. As a 10-year Navy vet, I can say that the Air-Force has it the best by far. I wanted to travel and kill things and blow crap up, so I got to travel and fix the airplanes that killed things and blew crap up. Closest I could get. But if you want to WORK on airplanes or whatever else, you will WORK in the Navy. It was enlightening to take our planes to an Air-Force base, it took roughly 8 Air-Force personnel to do the same job one sailor did on an aircraft. Our bases were usually in pretty rough shape, our barracks were 1950's era or older and rarely upgraded, whereas the Air-Force HOUSING was on par with 4-star hotels with all the amenities. To summarize, if you want to get by for 20 years, live comfortably and retire and not have much stress, go Air-Force. If you need satisfaction in your accomplishments and abilities and need a challenge, try the other branches. I'm not trying to start a Services-War, just my observations.

 

[dm1333]

+1 on that Amprecon

The Coast Guard is as bad as the Navy was but at least I'm in the right rate now. COMDT USCG likes to talk about how we are the "Premier Maritime Service" but our fleet is the 39th oldest of 41 fleets. I do get a lot of job satisfaction though, and a lot of salutes on Air Force Bases!

 

[Hacker15E]

Just adding a different voice to the mix here. I went to college, got my degree, and got a commission through ROTC.

One poster earlier got it right...in the AF, we send the officers off to fight the war. So, if you want to inflict pain on bad guys, you're going to have to be an officer.

Another poster also asked a key question...what is it that you want to do?

As for me, I've been in 11 years, and I get paid to fly jets. I dropped bombs on Baghdad during the 'shock and awe' campaign in March and April 2003. It took many years of hard work to get to the position, but it is absolutely worth it.

 

[isp2605]

One poster earlier got it right...in the AF, we send the officers off to fight the war. So, if you want to inflict pain on bad guys, you're going to have to be an officer.

The enlisted guys from my former Security Forces squadron would take great exception to your statement.
Most of them were deployed to Afghanistan where they were out hunting for the bad guys and slinging lead. One received the Bronze Star with V. Here's the clipping when he received his medal. He earned it. They weren't sitting in AC tents, riding in sanitized aircraft, doing 2 hour missions, and getting hot meals. They were out there living in the dirt and pounding the ground. You'll note it mentions he directed 28 counterintelligence missions.

 

[Hacker15E]

Most of them were deployed to Afghanistan where they were out hunting for the bad guys and slinging lead. One received the Bronze Star with V. Here's the clipping when he received his medal. He earned it.

I'm not denigrating their service in any way with my comments. The mission of the AF is power projection via aircraft. In order to do that, you have to be an officer. It's a generalization. It's not meant to cover every base.

Of course there are enlisted specialties who are engaged in combat operations, and many of them quite heroically (as your article pointed out). But, for every SF cop, TACP, CCT, PJ, etc, who are literally 'in the sh*t', there are dozens upon dozens of AFSCs that are nowhere near the action. Naturally, you can also say the same about officers...for every fighter and bomber pilot, there are dozens of officers who get nowhere near the action.

Again...it's a generalization. By definition it's false. My comments were simply adding the officer angle to the thread, which had not been thusfar discussed.

They weren't sitting in AC tents, riding in sanitized aircraft, doing 2 hour missions, and getting hot meals. They were out there living in the dirt and pounding the ground.

Are you implying that this is what I did? Sorry, but I wasn't aware that people's contributions to the combat effort during times of war were rank ordered on merit based on 'how tough' they had it. Guess I should just go take my seat next to the Personnel folks in the rear with the gear, eh? The Army, Marine, and Royal Marine guys I provided CAS for sure didn't mind that the guy providing the bombs for them lived 600 miles away in a tent.

In addition, if that's your impression of a combat sortie in a USAF fighter ('sanitized aircraft'), then I'd invite you to experience one for yourself sometime -- it's not at all like what you seem to think. There's nothing safe or secure about flying into a SAM or AAA defense network. A missile in flight and actively maneuvering toward the aircraft you are in is very much a personal and terrifying experience. I have flown ETACs in the back seat of my jet on training sorties who've commented that it was equally as stressful as being on the ground.

I have a great respect for those soldiers and Marines who are engaged in ground combat. Certainly that's not for me...otherwise I would have pursued a different job in my own military career. Most of those whom I've met also have a mutual respect for the guys in the jets who provide on-call airpower to them when they need it the most.

 

[isp2605]

" But, for every SF cop, TACP, CCT, PJ, etc, who are literally 'in the sh*t', there are dozens upon dozens of AFSCs that are nowhere near the action."

That's true of any branch, not just USAF. They all have MOSs in the rear who never get close to anything hostile. The same goes for the pilots. Few fly the fighters. There's a lot of pilots flying a lot of the heavies that never get anywhere near hostilities.


"Are you implying that this is what I did?"

Nope, but too many think all Zoomies have it easy and it's just the zipper suited sun gods who are in the thick of it. They don't. There are plenty of AFSCs out there in the dirt.
I'm just correcting your over-generalization when you posted "in the AF, we send the officers off to fight the war. So, if you want to inflict pain on bad guys, you're going to have to be an officer." My enlisted guys inflicted a bit of pain themselves and they did it while in the dirt. That's what I'm pointing out. They weren't officers, they were enlisted.


"In addition, if that's your impression of a combat sortie in a USAF fighter ('sanitized aircraft'), then I'd invite you to experience one for yourself sometime -- it's not at all like what you seem to think."

I spent 24.5 yrs in the USAF and ANG. All of it was with TAC and ACC. I'm well aware of fighter missions.


"I have a great respect for those soldiers and Marines who are engaged in ground combat. Certainly that's not for me...otherwise I would have pursued a different job in my own military career. Most of those whom I've met also have a mutual respect for the guys in the jets who provide on-call airpower to them when they need it the most."

Spent 2 yrs Army during a bit of unpleasantries during 1972. I don't disagree.