Need advice on joining the military

[chaim]

What's your day job again?

Graduate student. I had a bad ankle so I was only in the Army for 4 months (and that was 14 years ago), but I know a lot of people who were in far longer (2 yrs through 30 years) and I have been a student of things military.

Can I do the same thing in the AF? Join as an enlisted man for a few years then reenlist and go to officer's school?

I'm pretty sure that is a possibility. One thing though, in the Army you can get rank for education. Same with most other services. However, the Army gives E4 for a 4 year degree. The other services top out at E3 for 60 credits (the Marines don't even do that I believe). When I have a little more time I'll look up a pay chart and post it for you so you can see the difference.

 

[Glockster35]

As far as joining the AF as enlisted then going to OTS, yes it is possible, but does take sometime to make happen. As an enlisted person your first year and a half will be spent getting your On the Job Training (OJT) out of the way. You won't even be considered for OTS or much else.

Prior enlisted Officers get a bit more pay until they make Major (I think that's when it ends). Not a great deal more, but it does add up.

As for having your mother as a dependent, it is possible, easier if you are an officer, but possible. As enlisted (unless you are married) you will be required (at most bases) to live in the Government provided dormitories (mommy can't stay there). Officers are required to live off base if not married (at all bases I have been at).

I have never seen anyone (not prior serevice) come into the AF with E-4 on. I think the AF gives E-3 to personnel with 4 year degrees.

In the Air Force we call our Police Force, Security Forces. Learn more here.

USAF SF

 

[OEF_VET]

Akibiker,

You mentioned you support your mom financially and that you're interested in the possibility of claiming her as a dependant.

The short answer is yes, it is possible. You can claim a parent as a dependant, as long as you can prove that you provide at least 51% of their support.

By support I mean food, clothing, a place to live, health insurance, etc. If you can provide documentation that she relies on you for a majority of her support, then she becomes eligible to be enrolled in DEERS (Dependant Eligibility Enrollment Registration System). This entitles her to a brown dependant ID card, PX/BX/Commissary privileges, free medical care at military hospitals, on-base housing, Delta Dental Insurance, and all other benefits a servicemembers spouse or child would be eligible for. If she were to decide to continue living at her current residence and it's too far from a military hospital, she can be enrolled in TriCare Prime and use a doctor of her choosing, as long as that physician accepts TriCare. You can also elect to have an allottment taken out of your monthly pay and deposited into her account, before you even see the paycheck.

If you elect to have her live with you, her status as your dependant makes you eligible for on-post housing. Be advised that the waiting list for such housing depends on your rank, the number of rooms required, amount of housing available at your installation, and the demand for that housing.

When and if you do decide to enter the military in any capacity, be sure to speak to your recruiter about her being your dependant. They can have all the paperwork done for you before you begin active-duty. This way, while you are inprocessing, one of the first things you will complete is a DEERS enrollment form, which you wcan send to her, and she can then go to the nearest military installation and get her ID card.

Frank

 

[280PLUS]

and on the tenth day,,,

god created the 16" naval gun,,,and the devil started waving his white flag,,,



nightcrawler said,,,

"All of the REALLY GOOD officers I've known were NCOs first."

i'll say MOST but not all,,,

most of the good officers i knew are now admirals and things like the secretary of the air force, (he was at the last reunion i attended, and it was like being with any other regular joe, no airs) the bad ones are nowhere to be found...

also, if you sign a commision, you will have some obligatory time of service before you can quit,,at least 4 years, academy boys get 5 last i heard

m

hah, funny side note, my 20 yo is joining/has joined the air force,

i havent given him too much doo doo about it,

but heres a kid who hated boy scouts and now says theyre going to make him a survival instructor,

all i can do is laugh and hope he doesnt get his you know what blown off,,,

oh, and his report date is TWO DAYS before his 21st b'day

wheres that rolling on the floor laughing smilie?



either way, you know he can shoot...

 

[hoppinglark]

troll?

Well I can only speak from the point of view of an enlisted Marine...
Don't do it.
don't do it.
don't do it.
You are in waaaaaaaaaaayyyy over your head.

 

[morganm01]

Air force deployment=france in hotel for 6 months.

army deployment= desert 6 months

 

[Glockster35]

Morganm01,

Not all Air Force deployments are that way. I have been in 15 years and have yet to get a cushy deployment.

I will say that mine have all been better than what I "SUSPECT" the Army fellas to get, but not a hotel.

I know there are some like you describe, but I have never had the luxury.

 

[280PLUS]

from what i hear,,,

could be up to a year in the desert sometime soon,

gwb is finding out how far in over his head he's gotten himself

i'll stop there,,,

 

[MaterDei]

Sean Smith,

You said,

I personally think too much is made of prior enlisted service making you a better officer.

I agree with this comment in principle that prior enlisted do not make better officers than those without prior enlisted service. However, I don't think too much is made of it (except on this thread) because nobody I ever served with felt that way.

You would probably also agree that West Point doesn't necessarily make better officers either. In fact, my experience, for the most part, showed that West Point made a higher percentage of the very good officers and the very bad ones, and fewer average ones.

I was an OCS instructor for 4 years and can say the same thing about officer candidates. The individual makes the man, not his past experiences. Some of the prior service candidates were outstanding. Some were Gomer Pyles and washed out of the program. Same goes for the college student candidates.

Skunk,

One very small correction on what Sean said. Enlisted ranks start at Recruit (E-1), not at Private (E-2). Its just that all the Recruits have already been promoted to Privates before they make it into a real unit so you never see them unless you're part of a training regiment.

Blue Skies,

MaterDei (US Army, 11 years, Artillery and Infantry)

p.s. Blue Skies is the civilian equivalent to saying 'Airborne!'

 

[FPrice]

morganm01...

"Air force deployment=france in hotel for 6 months."

Oh yeah?

Why don't you ask the AF cops, PJ's, and Combat Controllers about their accomodations? And while you are at it, ask the Fire Fighters we have sent over their, the C-130 and the fighter maintainers, and a whole lot of other AFSCs who are in theater about how they are doing?

I won't deny that the ground troops, the ones who's actual jobs are to engage the enemy in ground combat have some pretty tough living conditions. But there are a lot of AF troops close by who are sharing the misery right now also. Their living conditions may be a bit better that their ground troop cousins, but they are far short of a French hotel.

 

[ojibweindian]

I personally think that staying in a French hotel for 6 months would be utter hell! I'd rather sleep in a rat-infested berthing space aboard a rusting garbage scow than be in France, or stay in one of their hotels, for 2 hours, let alone 6 months!