I'm thinking about joining the Air Force.

[OrangeGrapes]

Never before has the thought of enlisting crossed my mind. I've even said I'd never come close to it.
And now, that's what I want. That may be all I want. And, honestly, I'm scared.
I suppose I'm looking for support by posting this.

[HEyHEY]

1. How old are you?

[OrangeGrapes]

22. I'm 20.

Any reason you ask?

[HEyHEY]

33. At your age think it's a good idea

I'm 31 and always kind of wish I'd done a stint in the navy or something.

[itsrobert]

What career field?

Medical, Comm, Security, Food, etc?

[Morning Dew]

2. If that's what you want, go for it.

Good luck!

[Angry Dragon]

3. Incorporate

get military contract from MIC
hire your own army
problem solved

[Horse with no Name]

4. Well it is flattering that you come here for advice

But this is for you to decide.

Without having any knowledge of your thoughts, your beliefs, or anything else, it is really hard to help you other than to say "Good luck with your decision--whatever it is".

[OrangeGrapes]

23. I'm not here for advice.

Support. Not advice. Thanks, though.

[Common Sense Party]

37. What kind of support do you need from anonymous internetters?

And why are you scared, as you say in your OP?

[sufrommich]

5. Getting into the Air Force isn't easy, if that's what you want to do

go for it!

[JVS]

6. I advise against it. Even though it seems odd, joining the Airforce can get you put in line...

for ground combat.

[Buzz Clik]

17. That's an interesting claim. Care to elaborate?

[CC]

7. Join if that is what you want to

do. Though I would suggest you look at all the branches. Each has its good and bad points. According my retired USAF relative it is the slowest to achieve rank in. That will make a difference in pay, retirement etc. Do check this out first http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/ if you are not an evangelical Christian.
You should talk to friends and family for any real support even knowing that some may be against it.

[handmade34]

8. my partner was Air Force (medic, Vietnam)

my Dad and Grandpa Army, my late husband Marine...

I say know all the facts and do what your heart says!

[Nikia]

9. My little brother enlisted but flunked out

He was in the air traffic control program. They did not allow him to choose a different training field. If you are able to get into a program like that, be sure that you are committed to doing well in it and doing what you need to do to pass the tests.

[Auggie]

10. Maybe you should post this in the veterans forum?

Who better to answer your questions?

[Lasher]

11. Here is my advice:

Check out people who have recently retired from the Air Force. Are most of them happy? Do they have money, health, and family? That will be you when your time comes. Check out recent retirees from other professions and see how they compare.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. As an alternative to what?

Think it through. What do you want from it? Is the price you pay worth the payoff you (might) get?

[The_Commonist]

13. Go for it!

The wealthy need as many good people as they can find, in order to fight their wars for profit...

[Scuba]

16. Bingo.

[Teaser]

31. .

.

[CountAllVotes]

14. my brother enlisted

He did it because he was in the lottery (Vietnam war). He didn't know what his number was going to be so he decided to enlist rather than take his chances of being drafted.

He absolutely hated it, I know that much. However, he did receive a lot of training and education that he would have otherwise never gotten elsewhere.

I'd suggest as others have already done to talk to others that have done this and see what they think about it.

Times are much different than they were when my brother enlisted in 1972, that much I do know.

[jody]

15. Many DUers have served their country, some are retired either medically or after a full career.

Our nation must maintain a strong military because our economy depends upon other countries.

It's not our troops who are the problem, it's presidents and complicit congresspersons elected by voters who have failed.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MineralMan]

19. Tell us a little bit more about yourself.

The Air Force isn't a bad service to join, really. Still, that's a decision that needs a lot of thought. Ignore those who tell you that you'd just be participating in a destructive force.

I was in the USAF in the mid-60s, for four years. It was a good decision for me. When I left, I returned to college and picked my life back up where I had left it, but with a new sense of purpose and a drastic change of direction. Military service can give you time to reason out your life, get some training in a specialized field, and not have to worry about a place to live and food to eat.

But, a lot depends on your age, education, etc. Without that info, it's hard to make any sort of real recommendation. Drop by a recruiting office and talk to them. They'll give you additional information that may influence your decision.

[onethatcares]

20. here's what I know.

my son enlisted in the navy first and did 5 years, came back to the reagan revolution and couldn't find a job that was worth shit so he enlisted in the airforce. they gave him credit for time in service, time in grade and kept his usn rank. He's been in along time now and will be retiring in about 4-5 years. he's been deployed to Iraq 2x, Kuter(?) 2 times, he's been stationed in Italy, Japan and on tdy just about everywhere on the earth. He's moved up in rank and likes what he does.He's married so his family has moved around with him. All in all for him it's been a good experience, way different than the one I had in the Army in the early 70s. When he gets out, his specialty will allow him to get a great job at a great rate of pay.

One point, if you plan to advance in rank, take every opportunity to further your education (they pay for it while you're in), learn 3 languages, and put your mind into it. If you don't, it's gonna be like everything else in life but you'll be spending our dime while hating what you do.

Good luck, and I seriously mean that.

[Posteritatis]

27. Term in the navy followed by a career in the air force?

No shortage of interesting experiences there, I'd imagine, to say nothing of skills.

[onethatcares]

34. yeah, and he changed specialties 3 x

started nuke school, became an s. p, got out, rejoined as a m.p. transferred to the flight line. He's done very well in the service. Jeez, if things go as he plans, he'll be out at 42 with a nice piece of rocking chair money.

[TahitiNut]

21. Consider the Coast Guard instead.

The Air Farce is notoriously "fundy" and misogynistic. There's something about killing with "stand-off" weaponry that isolates one's soul. Further, the Coast Guard has a primary peacetime mission and offers all the vocational opportunities one might seek in another service. Culturally, it's a far more egalitarian service with closer (asshole-to-elbow) working contact between officer and enlisted than any other service.

This is from (me) a VietNam veteran with experience on both the Army and the Coast Guard.

[pinboy3niner]

24. If that's your decision, more power to you

Yes, I'll support you. And not just because I'm a veteran.

It's your choice, your decision. If that's what you want, go for it--and 'be the best you can be.'

Even though you may have your heart set on the wrong branch. Some of us are kinda partial to the Army, ya know?. :)

Best of luck to you, OrangeGrapes, in whatever you decide to do. Even if it's the Air Force. :evilgrin:

[Modern_Matthew]

25. I strongly advise against it, but do what you need to do. nt

[tabasco]

26. It's a pretty good life

I was an Army infantryman and sometimes I envied the Air Force for their basically civilian lifestyle.

[Obamanaut]

28. I started with the AF, basic in 1960, and did a four year tour. Upon discharge

I joined the Navy, and retired in 1988.

Had a multitude of experiences. One duty station I was a flight engineer on WC 121 aircraft, flying tyhoon recon out of Guam, as well as radar support over the fleet in the South China Sea, flying out of Da Nang and Chu Lai.

Was assigned to various squadrons going to sea on aircraft carriers - the Kennedy, America, Midway, Independence, and Eisenhower.

Discovered making rank as enlisted is generally easier in the Navy than AF.

Retired pay is good, medical insurance via Tricare for retirees is good to age 65, then Medicare w/ Tricare as supplemental ins at no cost to me.

There was a program called PACE (Program for Afloat College Education)in the Navy, name has since been changed but program still exists where one can take college classes while at sea. All the carriers I was on had college instructors who went with us. The only cost was for textbooks.

Pay for enlisted ranks is better than most people realize. For retirees it is outstanding. Some make more as a retiree than many/most beginning school teachers with a Master's degree (at least in my area.) And, there is no social security offset for military retirement income - you can have both full amounts.

[david13]

29. Hey. A job is a job. dc

[Moondog]

30. Hmmm.

I spent some time in the Air Force. But it was all commissioned, and not enlisted, time. And, while that makes much less of a difference in the AF than it does in the other armed services, my sense is that it is still a pretty large difference.

I would say that much depends upon your test results (they give a battery of exams to potential enlistees, and in the AF your test results are your future). If they are high, and thus you have some flexibility, then sure, go for it. If they are not, then those test results may well offer you a better gig in the other services. Here is some information - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Services_Vocational_Aptitude_Battery

As for how life is as an AF enlisted member, I think I should defer to someone else who has actually done that. There are several regular posters here who have been there, and done that. I won't try and speak for them. AF Commissioned time, in my experience, was pretty pleasant as military time goes.

The benefits for having been a GI in any of the armed services, who is in possession of an honorable discharge, are excellent - talk to your local recruiter for current details.

Edit - correct HTML coding for italics

[Teaser]

32. Regret...

As someone who did not, quite, follow the dream he had at 20 years old, I can only tell you this: In general, it's better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven't done.

[handmade34]

35. wise words indeed!

[BlueCheese]

36. Congratulations.

Our nation needs good people to serve. Best wishes...