AIR FORCE?????

Hello All:

My 18 year old son and I just returned from the Air Force recruiter's office.  I was wondering if any of you have any experiences withthe Air Force and would like to share them with us.  The recruiter made everything seem to be so "Pollyanna-like" that it left me thinking that if the Air Force were truly like the picture he painted, there would be tons of people lined up at the door to get in.  I am looking for a more tempered view.  There are no issues that my son has such as he would have to join the service to straighten up, or get off drugs, etc.  He just thinks he might like the military lifestyle and would definitely like what he could learn.

Do any of you have any advice or stories you could share with us? Thanks so much!!!!

Hugs!!
Jillie

Hi Jillie,

No real stories, but worked around them and several family members have been in the USAF.  Just wondering has he taken the test already?  I know that is one of the keys...if he doesn't score high enough, they recommend another branch. 

Yep, he already took the ASVAP or ASVAB or whatever it is called.  He scored an overall 87 so the recruiter said there was only one field that was not open to him and it was something like a nuclear bomb scientist or something like that.  Dusty doesn't want to become this anyway   Thanks so much for your input!!!  This is making me feel much more confident with his decision.

Hugs!!

I loved the Air Force life. We are retired now, but sure wish weren't. My daughter and son-in-law at stationed in Az. They love the life. The test is a big issue. The AF needs people with a good brain. If He wants to learn to kill people, then maybe the Army. I wish my other daughter would find a good AF guy to hook up with.

Hey Jillie,
My dad and sister were both in the Air Force and I actually went to go see an Air Force recruiter when I was 18.  At that time, I knew that I wanted to do something in the medical/dental field, but the recruiter didn't seem to tell me what I wanted/needed to hear.  I then went to a Navy recruiter and she painted that picture that Navy life was grand....(just so you know...ALL branches do that.  Worked with Marine recruiters, boy can they SELL it!) and that is the branch I chose.

Anyway, the BIGGEST piece of advice I could give you and your son is to KNOW what he wants to do, whichever branch he goes into.  He can actually have that all stated in his enlistment contract (say he wants to go into Medical or Construction, as an example)~ that way, once he is out of bootcamp he goes directly to the schooling of his choice rather than going out into the Fleet or non-job/MOS/GRUNT work. 

Not only having my dad and sister in the Air Force, I also had a nephew.  My dad played football and traveled all over Europe for the Air Force and my sister went to Language school, learned Czech (okay, I won't even try to spell it) and spent her four years in Germany drinking/partying/traveling up her enlistment.  LOL  My Nephew worked on planes, was stationed in England and also got to see a good part of Europe. (see the cool part of it all~ they all got to see Europe)

I know I rambled and if you have any other questions, I would be happy to help you and your son make his decision.  The one thing that all of us that have served in common is that it was one of the best decisions we EVER made.  My dad used his GI Bill to get his degree and I am in the process of using mine before it is gone entirely.  Plus, the people that you meet along the way can change your life.

Best of luck to you and let me know if you need anything else!

Well, my daughter is thnking of going in the navy.  I am not sure what she is actually wanting  I went with her to the recruiter.  It was alll good.  She has yet to take the test though.
We will see
Liz

Navy all the way!!

If you guys have any questions, let me know!!

Whatever he chooses GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING recruiters are sales people, while MOST are great adn honest not all are. Like mentioned abover get any promises amde in writing before you/he signs ANYTHING. If they can't/won't put it in writing then they can't make it happen.

The Air Force recruiter told my high school senior son some unusual things (my dad was AF and I grew up an AF brat and knew about their rules and policies first hand).  Anyway he was told after basic training things would go a lot easier on him and he would not have that many rules to follow.  They wanted him badly because he has a real aptitude with electronics (scored in the top 99.8% of the test in that section) and machines and they told him he probably could fly eventually.   We had already started him on flying lessons and he was really jazzed about flying.  He started training to be a crew chief on KC 135's.  A year and a half later he was out--too many rules he had to follow.  He always wanted things his way and we hoped the AF would help him grow up a bit.  That is not the way it worked out.  He is doing fine now, six years later--in college and working as an assistant manager in a large pizza chain. So my advice: have him talk with someone you know who was in the AF, they can tell him how it really is. Then he can decide if that life style is for him. Good luck.