What will happen if my son joins Air Force? Should he?

Question

My son is 19 and, while we have saved money to send him to college, he doesn't want to go. He is thinking about joining the Air Force so that he can get college credits WHILE learning a skill and working. He is under the impression that he will come out with at least an AA degree, a marketable skill, savings, and that he will be able to completely avoid being placed in harms' way. These are all his strict criteria for joining. I'm worried that he will join, that these critieria will not be met, and that he will not be a great fit for that lifestyle. How can he talk to others who have recent experience?

Answer 1

Apparantly, your son hasn't learned about the darth vader of the Bush administration, Donald Rumsfeld. You see, Rumsfeld is an old political hack that has hung around politics since the Nixon administration. He has held many jobs along the way.

Most recently, Rumsfeld has been secretary of defense for George Bush, although he's never had combat experience, he was a navy pilot during the Eisenhower administration. Being a politician first, is what makes Rumsfeld dangerous to our people in uniform. The reason I say that, is politicians deem political matters as more important than military matters.

George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld have decided that a military draft is out of the question, that it would be political suicide to even consider it. Therefore, rather than add fresh troops in the war zone they have adopted a policy of recycling what they have to work with. They have gone so far as to draw from the other services, to perform many duties normally assigned to combat troops. Presently, we have sailors, airmen, coast guardsmen and civilian contractors performing duties that were never before, part of their job descriptions.

Some would say that these tasks are "in the rear with the gear." In this war, you can't say that because there is no rear. Our people are really not safe anywhere in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I am a staunch conservative,and have supported most of this administations policies, mainly because I truly believe that a war with islam is imminent and that we must be prepared for it, when it happens.

When it does happen, an all out draft will probably become necessary. An honest administration would announce this possibility in whatever format is the least traumatic to the American people. It is time to give our troops some relief! It is time we were acting rather than reacting to the realities of life! It is time our politicians displayed truth in management! It is time we replaced Donald Rumsfeld!

Answer 2

My experience with air force recruiters is that they are actually pretty honest. They will not for example tell your son he will never be in harms way. They don't have quotas to meet and there are plenty of high school grads waiting to sign up. They don't need the numbers like the army does so they don't push everybody to sign up. If your son really is a bad fit and they can see that they will probably say so. They can arrange for him to talk to other people in the air force that are doing the kinds of jobs he might be doing but I'm sure they don't pick the ones who are obviously unhappy.

One thing you may want to tell your son is the air force won't guarantee him a particular job or training. Some military jobs transfer into a good civilian job but many do not and he has very little say in what he gets. Also he has no say in his schedule. He may not have a schedule that accommodates taking classes and so he will be very limited on how many credits he can get. An AA is possible but not highly likely even over a five year term.

Answer 3

Your son will be able to go to school while in the AF. Depending on his job he will be able to either attend the classroom setting or the online schools. A lot of people get out of the AF with a bachlors degree so that shouldnt be a problem as long as he works at it and the AF will pay 100% tuition. He will automatically be enrolled in the CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) which he will receive credits through the training he attends, classes he takes, or classes he CLEPS.

Now as far as deploying. Before anything else the mission comes first. Your son WILL deploy. Usually he will be in about a year before he has to go but he will eventually go. I am about to head out on my 2nd one. Would of been third but I went to Korea for a year. Tell him not to come into the AF cause he thinks it will be "safer". The Army is low on people so they are grabbing people from the AF to fill the slots in convoys and other such duties. The AF is also starting to go to 1 year deployments in order to meet the needs of the Army.

There is a lot to learn with being in the AF and your son will grow up and learn alot about who he is upon joining. I love every part of the AF. He can have a great career but he needs to learn to balance what he wants and what the AF wants. Yes the AF does pay 100% tuition but that doesnt mean it is free. Your will have a commitment to the AF and that will come first. For example if he is half way through a course and the AF tells him hes going overseas theres no "well can I finish this class first"...

I would have your son do more research. It sounds that he is joining for the wrong reasons.

Well I hope I helped.

Answer 4

Of all the services, the Air Force has some of the best technical schools in some fields. It is possible for him to get his AA at no cost, but it will require real commitment on his part and his work schedule may make it pretty challenging. In todays world he cannot assume he will not be in harms way. Many Air Force people have been tasked to go to dangerous parts of the world. Best of luck!

Answer 5

he can go to the recruit office. my brother has recently just joined the marines. its a really good choice in life. my brother was just partying at college but now he knows that there is more to life. He only went for a year. My brother thank God, doesnt have to go over to Iraq. Well its most likely that he wont. There still is a good chance. If your son joins the Air Force he will learn the meaning of respect. Please tell him not to do it just because of the reasons you have listed. THey are very good reasons, but there is so much worked involved just when your a recruit and learning. Also, tell him it is hard work but if he wants to that you will back him up. Also, i would mention to him if he would mind going to Iraq, If he supports the war, and what is his attitude on it. There would be no reason for him to join if he doesnt want adventure and thinks that he will be the safest person in the world. My mom once asked my brother if he would mind going to Iraq and he said "Mom why do you think we join. We dont want to go but if we have to we will" it was a good answer because he knew that if he had to he would go with a good attiutde
I hope this helps.
I personally would also pray on it. God Does answer many prayers

Answer 6

Actually the air force is very "easy" now. They dont do much on the line work, and it would be a good way to get some college stuff in.

Answer 7

The air force can do all of that. only 1.9% of the casualties in the war in iraq are from the air force, and they represent 20% of the armed forces. Its not a bad path for him to take, and with only 30% of all males who go to college graduating, its a more safe path to success by the odds

Answer 8

Your son will get all the education that you both are looking for and he'll come out of the military with better qualifications than if he did go to college instead of the military

Answer 9

hahahahahahahaha.

He can get some college credit being in the military. But they can't guarantee him that he won't be put "in harms' way".

I think the military is a great thing - my husband is Army.

Good luck.

Answer 10

At the onset, the Air Force is not a bad choice. (Hey, he's not joining a street gang!). Let him make his own choices, his own errors. You never know, something quite good could come out of this.