did you do the same job? was the quality of life better? whats it like in the Air Force?
2006-12-31 11:22:36 · 8 answers · asked by thejokker 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
a few of my friends are considering making the switch and i wanted to know if anyone has done it.
2006-12-31 11:35:19 · update #1
Man if you can cross into the blue go for it!
2006-12-31 11:27:00 · answer #1 · answered by me2 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A long time ago--Vietnam era-- I was a Capt in the Air Force and a Marine Sgt transferred to USAF and worked in my unit--I think he found the lesser degree of discipline and lack of 'spit and polish' a bit disconcerting. He was a very motivated and good Sgt for the Air Force but I don't know if it worked out well for him in the long run. How about today?
My guess is that things have not changed much in spite of the passage of many years.
I think the quality of life as defined by working conditions--food and living quarters--is lot better in the Air Force. And certainly a non flying billet in the Air Force is less dangerous than serving in a Marine field unit.
2006-12-31 11:43:48 · answer #2 · answered by NuncProTunc 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the military scrub above that reported Marines will take all and sundry and the Air rigidity has maximum criteria is faulty. The USMC has the utmost criteria. there's a wide distinction between the USMC and the AF. For me, it became USMC or not something. i do not comprehend a thanks to be identifying between both....do you opt for to be a Marine or do you opt for be interior the Air rigidity? "i'm not hectic about death for my united states of america btw" - nicely you need to be. i'm a Marine 0311 (Rifleman) and that i imagine about it wide-spread. basically because you have not joined yet does not propose you may imagine about going to strive against as some delusion which couldn't happen for decades. in case you connect you'll bypass very quickly. that's authentic stuff. regardless of the indisputable fact that if you're thinking going AF you woould probable verify in to be a POG interior the USMC, correct? not something incorrect with that, we choose our help.
2016-10-16 22:41:41 · answer #3 · answered by dudderar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my dad. I grew up an air force brat and he always told me AF was the best for a family man. The AirForce tends to keep the family together and not seperating them by placing them on a ship for 6 months to a year. It was a great life and decent people.
2006-12-31 12:33:47 · answer #4 · answered by lindasue m 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is a very good question, and I would be happy to shed some light from my own experience. I spent four years in the Marine Corps when I graduated High School. Since then, I have joined the Army, and am getting ready to leave for OCS.
I spent a lot of time with Air Force personnel in Japan, and instantly became aware of the differences between the two branhes. Now that I have experience with the Army as well, I feel much more rounded to speak about the differences between the branches.
It really comes down to what you want out of your military career. If you're looking for the most challenging, both physically and mentally, then the Marines is where you get it. There, you will also get the satisfaction of joining the branch that is the most demanding, requiring the most discipline, and having the closest relationships brought about through sharing great times of adversity.
If you're looking more for just job skills, making friends, travel, and a more casual atmosphere, then the Air Force is definitely where you want to be. They require much more from their Airmen technically, and have a much more casual work environment as well as ongoing physical requirements.
Everyone in the Marines is trained as an infantryman, so marksmanship with a rifle is a required skill (qualification at least once per year during active duty). Also, physical requirements mean physical fitness tests quarterly including a timed 3-mile run. Marines loooove to run! heh. Physical tests in the Army include a 2-mile run, Navy is 1.5 mile, and I think Air Force has a timed 1.5 mile run as well.
As far as money goes, they're all the same. Everyone gets paid on the same payscale having to do with your rank and time in service. This information can be found at:
http://www.dod.mil/dfas/militarypay/newinformation/WebPayTableVersion2006updated.pdf
If you're looking to make rank quickly, that can be done in any branch of the service, but rank is made by being in a job where you have less people of the same job in competition with you. For instance, when I was in, I was a computer specialist, and they were an emerging speciality with not very many people in it. I made rank quickly, and passed a lot of people whom I went to boot camp with because they had less fluid job specialities. Some of the slower moving jobs (when I was in anyway) were infantryman, food service, transportation, military police, and administration. Some of the faster moving job slots were intelligence, armorer, chemical specialist, anything to do with computers.
Your absolute best bet is to do the research BEFORE you join any branch, to find out what jobs are faster advancing. Do this by finding some active duty personnel in that branch, and asking them. Trust me, most people will know who gets promoted faster because they'll have seen it on their base. There are many forums on the Internet as well where active duty personnel discuss their careers, which are easy to find and join.
When you decide what you want, and what you want to do, make sure this information is in your contract. Wherever you join, your recruiter will have the ability to gaurantee you get put into that job, so after boot camp, you will go to that job's school and learn everything you need to be entry-level in your job speciality. Lists of jobs catagories for each branch can be found on the Internet as well, so do this research. Trust me, you want to put the time in on this matter, because you'll be stuck with your job for at least your first enlistment, so choose wisely. Do NOT allow them to put you in as 'open contract', meaning they can put you wherever they want according to the needs of the military. You'll end up as a cook, mechanic, infantry, janitor, or something you may absolutely regret getting into just because they 'need' people there.
Last item.... male to female ratio... in the Marines, the ratio is 1 female per 20 males in service. The Air Force has the highest ratio at 1 female per 4 males. Just an FYI there.
In conclusion, the types of jobs in most the branches are the same, but the work environment is quite a bit different in the Air Force, as it is much more relaxed. Marines have a very structured and formal work environment, where many people will work for months alongside others and not even know their first names! (Marines almost exclusively always use last names to address each other) Quality of life, resources, and extracurricular activies are more abundant in the Air Force, as they have a larger budget and build nicer structures and bases overall. On the average, Air Force bases are larger and MUCH more numerous. If you want more options for duty stations, the Air Force and Army would be the way to go. 80% of all Marines are stationed at the four largest Marine bases in the world, and they're big bases. (Pendleton, Okinawa, Lejune, and Cherry Point)
Good luck,
Mikel
2006-12-31 11:57:10 · answer #5 · answered by Mikel S. 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I think you can still move to Air Force reserves, but I don't think you can get on active duty
2007-01-01 07:54:45 · answer #6 · answered by usamedic420 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
currently, the AF is not allowing OSVETS to enlist. They are not accepting ANY prior service personnel at all, not even former AF.
only if you currently are in one of the AF's critically manned fields will you have a shot at it.
Personally, I think it would be a step down.
2007-01-01 03:22:28 · answer #7 · answered by Mrsjvb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have never herd them switching. i have always herd the best branch to join is the marines, they are just to tough for some. they are the few, the proud, the bull dogs. god bless them and all branches.
2006-12-31 11:27:26 · answer #8 · answered by loretta 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋