Air Force Question...?

Question

Hi, I just graduated college last month. I got my degree in criminal justice and I am 23 yrs old. I come from a military home. Both of my parents retired a couple of yrs back. They were both enlisted. I was wondering, what would be a good job oportunity in the AF and is it best that I go enlisted then get commissioned or should I just go straight to OTS? My parents say go straight into OTS because being enlisted your basically treated like dogs. I would like to go in enlisted 1st because I would apperciate enlisted more. But could any of you please tell me what I could do in the AF with a criminal justice degree and what do i have to do to pass the PT test. Thank you :)

Answer 1

Hi Cookies; Having spent 25 years in the Air Force as an Enlisted, hears my take on it. I found that the best Officers were those that spent some time as an Enlisted person. These officers, having experienced Enlisted life, knew what is was like being Enlisted, and generally treated their troops much better. Officers that have never been Enlisted are the ones that usually treat their troops poorly, because they don't really know what Enlisted personnel go through. But ultimately, the choice is yours, and Officers do get paid more than Enlisted.

There are many good career fields (AFSC's) to chose from with a criminal degree. You can try for Legal, 5J0X1 -- Paralegal as an Enlisted (see first Source link below). See the Second Source for Officer specialties----they can be Juidge Advocates, Chaplains, and just about any other type of legal job that a civilian can hold.

Hope this info helps and, good luck with your career if you decide to join. Go Air Force! Cheers!

Answer 2

I spent 25 years in the Air Force and never saw anyone treat enlisted like dogs. The enlisted force actually does all the work in all the services and good officers appreciate this.

You will gain a greater understanding of how things work by going enlisted first, and the troops generally respect a prior enlisted officer more. But if you already know your goal is to be an officer there's nothing wrong with going directly for that either.

Answer 3

I have been in only six years, I am enlisted. I have found that the officers that were prior enlisted have a better understanding at how to manage day to day operations. Some newbie officers tend to believe they are more educated and smarter than the enlisted and "try" to treat them likewise. Right now, I work for a major (she's a doc....they automatically are granted that rank because of their profession) and she called herself talking to this CMSgt like crap. The very next hour the commander came and put her back in her place. She failed to realize that just because she was an officer she still had to bestow a little respect to the enlisted, especially an E-9. She also did not know that enlisted can have just as much education as her...in order to make it to a certain rank, such as E-8 and E-9, you have to have a degree. Although you wouldn't think someone's education would be a determining factor in whether you treat them with respect or not. So whatever decision you make, go in knowing how to respect each individual as a person and never talk down to anyone....but that is just day to day common sense

Answer 4

there's security forces, special investigations and possibly inspector general. I agree with you about being enlisted first. It'll definitely show you the right way and the wrong way to get the best productivity out of troops, but the cold hard truth is, if you have the opportunity to go straight to OTS, then do it, because once you're in there's no guarantee you'll have the opportunity again. And since you're fortunate enough to have both parents retired enlisted, they'll be able to offer you a great deal of insight into what makes a well respected leader.

Answer 5

I'd go to OTS and then get into OSI.

Answer 6

go OTS