young woman considering joining airforce.. tell me all u can?

Question

I am 21 and am considering joining the airforce for a career. I have an associate degree and want to go into the air force and do the officer training. still looking into it. what can u tell me about the positives of this choice and how do i get the best setup going in- i don't know a lot about it yet. someone just told me you can get screwed over on your contract or something? .. basically whatever u can tell me

Answer 1

It will be the best thing that you can do right now. Thiscountry is falling apart. You can take advantage and get a degree while you being paid and are getting room and board and discipline. You will get retirement benefits and this can get your whole life moving in a great direction. I wish that I were young again. This is what I would do if I could do it all over again. You can become a nurse or physicians aide... pilot.... whatever. Do it, do it. do it.

Answer 2

OK, first off I just scanned the other answers and wow, they are really depressing. Check this, here is the real info you requested, minus the fake BS. OK, so you have a Associate degree, great but you need a 4 year degree to be an Officer. No exceptions there however you may be able to go to a college and do the whole ROTC thing (not JROTC in high school). In some cases the Air Force will pay for those last few years to get the BA and you will owe a few a years to the Air Force, no big deal there. As for "getting screwed over on your contract" that is rare and is mostly a urban legend. Simply put make certain every promise is put in writing, if it isn't it does not count. This isn't so hit and miss because both the recruiter and folks at MEPS know what can be guaranteed and what can not so it isn't like there is some conspiracy here. Most times I have found that the recruit didn't read the darn contract and didn't "THINK" about what they were signing. To be sure, this IS NOT a BURGER KING application, it is a contract so READ the fine print! The Air Force is shrinking right now, we're slimming down as far as new people we are letting in so we are being more selective. Study hard and do well and you can become one of the best in the world, a member of the Worlds ONLY undefeated Air Force!.

Answer 3

Commendable goal. If you want to be an officer, you'll need a BA, so it would be best to finish that then apply for OCS. Through evaluation and the needs of the AF, they'll help you determine where you'll fit in best.

Best thing would be to go onto the AF websites and find out the requirements, procedures and options. Don't rely on information you find on YA. (Too may wannabes that don't have a clue about military life but think they do "because a friend of a friend had a cousin that..."

You can have that BA degree and still not meet the AF's needs or be deemed unfit to be an officer for various other reasons. Should you qualify for an officer slot, after OCS and other continuing training, life settles down and it's like any other job. You'll just know what you'll wear every day and you may be deployed occasionally based on your job.

There's too many positives to list and you can hear the negatives from the wannabes, so I'll just say do your homework, have a plan, then work your plan.

Answer 4

There are a whole bunch of choices that you could make that are worse than joining the service. The biggest thing to remember is "If it aint in writing, it means nothing" a recruiter can tell you all day long that you will get this and get that, but if when you join it is not put on your enlistment contract what you've been told is meaningless.

Oh and about getting killed and not coming home, how many people died today in the US driving home from work? Just yesterday 2 people were killed siting behind their desk in a hospital by A LADY DRIVING A CAR!

Answer 5

It's a very different life. You'll be told what to do and you'll do what you're told. Your time isn't your own anymore -- you're in the military 24/7.

It really helps if you get a career field you're interested in. Great training, excellent educational opportunities, the possibility of travel and living in foreign countries.

You can't get screwed over on your contract. There's one contract, everyone signs it: http://armyrotc.syr.edu/Files/forms/DD%20004.pdf Where people feel they get "screwed over" is when they listen to the sales pitches of the recruiters and consider those to be guarantees. If it isn't in the contract, it isn't guaranteed. Regulations change, laws change, and programs change, so it isn't always misleading on the recruiter's part.

Read the contract.

It isn't an easy life, but then being a civilian isn't so easy sometimes either. In the service, you have a structure that takes care of you. You meet great people (and not-so-great people) and have the chance for experiences you could never get anywhere else.

Answer 6

Air Force is very, very unlikely to deploy you right off the bat after training. They want you to have a 5-level (15+ months on-the-job training) . I cannot express what a good decision it will be to go into the Air Force. They provide 100% tuition assistance, will do all they can to get you an education, and they could send you to the AF Academy and pay you SSgt pay to go to school. Or go in enlisted and apply for Officer Training School. Plus, go get raise in pay grade (E-2/E-3) depending on how many credits you have. Definitely do research and talk to a recruiter and find out the info. for yourself.

Answer 7

You need to get in AFROTC at a 4yr school, finish your degree, and commission. Talk to an ANG recruiter in that process.

You cannot commission without finishing your degree, and slots for Officer Training are EXTREMELY competitive - basically people that should have gone to the academy but chose not to for whatever reason, they have a 3.8-4.0 gpa in a technical degree feild like engineering or advanced sciences. AFROTC is the only realistic option for most people.

The Air Force is an excellent choice for active duty though. They take superb care of their people.

Answer 8

Good for you. Best way to get all the info you need is to meet with an Air Force recruiter. Tell them exactly what you have in mind. Ask questions and be firm about your goals.

Answer 9

AWESOMENESS!!! I dont know about the whole screwing over part... i barly joined. I just know that there are alot of benefits... school (if you want to keep going ) place to live (you dont have to worry about bills, just keep your room tighty) a food card (to eat four meals a day if you dont want to worry about buying grocery's) monthly pay (i dont know how much it is for an officer, for me it would be somewhere around 1400 because I was in JROTC in highschool) 30 day paid vacation every year... if you get deployed you are in 3 to 4 month rotations. and not necessarily to an area of war. and yea... im sure there are things im missing, but im just giving the basics....

Answer 10

I don't have a lot of information about this, but I want to commend you and encourage you in your decision. Whether you decide to pursue this or not, it is an admirable thing to be looking into it. Your education is a plus for getting in with a higher rank. Good luck and we need more people like you!