anyone in the military.. particularly airforce. recruiters.. officers please?

Question

I know recruiters are supposed to make joining the military sound good. but is it really all what its cracked up to be? Im just asking cause Im worried my boyfriend will be making the wrong decision for the next four to six years. (well not being heppy with joining the airforce).

the recruiters told him he gets to choose a program (i.e. aviation mechanic) and go to school for that (take a program) and learn to fly while in school... and thet they will pay for housing, food and school? it sounds too good to be true.

on the other hand I hear stories that you may not end up in the program you wanted liek you will be put into fueling instead of learning to be a mechanic. or after boot camp you will just be shipped off for the wars in afganistan and iraq


is this true?

would it be better for him to get a degree and join the airforce as an officer?

---------he basically on;y wants to join the airforce to learn how to fly so he can fly commerical airliners someday---------


is that the way to go? flight schools around here (californai are mighty expensive!


he keeps saying "i want to try going to school this way" im liek your not going to try your going to be commiting the next 4 to 6 years of your life to them and if you arent happy about it then theres nothing you can really do..?

thank you all for taking the time to answer my question :)


have a nice day or night!

Answer 1

As a mechanic you will not learn to fly. The Air Force does guarantee jobs. As a mechanic he might get deployed to the sandbox. It is a good life if you make it so, if you don't really want to be in the service then you life will suck until you get out.

Vet-USAF

Answer 2

If he wants to fly commercial aircraft eventually, he will need to either a) become an officer in the Air Force, Marine Corps or Navy or b) become an officer or warrant officer in the Army. To become an officer, he would need to get a degree, meet fitness and academic standards and be competitively selected to a flight training program (most have more applicants than selectees by far).

As an enlisted troop, he would have very few opportunities to actually pilot an aircraft, but might have very good opportunities to serve as a crew member on an aircraft (variety of different skills).

There are almost no opportunities in the Air Force to fly as an aircraft mechanic. If he enlists, there is a good chance he will not be guaranteed his career field choice.

In the military, there is always the chance he could be in harms' way...even if not Iraq or Afghanistan...its part of the job. But the Air Force requires more people "back home" than deployed forward...is the nature of their operations.

If he is not sure, he should go to college and try ROTC...you don't have a commitment for the first year or so. If he goes on scholarship (competitive selection for this too) then tuition and books will be paid and he will get a small stipend.

Like most careers, the military pays a salary and you buy the housing, food, etc. The military does give you an extra allowance for housing and has programs to pay for education.

Answer 3

LOL recruiters are always make it sound better than it is but it sounds as if what he was told is true. Depending on his test scores he will be able to pick between whatever jobs are offered him. If they offered him aviation mechanic and he chooses that MOS then he will get it. They WILL pay for his housing, he will eat in the chow hall with other soldiers, and they will pay for his college if he chooses to take advantage of it. The Air Force is actually one of the better branches to join. My husband is prior Marine and now Army. I have friends that are Air Force and when they deploy to Iraq they are only gone for 3 months at a time while my husband goes for 15 months. You do realize that no matter if there is a war going on or not that he can be shipped off to Afghanistan or Korea or wherever he is needed, that's part of the job.

FYI...we lived at Fort Lewis (an Army base) for 4 years and when the Air Force soldiers came to stay on post for whatever reason they got paid extra because the standard of living in the army is lower than air force! Crazy huh??? McChord AFB was only 5 minutes from Fort Lewis and it was so nice that we always went there for groceries instead of just down the street!

Answer 4

It depends on what he wants to get out of the Air Force. There are many programs that will pay for his college but be leary as some will pay only for a degree that the Air Force needs, like aviation or engineer. It is also true that the Air Force's needs come first so even if he gets the job he wants, there's always a chance he'll be cross-trained after is contract/enlistment is up, if he wants to stay in. Air Force doesn't send anyone anywhere after Basic Training except to their technical school. I can't vouch for this for officers as I was enlisted, but I can tell you that only about 2% of Air Force memebers see combat. The part about pay and housing while he's in school, if he's active duty in school then it's true.

The best advice I can give is this: recruiters don't have the authority to make many promises, and the ones they do make get them in writing with their commander's or supervisor's signature.

Answer 5

the ONLY way to fly in the AF is to be an Officer with a 4 year degree. HOWEVER, the competition is fierce to even be accepted as an O, let alone Flight School.

as for enlisting: the AF guarantees yous training a job field..such as Aviation. they do NOT promise that you will be a mechanic, only that you are in aviation. the other branches, however, can guarantee you training in a specific job such as aircraft maintenance.

as for the housing and food being provided: yes, that is correct. he will be trained in the field he is in, but any additional schooling would be on his own time and dime, although there are numerous opportunities to make that easier and less expensive.

Answer 6

First of all he needs to pick a job in the AF and get it in writing. Recruiters are famous for promising glamerous jobs only to have the AF pick your job once you join.

Second, if your boyfriend doesn't have a bachelor's degree already, there's no way he'll fly airplanes in the military...only officers do. So he'll have to go to college before he joins up...look at ROTC as an avenue. Even that doesn't guarantee he'll fly airplanes...those jobs are pretty competitive.

Officers do get paid a lot more and have better benefits. For a full list of benefits, visit DFAS's web site listed below...it will show you how much he'll get for basic pay, housing, food, ect...

Answer 7

If your boyfriend wants to fly before getting his degree, he needs to go Army, Warrant Officer Flight Program. Then he can work on his degree and go for his commission, transfer to the Air Force and request fixed-wing flight training. It will be easier to get into flight training if you are transitioning from one type of aircraft to another.

Answer 8

Yes officers in all of the services are treated better, but in general joining any service as an officer or enlisted you become government property and are treated as such.

Think of it like this Uncle Sam is an abusive Uncle who provides a roof, what you do under that roof is up to you.

Answer 9

Officers get paid more but do not get the free housing, clothing, and whatnot, that is a benefit of enlisted personell. But it is all true, when he enlists, he needs to make sure and get a guaranteed job assignment and not enlist "open" under a specified field. If he does this, he may not get the job he wants.

Also, only officers can enlist as pilots.

Answer 10

To become a commercial pilot this is the way to go.