Can somebody tell me the the good and the bad about being in the air force.?

Question

I've read a lot of websites, so I'd appreciate insight into the life.

Answer 1

I was in the Army and I noticec a lot of better things about being in the Air Force.
The women are a lot better looking in the AF.
Their deployments to Iraq are only Four months (The Army stays there for a year).
The barracks are better.
They have more bases in good places, like Florida. (There are no active duty Army bases that I know of in FL).
They quite often stay in a hotel when they go to the field (The Army almost always stays in a tent).
They have much better class room type training than the Army. Their training is more mental and the Army is bigger on Physical training.

Answer 2

I've been in the Air Force for 7 years. Joined right out of high school and it was the best thing I could have done. Like any other jobs, it has it's good and bad.

First the good things. It is a steady paycheck. I admit that it really wasn't much when I first came in, but over time it grows. If you learn to manage your money you can make it last. You get to see the world. I'd done my time overseas. Spent a year in Korea which was awesome and my desert time in Qatar running support for the Iraqi/Afghanistan Area of Responsibility (AOR). You meet a lot of great people. Some of the best friends I've ever had I met in the AF. Free education. You'll sign up for the Montgomerey GI Bill (MGIB) which will guarantee you money for college when you get out (if you have an honorable discharge), but they also pay 100% tuition assistance while you're in. Typically the work hours are comparable to the civilian sector. I work 7:30-4:30 Monday - Friday. However that can change depending on where you're stationed. Expect to work longer hours if you go overseas.

Now for the bad stuff. The big thing right now is that the AF is severely overmanned. (I know right? We're at war and they wanna cut our manpower.) They are making it harder and harder to stay in. This is a short term problem though. If you enlist for 6 years, it should be fixed by the time you are able to reenlist so this may not affect you. Other problems the AF has is that you can lose control of your career. Regardless of what job you go in for (computers, flight engineers, maintence) the AF can retrain you to match their needs. Another problem that the Air Force faces is the deployments. They are coming quicker and lasting longer now a days. 6 months in the desert is the norm. This can really hamper a family life, and be extremely stressful on a marriage. Another thing that can be good or bad (depending on your preference) is the mandatory physical training (PT) We do PT 3 days a week in a formation. If you're into the whole being fit thing this may not bother you as much, but for me, I hate getting off my butt to go work out with a bunch of people that I never talk to. My honest opinion is that power napping should be a workout.

These are just a few of the good and bad stuff. If you have any questions, email me at [e-mail] and I'll be happy to answer what I can.

Answer 3

From a Marine's perspective who spent a lot of time with Air Force girls and worked with every branch of the military and one point or another, here is the way I see it. The Air Force is the best deal in the US military.
In an attempt to be brief:
The Army is "cannon fodder", notice how many of them die compared to Marines. Their training is inferior, they push every responsibility up to the highest possible level, and their philosophy is to throw bodies at a problem.
The Navy has gay uniforms, enough said. They do have good duty stations, training, and jobs though.
The Marine Corps is by far the most difficult and demanding. Until you acquire some rank you'll be treated like crap and have to do whatever those above you don't want to. You would also have the immense pride of being part of the finest fighting force the world has ever known and meeting those intense demands placed upon you. The duty stations are very limited compared to other branches.
The Air Force has excellent duty stations in many interesting places. You will never be mistreated. You will not have to do anything terribly difficult. You'll get your way about a ton of things. When you do additional training you will get civilian certificates and diplomas, useful later in life. You will feel inferior every time you see a Marine and know that you couldn't cut it.

I have the utmost respect for many individuals in each branch of the military and love them like family. My problems mentioned are with the branches as a whole.

Answer 4

Ok, some corrections on things that people have posted regarding the AF.
Deployments range from 4-9 months, with most of them now being 6months.

Yes, deployment locations and service can be better, but trust me, the guys still live in tents in many of the places they deploy to. DH has done more than his share of time in a tent with 19 other guys and a 1/2 mile hike to the shower tent!

Duty day of 7:30-4:30?? Give me a break!! DH's day, at the best, was 6:45am - 4:45pm. That lasted about 2 years. Mids sometimes weren't too bad, depending on the work load. Worst, besides deployment, was 5:30am -6:30 pm. That was a normal duty day for him for 5 years! Ops tempo and pers tempo were very high and everyone put in long hours. Currently, 6:15am - 5:30 pm is his normal duty day. Officially, his duty day is from 7-5. But, in order to go to all of his meetings, do all of his paperwork, take care of his troops, and make sure the planes are getting fixed... The days are long. Add to that time at home spent answering the phone or working on the computer getting stuff done.

Family support... definately an improvement over the other services. But, we have to remember that duty comes first. Those that forget that have the hardest time.

Dorms - hotels with maids?? Not even close! They clean their own rooms. I do know that some of the SNCOs and Officers hire maids to clean their rooms/apartments in Korea, but even that is not the norm.

All in all, the AF is a great way of life. Yeah, there's some bad, but there's much more good. My dad is retired AF and I grew up as an AF brat. My brother is retired AF. And hubby is getting ready to go over 22 years in January.

Answer 5

You recieved a lot of answers from people that have never served, so take those responses lightly. I have 17 years in the AF. I can honestly say it has been good to me. Like any job there is bad and good. I can't tell my boss to go to hell...guess what...most civilian job employees can't either. No difference. The AF has decent pay, decent benefits and they treat you well. You may go places you want to go and you may be away from family but you can also look at those things as oppurtunities to see things you may have never seen if you didnt join. You can go to school but your job comes first. Your attitude is a big part in determining how your time in the AF turns out to be. If you join the military you are accepting the fact that you are no longer completely in control of your life. That's a fact. But whatever job you get at home will not send you to Italy, Japan, Alaska, Guam, Germany, and a lot of other places you wouldnt normally go. Are there bad ones as well...yes. I'm in Korea...for a year...it's not great but you make the best of it and because I came here I get to go to Florida next which is where I want to be and retire...so...you take the good with the bad. Don't let little things bother you. It's a good living. There are good jobs on the outside as well. But like someone else said...you can be very proud of this one and feel like you are truly doing something to help. Even if you dont agree with what's going on in the world you are still providing the freedom for the people that speak negatively about it to have that ability. Good luck

Answer 6

Well, I am pretty anti-military myself, but I don't mind sharing the few things I know.My brother is in the air force now, and my father also served in the air force.

The air force is definitely more family oriented than the other branches. More likely to try and keep families together, etc.

The air force can be a bit more challenging to get in than the army. (My husband was in the army, so I know about that one for sure, not the others.) For instance when my husband joined the army, he went in, signed up, and left for basic pretty quickly. When my brother joined the air force, he waited months before he was sent to basic. In short, what happened after he picked his career line, he had to wait for a position to open up before he went in for training. I personally like that.

Let's see. Army graduation from basic is pretty sucky compared to the air force. Not that it matters really, but it makes me feel like the air force really puts more into their soldiers than the army.

Ok, well, I don't know a lot about the airforce, but at least you got a couple more pieces of info.

Oh, let me give you few tip about joining the military in general. My husband's whole family practically is in the army, so I know a tiny bit about that too. When you go to sign up (and this may be the same for all branches), they are going to try REALLY hard to get you to sign up as infantry, no matter how well you do on your asfab. They are going to tell you that to get into any of the "cool" stuff like sniper school, Green Beret, etc, you have to go through infantry. Even if that is true, there are tons and tons of infantry, and those schools are very hard to get into. Be smart, and don't sign up as infantry. Sign up for something where you will learn a skill, and where you will not be the grunt they throw out onto the frontlines.

Second of all, assume anything you hear from a recruiter is a lie. Not saying they are all liars or anything, just that it is their job to get as many people to sign as possible. I also have several recruiters in the family. I'm not just being mean. If they say something that is important to you, make sure you actually see it in the paperwork before you sign.

Good luck!

Answer 7

My brother was in the air force..From what him and his friends that were also in the air force told me it sounds like the air force is the least stressful, and demanding of all the military professions. You can do alot of things in the air force, career wise..Some bad things would be just I guess typical bad things that deal with any military outfit you join..

Answer 8

I hated the service of course i had to go to vietnam and i was drafted the hardest thing is not getting into trouble in the 20 years u have to put in but if your looking for medical benefits a hell of a pension and travel and u can stick it out there are benefits. Unless your an aviator i can't see u having a problem with a war.

Answer 9

1. you might have to go fight a useless war, put your life on the line for some greedy people that don't care about you, while killing innocent people half way around the world who didn't ask for you to go "free" them.
2. thats it. dont join the military. maybe in a few years when a good president comes around...but not for this one.

(dont take me wrong, im not against the army or anything, i served 4 years. it's just the current administration... get out while you still can, or you'll be fighting some useless wars to fill up these peoples pockets with money)

Answer 10

Don't know much about it, but the good thing is the feeling of accomplishment and you helping out. The bad thing is you have to be away from loved ones at time and you don't know if something might happen to you.