USAF advice sought

[*Liberty*]

Hello all!

I am new to CF and considering joing the USAF. I have been told that I should wait to get my degree before doing so to enter with a high rank. I have five semesters completed, but unfortunately the credits do not all fit in one area, as there is no major that sparks my interest. I spoke with an advisor and was told that in any direction I go, I am looking at another five semesters. This is not for me.

My question is this: I am engaged and wondering if it is better to marry prior to signing or if it is ok to marry after boot camp? Also, what are the policies on children? If I were to have a baby in the next 2-3 years, can I be repremanded? That may sound like a silly question, but this is a concern of mine.

Also, I have a specific field in mind and am not sure how happy I'd be if I was not placed in that program. Is there a way to get in writing that I "will" be trained for what I want, assuming I make the ASVAB prerequisite for that field?

I would like to contact a recruiter, but fear being swindled into making a decision right away and being made "false" promises. I would love some advice on how to go about this process.

I apologize if this has already been asked. I see there are many many pages in this area already!

 

[Trainwreck]

Well, it may be a good idea to finish your degree so you can enter as an officer. You say that you have a specific career field in mind - keep in mind that as an officer, your career choices would be pretty much limited to pilot/navigator or sitting behind a desk. If you want to do technical work and get your hands dirty, enlisted is usually the best choice. It all depends.

As for getting a job guaranteed, the USAF is usually the best branch when it comes to guaranteeing jobs. When I went down to MEPs, I was able to pick from a list of about 15 available jobs, and once I did, it was guaranteed. Others tell me that while they couldn't pick from a list, they were able to give MEPs a list of jobs they'd be interested in, and they usually get one of those or a similar job.

As for getting married before you join: DO IT. I have no idea why some people insist on getting married after; it just makes things so much more difficult. And why should anyone commit themselves to supporting someone through all their training and whatnot if they're not married? It's just unfair to the person left behind. Besides, you'll get a lot more pay just for being married. So just DO IT!

As for children, no you will not be reprimanded for that. Just keep in mind that the AF will come first, even before your children. That means if you've just had your kid and you're off leave and ready to go back to work you might end up in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Africa for a few months.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, what field are you looking at right now?

 

[*Liberty*]

Well, it may be a good idea to finish your degree so you can enter as an officer. You say that you have a specific career field in mind - keep in mind that as an officer, your career choices would be pretty much limited to pilot/navigator or sitting behind a desk. If you want to do technical work and get your hands dirty, enlisted is usually the best choice. It all depends.

As for getting a job guaranteed, the USAF is usually the best branch when it comes to guaranteeing jobs. When I went down to MEPs, I was able to pick from a list of about 15 available jobs, and once I did, it was guaranteed. Others tell me that while they couldn't pick from a list, they were able to give MEPs a list of jobs they'd be interested in, and they usually get one of those or a similar job.

As for getting married before you join: DO IT. I have no idea why some people insist on getting married after; it just makes things so much more difficult. And why should anyone commit themselves to supporting someone through all their training and whatnot if they're not married? It's just unfair to the person left behind. Besides, you'll get a lot more pay just for being married. So just DO IT!

As for children, no you will not be reprimanded for that. Just keep in mind that the AF will come first, even before your children. That means if you've just had your kid and you're off leave and ready to go back to work you might end up in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Africa for a few months.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, what field are you looking at right now?

Thank you very much for your feedback! I agree that it makes sense to marry before entering, but I had heard that wasn't the best option and never understood why. Now I know to just ignore those opinions.

The field that looks most interesting from the job listings on their website is Cryptologic Linguist. I have a pretty good ear for languages so it seems like a good fit. Plus, I hear there is intensive training involved with a degree at the at end (if you do it right) and there is a program called CLRP that will help repay my current student loans for the time I wasted moping around trying to figure out what I wanted to do to no avail.

Thank you again!

 

[Trainwreck]

The field that looks most interesting from the job listings on their website is Cryptologic Linguist. I have a pretty good ear for languages so it seems like a good fit.

Yeah, I've been thinking about cross-training into that too...I too have always had a special knack for language. There's also the Airborne Cryptologic Linguist AFSC, but that is one of the most stressed fields from what I hear. At any rate, I'm sure you're aware of the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) that you'd have to take; more on that here: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dlab.htm

As for the degree, with any AFSC you will receive college credit. Using myself as an example, I got 24 credits upon graduation from tech school, plus I think I'll get a few more when I get my 5-level soon. I don't know how it is for linguists specifically, but I'd imagine it'd be much the same. Anyway, from there you can use your general education credits to get a CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) degree, and from there a Bachelor's if you pursue it. Of course, you'd probably have a good jump on all that...

I've heard of others using the CLRP and I don't know how good it is. Obviously, there's a limit to how much they'll repay and you should look into that as well...

 

[*Liberty*]

I've heard of others using the CLRP and I don't know how good it is. Obviously, there's a limit to how much they'll repay and you should look into that as well...

Apparently they will help up to $10,000. Seeing as how I owe about that now, I'd be happy just receiving half!

 

[daveleau]

I married on Nov 9th, went on my honeymoon until the 24th and went to OTS on the 27th. Getting time off during your first year to get married will be tough. I'd suggest getting married first, if you feel led to marry the man you are with.

If you go in before finishing college, your pay will be significantly less. If you graduate with a degree, you can go in as an officer, and that is preferable because of pay. Graduating through ROTC would be a much better way to insure you get what you want. Going through a recruiter is hit-or-miss. But, they are much better about dealing with officers (they tell the no-kidding truth). Recruiters are not all swindlers, though. Run anything they tell you by an active duty member you trust, and/or run it by us. If the recruiter looks squared away and sounds like he knows what he is talking about and shows you the regulations, then it's a good bet that he's telling the truth.

You will not be reprimanded for having a child. That's against the law and the UCMJ. If you do not have the financial means to support your child, that is when trouble starts and you may be dismissed to take care of him/her.

Having training in a specific field will help you get into an area that you want, but the main requisite is that you score high enough on the ASVAB (enlisted) or AFOQT (officer). I went in asking for computers and came out of the AFOQT with an aviation rating. I could have been a pilot if my eyes weren't so bad. I could have still gone computers, but I chose to fly. Yes, I am one of 2 officers that I know that has gotten a pilot or navigator slot from a recruiter.

Tuition assistance in the military will pay for $9500/year in tuition. There is no limit to how much they give other than this yearly limit. If you sign up for the GI Bill by paying $100/month for your first 12 months, they give you $38000 in other money for college. Going into the linguistics field, it would be very helpful to have a language or two under your belt that you speak fluently (other than English, of course).

If I can help in any way, please let me know. I am active duty, and will be for quite some time. I love it. And, they are paying for my seminary master's degree.

God bless you,
Dave

 

[JonahII]

You're talking about the U.S. Air Force here. Remember the supply and demand concept you learned in economics. The Air Force is not hurting for recruits like some of the other services. They can sit back and be more choosy because quite a few people want this branch of the service. I wouldn't worry too much about some "slick Willy" trying to pull something on you. It is good to make sure, you know exactly what your contract says.

I can't advise you what to do marriage wise, but I can tell you what worked very well for me. I joined the Army, went through basic training and AIT (I think that is tech school in the USAF), got to my permanent station, after a couple of months took leave, went home, got married, and began life with my bride that I have been married to for 32 years now. It was a good game plan for me, but you have to decide.

Being an officer is fine, but I only got up to E5 and was quite happy. Many Air Force jobs are about as close to a civilian job as you can get and still be in the military. If you make a good career field choice and give your superiors an honest days work, and keep your nose clean, you should do fine.

Finally, and most important, pray about your decisions.

 

[daveleau]

Finally, and most important, pray about your decisions.

Absolutely!

And, Jonah makes a good point about recruiting. Right now the USAF is downsizing because of all the money being sent the USA's way for armor upgrades and training. The USAF is still recruiting, but not nearly as much as before the huge budget shift to the USA.

 

[Trainwreck]

Many Air Force jobs are about as close to a civilian job as you can get and still be in the military.

Many jobs in the military PERIOD have directly transferable civilian jobs. Marines, Army, Navy etc. all have the same administrative, information technology, services/supply, medical (with the exception of Marines) jobs that the AF does...

 

[WhiteWillow]

I wish you the best! That field appeals to me also and the Navy offers a Crypt tech.I found the marriage info important on this forum. I too was waiting to marry after I was recruited and through basic.