Need advice for son re: air force

[Lewis Clark]

I would point out that medical care is not free after 20 years. It is somewhat subsidized, but definitely not free.

+1

Navy retiree here.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I wanted to join to be a fighter pilot because it's sexy and I was stupid.
I was refused as I wore glasses... Lucky for me as there are no civilian jobs as a fighter pilot.

During my career flying for United; about 1/3 of the pilots were ex-fighter jocks, 1/3 were transport/bomber people, and 1/3 came from commuter airlines (like me).

Chuck Yeager said something like "The Air Force will give you some really neat airplanes to fly, if you're willing to bleed."

I was willing to take my chances, even tried to get into the Air Guard while flying for United, but didn't have enough college- dropped out when UAL hired me with about 1 1/2 years credit in 1969.

 

[Bigdawg]

+1

Navy retiree here.

Explain "not free". Tri Care prime is $50/month combined for DW and I. The only other expense DW and I have is a small copay when seeing a specialist. Last year DW and I combined had 10 of those visits totalling $300. Most of my civilian friends pay more than that each month just to have insurance. So total medical expenses last year were $900. So yes, technically "not free" but it beats anything else out there.

 

[FIREarly]

Non-military mind, if your son wants to join the AF than excellent choice. For your piece of mind, other "branches" (if that's the right word), Navy, Army, MC call AF the Chair Force. It's a joke but believe it's because most of their Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and bases are in "safe" areas... not as dangerous as the other groups.

Please ask him what he wants to do in the AF. It's an important question and much better to have a plan:
-Unmanned Aircrafts is a new BIG field
-Cyber is BIG and many nice paths in CIV world
-Many options depending on what he likes to do

If he does 20 years in he will be 47 years old and have a nice little monthly check for the rest of his life. Might not be too large but it's a nice little thank you and believe he'll be eligible for federal health insurance plans (after 5 years of service) at retirement age.

 

[check6]

During my career flying for United; about 1/3 of the pilots were ex-fighter jocks, 1/3 were transport/bomber people, and 1/3 came from commuter airlines (like me).

Chuck Yeager said something like "The Air Force will give you some really neat airplanes to fly, if you're willing to bleed."

I was willing to take my chances, even tried to get into the Air Guard while flying for United, but didn't have enough college- dropped out when UAL hired me with about 1 1/2 years credit in 1969.

Member of the 570 club, 5/17/85....did not cross.

 

[Lewis Clark]

Explain "not free". Tri Care prime is $50/month combined for DW and I. The only other expense DW and I have is a small copay when seeing a specialist. Last year DW and I combined had 10 of those visits totalling $300. Most of my civilian friends pay more than that each month just to have insurance. So total medical expenses last year were $900. So yes, technically "not free" but it beats anything else out there.

I completely agree it's very good. But as you point out the costs are not zero, so it is not free.

Drugs are also an additional cost. They might be free if you live close enough to a military medical facility to use it - I do not.

 

[catii]

USAF vet here. Flew F-4s in Vietnam. I was already a graduate engineer, married, with 2 kids, but my draft number was 2, & I chose USAF over Army.

It helped that I had my pilot's license when I turned 16, but I had no desire to be a full-time pilot. I was treated well, & got my MSE & PhD through the military, & I recommend that your son take advantage of every educational opportunity. Others have pointed out that the Air Force treats you better than the other services, & I found that to be true.

I did my job, took orders, flew a lot of missions, & got out after 5 years as an O-3. Haven't really used any veterans services since departing, but I keep getting those offers, even now that I'm 75.

Your son will definitely grow up in the military!

 

[jastew]

I'll join TrophyHusband in the minority and say no way. I retired as a Naval Flight Officer (guy in back) after 20 yrs in 2006. I was as gung ho and patriotic as they come in 1986 but I think my generation was probably one of the last that had it good.

As TH pointed out, today's military leaders are political hacks more interested in furthering their careers and setting themselves up for a cushy positions when they retire than leading a fighting force and taking care of their people.

To try to remain as apolitical as possible, I won't going into the many hours spent training on the latest social issue instead of training to fight wars.

I'm not ashamed of my time in the Navy and I had a good career, but I no longer tell people I was in the armed forces. It's just not something I would be proud to belong to any more.

 

[check6]

I'll join TrophyHusband in the minority and say no way. I retired as a Naval Flight Officer (guy in back) after 20 yrs in 2006.

Did you know YouTuber Mooch?

 

[DrRoy]

10 years ago when my son enlisted in the air force there was a waiting list and it was 9 months before he started basic training. Time there to get fit.

 

[bigriver]

Nephew just joined the navy, uncle had been in the Navy for years. He did a year of college before joining, came out 2 ranks higher due to college. Boot camp is a bit tougher with covid. He had to spend 2 weeks in quarantine with his squad. 23 hrs a day in quarantine. He said it was like prison. His ship date was planned for 4 months out but they called him in earlier. A year ago when he started talking about it he thought about being a diesel mechanic but he ended up going into electrical technician. He is in for at least 6 years. Nobody could go see him when he graduated boot camp due to covid.

 

[Midniter]

As a proud Air Force Veteran I have an opinion on this for you.

Study the ASVAB and learn about taking the test as well as the subject matter. The higher the score the better his opportunity and wider the job selection.

Study the different career fields that interest your son. know what careers exist. Recruiters will push to fill the openings that they need to fill (AS mentioned in a previous post). Be assertive in insisting you want to see ALL jobs available. If he can, pick a job, using the ASVAB score, which he is most interested and there is an equivalent Civilian job.

Continue his education while on active duty. He will have plenty of time on his hands.

Military experience can be a great tool. It helped me grow up.

Good Luck!

 

[ransil]

I have a friend his daughter went in a few years ago at 35 ,she love it, his son also went in a year later.

ex Navy I got out with 10 years, mistake the retirement benefits are good if you stick it out, tried to get back in the reserves after out for 15 years , i was denied, my wife was able to get in so we will have some benefits coming in a few years.

take advantage of all opportunities, we did not, no GI bill, no collage during enlistment, has not hurt us as we will FIRE next year after she comes back from a deployment, but would have made better opportunities, we were in aviation electronics still doing similar today.

He needs to figure out what he is interested in and shoot for that, Navy sucks for 'pick a job when you get in" that never happens or comes out good.

 

[JDARNELL]

Trophyhusband makes some good points. I remember when I got the call “your gonna make 0-6 but we need you do one more thing for us …”. I had known the assignment officer my entire career and she understood when I said “then after I do make it your gonna send me again”. I also had enlisted time.

I retired about 10 yrs ago and I couldn’t really tell you what the AF is doing but rest assured it’s not the same. One assignment doing something off the wall or in a cool location might be enough. Get as much fun and training out of it as you can. No doubt the military sets people up with lifelong skills. It sure is a good place to be from.

 

[Cavechild]

The biggest thing to look at is signing up for a specific job, vs a general job. If you son wanted a job to fix PC's there are 2 ways to enter. He signs enlists for the specific job or the general job. With the specific job, you son would be guaranteed training to fix PC's. While a general electronics repair enlistment he may get it or he may be fixing a radar system. Specific job enlistment could me a delay in entry as they have to wait until that class starts, while a general he could enter very quickly.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

20+ year recently(?) retired AF Officer. Aviator, commanded at multiple levels, multiple deployments, three combat tours, staff college graduate, multiple overseas tours, and was on the fast track for General.

So, with my credibility established and a successful career behind me you'd think I'd be lining up with all the others recommending your son join. But instead, I'm going to be the one dissenting voice here and recommend that your son DOES NOT join the Air Force.

If you notice, most of the comments from other veterans are from veterans who retired years ago, if not decades. And I would point out that the USAF, and military of that past is essentially gone. The benefits, facilities, opportunities, comradery, esprit de corps and mission focus are absent in the new reality of today's culture. Just turn on the news and you will see the military reeling from one crisis to another. Senior leaders who in times past prided themselves on being apolitical are now either partisan foils or hacks. These missteps at the most senior levels is manifesting itself in bad policy that permeates the service and affects everyone negatively from 4-star to E-1.

The USAF, once the leading edge of technological innovation in the country, is saddled with outdated and poorly maintained equipment. The B-52 first flew in 1951 and the AF plans on flying it until 2040+. Add to this the KC135, T38, F15, MMIII, etc.. And that's just airframes. It doesn't include the other, less known and less public systems and equipment. Dorms have mold, buildings leak, roads and facilities are in disrepair. The peace dividend of the 90's gutted military infrastructure spending and the band-aids and chewing gum fixes of the past 20 years are no longer working.

The things in the past that made the military unique, and therefore attractive to some youth (e.g. service, patriotism, higher calling) are greatly diminished. The USAF and military of today is much more like any other bureaucratic government agency. Think of the US Park Service, but with better weapons.

If he has a family, or plans on having one, add another layer of complexity and reasons not to join. There are a lot of very unhappy wives and families in the military for a reason and any cursory look will show you divorce rates are higher in the military than the general population as a whole. There's a reason for that.

My son is a poster boy for joining the AF. Straight A student, 30+ ACT, fit, heavily involved in school, healthy, and had already started flying in high school. We had recruiters beating down our door trying to get him to go to the service Academies and/or offering 4-yr ROTC scholarships. I certainly didn't prohibit him from entertaining these offers, but I made no effort to facilitate them either. Believe me I breathed a huge sigh of relief when he decided to go pursue scholarship opportunities at a civilian school.

If your son is set on joining the military then the other posts have provided good information. But one piece of advice that I have not see anyone post is to make sure your son's VALUES and life outlook line up with the AF. Unfortunately, that's hard to know until you're in it.

And that is ultimately why I made the decision not to accept the offer of promotion and advancement that was offered me. The military is not what is was and not the organization I joined 20+ years ago. Organizational culture changes, I get it. But I, and your son, have to wake up every morning, look in the mirror and ask, "Am I a member of an organization/company that makes me proud/happy to be a part of it"? I could no no longer do so.

Your complaints have been echoed by many former blue suiters for YEARS and YEARS. Much of it is not new; only the complainers are new.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I am an Air Force vet and was an Aircraft Mechanic. You cannot transition to an Aircraft Mechanic on the outside without a license. In the Air Force you specialize in a certain part like fuel systems, hydraulics, Crew chief, electronics, etc. I would recommend he look into something like computer programming, medical tech, air traffic controller. If I had it to do again, I would go to college first, get a four year degree, go in as an officer, and make a career out of it. He would get a pension for life, free medical for life after 20 years of service.

A couple things here. Not sure when you retired as you have mentioned some things that have changed. There is now a much easier route to become licensed as aircraft mechanic (A&P) while still in service than it used to be.

"Free" healthcare after 20 years isn't a thing. You MIGHT qualify for VA medical care if you have service related/connected condition, but it's not automatic. Otherwise, you would be eligible for Tricare, which is NOT free.

Pensions no longer require 20 years of service. The entire retirement system has changed significantly in recent years.

 

[5Miler]

My oldest son entered the AF at 27 and currently has 10 months to go until his planned retirement at 20 years. He has been a respiratory technician most of his career. I was an AF Avionics Tech (Autopilot tech) for over 9 years, his mom (my ex #1) was in the AF reserves as a medic, his maternal grandad was a retired Flight Engineer and my dad was a Marine serving at Guantanamo Bay during the Korean war.

Yes, he is older than most of his peers due to his late entry but I think his experience has closely resembled my own. He had been laid off from a dead end job, only had two years of college and no real direction. I had no college but the rest applied.

I had hard times and great times. I made the decision to get out in 1981 as I thought I could do better in the civilian world as promotions were so tight at that time. I was right and with my experience found a job in computer service rather easily even in the middle of a big recession and spent most of my career in management, retiring at 58.

I have no doubt my son can quickly find work as a respiratory tech in this age of Covid. He has been deployed several times to Sacramento hospitals to augment them for Covid support over the past 18 months. The job you get while in the AF makes all the difference. I enlisted with a guaranteed job in electronics and my son went in with the same guarantee for the medical field. I would never go in without that guarantee.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Member of the 570 club, 5/17/85....did not cross.

Congrats, good to have you here.
I'm much older but have the star on my pin also.

 

[R.O.A.D.]

As an Army retiree, I would suggest looking at the Space Force. It’s a new organization that I would think is ripe for promotion and training opportunities.

My recruiter told me the Army would teach me to fly…… via Ft Benning Airborne school