Air Force Members?

Two good guys to chat with would be Taz ( Tazanjan ) and Col Russ Turner( SNJ5) both of whom are on this forum. Both good guys.
Switches

 

I'm an enlisted member, I just hit 16yrs in February.

Jim

 

What is your MOS if I may be so bold?
Switches

 

2A6X4. I've recently moved into safety/environmental, I needed a change.
I started out working F-16's, F-15's, then went on to C-5's, then to C-141/KC-10/C-17.


Jim

 

What are you interested in doing? What route do you want to take? Officer/Enlisted?

Jim

 

Austin- 22 years for me flying F-111s mostly (Lt Col), 20 years for my brother flying mostly AC-130s and F-4s, 32 years for my father flying WW-II fighters and post-war through the F-84B, three uncles in the AF. What did you want to know?

Jim and the NCO corps are the backbone of the AF. The Russians have to use officers to do the same jobs our NCOs perform.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

NCO's stand for Non Commissioned Officer. Part of the enlisted corp, we do a lot of dirty work.

I would have loved to fly in an F-111, I've always loved that jet. We had the EF-111's over in Saudi right before they retired, that along with the F-4 Wild Weasels.

AustinMartin, do you know what you'd like to do other than enlist, or be an officer? What type of career do you want? Aviation? Civil Engineering? Maintenance?

Jim

 

I forgot to mention that you are a Lt. Col. My apology, sir. What a proud heritage you and your family has. I hope that some day we can meet and tip a few. I would like to meet Col. Turner also. Re NCO's. I met a flying master sergeant when I was at Langley and I remember how he was respected for his knowledge in the then new field of electronics, radar, etc.
Switches

 

I'm retired Air Force; 22 years starting as a Crew Chief on the F-4D/E (MacDill) then to the F-15A/C (Langley), A-10A (Suwon, Korea), F-15C (Camp New Amsterdam, NL), and F-15C (Eglin). Became a Flight Line Expeditor while at Eglin with the 58th FS and went to war (Desert Storm) with them as well (Gorillas!!!). My last 6 years were in Environmental Programs Management (Air, Water, Resource Conservation, Pollution Prevention, Waste Minimization, Recycling, etc.) and I dabbled in IT towards the end (1999).

Although I enjoyed my career immensely, today’s' AF is a completely different world than it was in my time. Back then, the Space Command was in its infancy, as was Cyber Warfare. Now, both of those are at the forefront, along with UAV technologies.

Since you're asking... as a minimum, I'd suggest that you go to college using the Air Force's ROTC program.

 

I was a member of both the Air and Army Guard.

Of course, this is different than joining the active duty USAF.

I enlisted while I was in college. I worked in base operations and supply.

I became an officer (Combat Engineer - 21 BRAVO) when I was older.

The Air and Army Guard are different in so many ways.

Good luck with your choice.

 

Austin, you have some powerful role models to follow here. You have at your hand a source of deep knowledge and experience. Follow.

 

Second that.

 

I can think of engine and air frame mechanics, electronic technician, ground support, military security, air traffic control, training instructor, and administrative staff for a few.
Switches

 

I met an Air Force "combat weatherman" a couple months ago and it sounds like a heck of a job. He is attached to the Army at Ft Bragg and does a lot of jumping as part of his duties.

There are some opportunities in the AF to see and do things but it seems to be the exception anymore.

 

I spent 8 years active duty Air Force and it was easily some of the best times of my life. I traveled the world extensively and have a new found appreciation for what we, as US citizens, have here in the US. I think that and some of the relationships I built in the Air Force are the biggest things that I took away from it. They also paid for my Bachelor's and Master's Degree so it doesn't get much better than that. Granted the Air Force is not what it was when I left it a few years ago, but the guy's I asked right before I went in, said the same thing. You adapt do it and get used to it. It honestly is what you make of it, and you'll get back as much as you put in....

 

10 years spent Active Duty Enlisted. Started out as a Crew Chief (mechanic) on F-4G Wild Weasels and went to war with that outfit (561st Tactical Fighter Wing) back when it was Tactical Air Command, which is now Air Combat Command. Our patches were bigger then (TAC) haha.

Cross trained to Aircraft Electrician because I got tired of pulling panels for E&E weenies so I became one! What do they say... if you can't beat em' join em'. After tech school for retraining I was assigned to H-1N Huey's and H-60 Pavehawks and was bored out of my mind.

When you cut your teeth on a plane like an F-4 or F-111, they are hydraulic nightmares and they really teach you how to be a good tech. Go from that to a Huey and it's like working on a Tonka toy. Borrrrrrrrring.

If I had it to do over I would have got my Bachelors under my belt before I enlisted and became an Officer and most likely a pilot. 20-10 vision and good stick and rudder skills were a hot commodity back then but instead of being smart, I used that 20-10 for spotting girls and chasing them as hard as I could. Life is fast when you're 21...

I could have been a nearly retired airline pilot by now..... dang! You are doing the right thing by asking vets how things really are.

What you need to do is narrow down your interests into; 1. What are you interested in doing and do you see yourself enjoing it long term. 2. Whatever you narrow down to, are the career fields marketable in civilian life now, in the future, etc. Very, very important thing to think about and it pays to be accurate in that assessment as much as possible.

Being an aircraft mechanic sucks and I'll be just plain blunt about it because I am one. Others will have their opinions as well but here is why I say that and feel how I do in particular. The good old days of hiring on with an airline and making 35 bucks an hour are gone. That used to be the "goal" hire on with an airline or manufacturer.

The job market for A&P mechanics is cyclic in nature and always has been to a certain degree; feast or famine if you will. It isn't as stable as it once was and since the start of my career 25+ years ago I have lived in 10 different states due to layoffs and the like, got in on the wrong wave I guess. In all that time I have had 2 good paying jobs relatively speaking, one was Boeing and the other is where I am now with Lockheed Martin making F-22's and working F-16 chase aircraft. Did you read that? Two decent paying jobs in 25 years; not a good return on investment and you have to chase airports.

The downside for that, at least for my disposition is you have to live in or near large cities like Marietta/Atlanta, Seattle, Everett, St.Louis, Los Angeles, Chicago and so on which means lots of people, lots of traffic and higher cost of living. Because starting out you can't possibly afford to live in such a place you have to reside out of town in the "cheap seats" and commute in to work. I live 24 miles from my parking lot and there are 38 red lights in between; takes an hour both ways due to the rest of us living where there is still a little elbow room and competing for a spot on that asphalt ribbon to work.

If you're single and stay that way you can always find work of some sort somewhere, it may not be great but if you're good you can always find a job if you're willing to move where the work is, in the industry they like to call these folks "job shoppers" which is what a contract A&P really is. If that sort of thing appeals to you then so be it but there is an honest snap shot of how it is. All this is harder to do when you're married and she has a career, the kids are in school and it is a huge upsetting ordeal to pick up and move 2500 miles to another job because you got laid off.

I chose this career field because I like working outdoors in all weather, I can't stand to be cooped up in an office, just ain't in my nature so I left that to the good folks who are geared for that. What may seem like an exciting job to begin with especially with the recruiter embellishing promises; may sour sooner than you think and not be marketable on the outside. Not many people hiring parachutists really compared to other vocations. So there's that to think about.

Do I still like working on airplanes? Some of them and under the right leadership and circumstances you bet! Leadership, leadership, leadership. Focus on leadership no matter what you end up doing and be better at it than anyone, make that your goal. I swear if folks would go get a book by Maj. Dick Winters (Band of Brothers) and read his words in the back on leadership and followed them, this world would be a better place.

I didn't mean to sound all doom and gloom or bitter but unless you really have your heart set on working on aircraft as a mechanic then I'd choose another AFSC. If it was more stable I'd like it a lot better but that goes for any job really.

 

If you can't go the Officer route then, by all means, do something that will get you a security clearance, the higher the better. A Top Secret clearance, with experience, is worth more than most BA degrees nowadays...

Parachuting... try USAF PARARESCUE - That Others May Live

 

So something with parachuting, or on the ground. Say as a maintainer?
A Freshman in high school? What are your interests? Sports? Hobbies? Do you like school? Do you get good grades? I can give you a real no b.s. approach to how the Air Force is. There are some really great career fields to be in on the enlisted side. I have to say though, if you get your commission you have soo many more opportunities.


Jim

 

Howdy, I'll just say I have been in the military for a really really long time. We should have a pilot back from pilot training that was born after I started! I have been both Active Duty and Air National Guard. I have flown both fighters and heavys. Here are some of my thoughts. The best way to go is to join an Air National Guard Unit. You can join right after school as a traditional member (now called Drill Status Guardsman-DSG). As a DSG you can experience what the military is like and get a lot of military benefits. I you decide to just do 4 years then you can leave, or you can continue as a DSG for 20 years and get an age 60 retirement, or you can become a full time member. The neat thing about the DSG thing is you can pursue civilian employment while you check out the military. The bad thing about the guard is you don't have the ability to move around the country/world with each new assignment. Another avenue you might be able to do is attend a high school with an Air Force Junior ROTC program. This will give a small taste of the military while you are still in high school and you might say heck yes I want to pursue this or not.

 

You're with the 135 guard unit up in Eilson. I was up there last april for red flag with our lousy KC-10's

Jim

 

Next time you're in town stop by, I'll give you a ride in a Ferrari with a V12. Bring your ax, we can do some jamming. I'd offer a ride in a 135 but your probably to spoiled flying around in your 10!