Could the Air Force guys help me here???

Ok, my bad, you're right, I was thinking OTS, you were thinking other programs. If you want to even call it arguing, we weren't even in the same fight If an enlisted bubba can get picked up for some special commissioning program pre-graduation, that would be great but you're right, I'm sure it is very competitive.

 

OP, and any other member looking to go USAF... better jump on any enlistment opportunity you feel comfortable with.

Before I retired in January, I was president of the Security Hill Top III at Lackland AFB. This morning, I went to an appointment at Wilford Hall (at Lackland AFB... I live 20 min away) and ran into a buddy of mine from the base-lvl Top III--he's a highly-placed SNCO within the BMT community.

He and I chatted about the current BMT sex scandal and other BS. He also told me they are looking at a 15+% reduction in recruit training. Translation: Fewer enlisted positions, thus limited recruitment opportunities. What do you expect with record DoD budget cuts and an economy that is still headed in the wrong direction?

The Force is getting slimmer and the lines at the recruiter's door are getting longer. Bring your "A" game and get in while you can. I wish you the best of luck. Just an FYI.

 

The number of classes you have left and which classes those are may be a factor to consider when making the decision to go enlisted or officer. Are you over half way to your degree? Are they core classes you have left? I enlisted with 1 class under my belt. I became a crew chief on F-22's and used the Air Force to get my degree. When I started, Embry-Riddle gave me half of my degree before I started. My pilot's license and A&P license even counted toward elective credits. I was able to clep seven classes to include English comp with essay counting as 6 total credits or 2 English classes. I'm not saying it is the easier way to go, because it is hard to go to school and work 12 hour shifts as a crew chief. Doing Aircraft maintenance, you will work long hours in the elements even on some weekends, and days the rest of the base has off (family days, safety days, holidays). I have no regrets and enjoyed six years of getting dirty and smelling like JP-8, but it definatly wasn't easy to cross over to the Officer side...it took me six years. After a long package submission and interview with my Commander, a couple of AF awards, letter of rec, I got accepted to OTS. In OTS I found out that I was going to be a Navigator which was different from what my education office told me. A little bit of stress in OTS to where I was headed when I was done and I was a nav for 3 years. To old to be a pilot I submitted my application anyway requiring a waiver to be approved by the Vice Sec of the AF. My chances were slim, but I got accepted for that too. It's not easy to change jobs every couple of years. I know many people who it didn't work out for, or they didn't get the job they wanted in the end. It is possible whichever way you decide to go. The best way to hang out with pilots and Navs is to be one, but if that is not in the cards yet the next best thing is to be one in the future. On my current aircraft we have Airborne System Engeneers (ASE) which are airborne maintenance guys. Tankers have flying crew chiefs. Boom opertors seem to love their jobs but they all have busy scheduals. When I was a crew chief working 12 hour shifts made it hard to get the degree but I still got it. Now that I'm a flyer it's the constant deployments that make it hard to get my masters...but i'm still doing it. It only gets more challenging so do what works best for you my friend...but make sure you do what makes you happy.

 

Well I have 43 credits, but i just can't afford it anymore, and I want to be in the USAF... as long as Im around planes, Im a happy camper...as much as I'd love to fly them, just the feeling of begin around or on one everyday would be awesome for me... My logic is to do what I feel will make me happy and maybe get the rest of my schooling done with the help of the USAF

 

I'm sure you have looked into Federal loans or grants. After joining the AF you may be able to use some of the AF education benifits to pay back your school loans. Can you go to a community college to finish your remaining classes? I chose Tactical Aircraft Maintenance because of the same reasons you listed above. I was nowhere close to finishing my degree but my life was aviation. The entire time I worked to get in the airplane and now I am. How old are you? age 30 is the current age cuttoff for Pilot. Not sure about Nav but I think rated jobs are the same. Waivers are not always accepted and remember it took me six years. You are going to have to be really good at your job and get through your Career Development Courses (CDC's) fast if you want to apply for an officer position and have your supervisions support. You can't go anywhere without the help of your supervision which can be a barrier but at times, good supervision can be a great strength. You wont be done with your CDC's untill at least 1-2 years and be good at your job. If you don't want to be a flying officer, I would look into airborne enlisted jobs unless you really want to fix them and get dirty on the ground. Money should not ever be the sole reason to choose a career, but look at these numbers anyway. Current Base pay for an E-3 (what you will be enlisting with college) is $1757 a month with less than 2 years of service an O1 with the same time in makes $2828. After 2 years enlisted you bump up to $1947. As an officer you jump to $3259 within the same 2 years. It only goes up from there if you are also willing to accept the responsibility of that position. Both Officer and Enlisted jobs have a lot of responsibility when dealing with aircraft. Both should be well respected. As an aviator and an O1, I recieved a flight pay bonus of $125 a month. As my flight time increases, so does my flight pay bonus. Just something to think about. I still wish you luck on whatever you choose, you seem to have the desire to be a great Airman weather Officer or Enlisted.

 

The community college thing is what i started doing...but paying for gas which is like 75 every 2 weeks on top of $400 a class down here in FL, it just can't work now...so enlisting is my only option really, I just know I want to be working on or with planes, its my dream and passion. I'm 20 years old, and the pay although very attractive at the officer level, is okay for me on the enlisted level. I know how to make little bits of money work in the long run, so when i see that i can't afford college and gas, on top of other expenses, I just can't...

As far as loans, I did take out a few, I am about 10-13 k in debt with these loans because I went away to college at first, so I had to pay for dorm and school, and food plan...

 

Where at in FL?

Enlisted pay is still very good, as a single E-5 you can live off base and pull in nearly 2K a paycheck after taxes. I mention that rank because that is entirely attainable in a 6 year enlistment, and if you bust your ass, it is attainable in 4.

If you really want to work on jets, one of the first things you need to ask yourself is what kind you want to work on, fighters or tanker / cargo. Are you more mechnically inclined, or can you follow a schematic and make sense of the wiring (it sounds similar, but it really isn't when it comes to jets). Are your ASVAB scores good enough (they should be, not that difficult)?

I konw that a ton of us have experience working on planes, both the big guys and the small fighters. If you want to know something specific about working on fighters, let me know, I've been doing it 11 years now. I can give you a brief rundown on the most common jobs, I won't even be biased towards my job!

 

sure, i'd love to hear a rundown on the different jobs that i can do working on fighters!

 

I can also give you more perspective as a crew chief on fighters and a little intel on larger aircraft like what I fly on now, not neccisarily crew chief stuff on the larger jet, because I'm not in maintenance anymore but the pace and deployment cycles are different.

 

I'm all ears...all i can do is learn, and thats what i want to do... i want to go in informed, instead of blind thus making me surprised about different elements of the job

 

anyone happen to know about in flight refueling? that was in my top 3 choices, and I'd like to know more, the pros and the cons

same with Airfield Management

 

What do you want to know? I work on tankers in Kansas.
Also, if you can... get with a recruiter and ask if you can go shadow the Boom operators (in flight refueling) at McDill AFB.

 

well Id like to know what it takes to become one... are they even taking any people in for that job... how the job is day in and day out on a regular day both deployed and at home base

 

They should be. Always looking for them, in fact they want to retrain people into it. Not a hard job, training is just a lot of sim and training flights. Plus you go through Survival school which isn't too bad anymore. Get smacked around, sleep deprivation stuff like that.

Job for most of the booms is fly 2-3 days a week at home. Don't really do much else. Lots of paperwork though. Deployed, look to be flying 5-6 days a week on long flights. Your days are really long overseas but a lot say it is worth it. But, you don't really do anything while airborne until you are to the mission area. So, you can sleep or catch up on paperwork/school during flight. Your primary duty obviously is what any man's should be. Put a pole into a hole and fill it up.

 

lmao good joke lol... but that all sounds good none of that sounds too psychotically intense.... thats going to be my #1 choice...really hoping to get that....

 

Now you have to choose which aircraft you want. Right now there are two to choose from. KC-10 and KC-135. The 135 is an older jet and goes a lot of places. Doesn't really break like you would think from a 50+ yr old jet. The KC-10 is... I don't have a lot of good things to say about it. BUT the boom area is much more comftorable. Also, it is a much nicer plane to fly on. You also get better trips such as Australia and Guam and those wonderful places. They don't deploy nearly as much as the 135 does.

Also, soon the KC-46 (brand new tanker) should be rolling out for testing/training. I don't know if you can get yourself into that, but it might be something to look into while talking to people.

The main bases for the 135 active duty are in Kansas, Washington and Florida. The secondary bases are in California, Alabama, North Carolina and a few others here and there. The 10 bases are NJ and California.

 

and i get to choose my plane? or they put me on one...really it doesn't matter to me, they're both awesome jets...both older lol, DC 10 and former boeing 707...and the new tanker is supposedly a 767, so they're all good to me!

 

I spent 12 years as a Load and the last 4 as a Gunner. Honestly, being on helos is a shit ton of fun and shooting from it is a blast...and that is where it ends. You do not go anywhere but to the LZ's and range. There are a lot of ego's in the community..some not earned.

I miss being a Loadmaster. I went to 52 countries in 12 years...and worked with some great people. I would not trade that time for anything.

I have been Air National Guard/Reserve the whole time.

Honestly, with all due respect to my ground folks, flying is where it is at. I think being in the military is about traveling..and you will do that on select AF aircraft. If I were young again and had the options, here is my list.

1.) C-17 Loadmaster
2.) KC-10 Boomer
3.) KC-135 Boom/C130 Load.
4.) C5 Load
5.) Gunner
.
.
.
.
1.5 million) Anything on a AWACS.

If your gonna go AF, fly.

 

I do both. I'm E/E, but I am also a flying CC. Make my money with my dual rolls. I used to do a bunch of trips when I wasn't the lead in my shop. Now, it's only when I can get away from desk duties

 

how would you go about choosing your aircraft?