Could the Air Force guys help me here???

24 STS

Don't hear a lot about the 2.4 again amazing Operators.

 

agreed. 3 of my cadre in indoc were from the 24th STS

 

USAF CSAR is not part of AFSOC. We are an ACC/AFRC/ANG asset. The fighter community wants to keep us close.

CSAR is moving more towards its new "mission" of Personnel Recovery. With CASEVAC being the primary mission of in-theater assets, CSAR is simply too limiting.

As for losses, Pedro 66 in June of 2010 was a tough one for the community. One of my squadrons pilots was filling in with the active duty and was in the second ship and watched them go in. This article says it was an RPG, it was not. It was a single 7.62 round to the tail rotor. Also, the co-pilot suffered catastrophic injuries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...s-tell-of-Black-Hawk-Down-rescue-mission.html

http://www.nellis.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123259444

 

I was one of these individuals before commissioning. I was a enlisted aircrew member that went to college full time and flew 2 or 3 times a week, deployed in the summer time and breaks, and went on short TDY's on the weekends. It was a blast, I could afford better beer than my friends in college, and I gained some very valuable experience that was more valuable than anything else on my commissioning application.

"A couple hundred dollars a month" really isn't all that accurate. If you are a one weekend a monther, sure, its not much. But, if you are going to college, you will get your GI Bill, depending on your job, and additional amount ("kicker"), and your tuition paid for (with some restrictions on amounts; it probably won't cover tuition at Harvard!).

Gunner is correct, most ANG and AFRC units have deployment cycles just like AD does, sometimes more, sometimes less. I've been in the C-130 world my whole career, and I've seen about 18 month deployment cycles.

Bottom line, if you don't want to deploy, don't join. If you show up to an ANG/AFRC recruiter and tell them you want to join to go to college for free and ensure you don't deploy, they will probably show you the door. Most of these units have 95%+ capacity filled and the retention rates are unheard of. They are arguably the best kept secrets in the military, especially if you can make it your full time job.

 

does having about 43 college credits amount to anything when enlisting in the USAF at all?

 

anyone know?

 

It will get you an automatic promotion to E-3 (A1C) upon completion of Basic Training, but so will enlisting for 6 years.

I counsel a lot of young Airmen about getting a commission or staying enlisted and my best piece of advice to you is this:
If you're content staying in school at the moment, I'd stay in school and enroll in ROTC. When you're finished, you'll be comissioned as a 2nd Lt in the US Air Force. I didn't read what your getting you're degree in. If you decide to Enist now, you're setting yourself back about a year minimum with your school (Basic Training, Tech School, CDC Course enrollment) The Air Force is downsizing at the moment so it's a bit harder to get in. With that, we don't need as many officers which makes it harder to get a comission if you're already Enlisted. However I also say that the military is cyclical. It goes and comes in waves. I came in in 1994, and then we were downsizing, then we had retention problems in the late 90's, then Sept 11th happened and we had no problems with retention. You have to be honest with yourself, if you're goal is to get your degree, then I would wait until you finish before joining and go officer. If you're sick of school or aren't cutting the ropes in class, then enlist now. I don't regret one moment of my Air Force career and have loved every moment of it. In fact I'm heading to Afghanistan next week for 6 months. If you have any questions, PM me

Steve

 

i won't be staying in school, college really hasn't worked out for me...as soon as the summer ends I'm going to start seriously going to the recruiters office to get the ball rolling to enlistment..

ps, good luck out there man, stay safe!

 

Stevie, OPSEC, seriously man.

 

No OPSEC Violation here brother. No date, time or destination disclosed. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Why wait for the summer to end? You can always go to the recruiter now and do delay enlistment. Most likely you will be in Delayed Enlistment anyways. The last I heard average wait time was 8 months from enlisting to going to basic. If you are serious about joining, get your name on the waiting list for the job of your choice.

 

Yeah, a country isn't a location, next week isn't a date, 6 months isn't a duration, and langley afb isn't a departure point. How ridiculous of me to think that everything there could give away anything about any upcoming deployment. Especially, on a public forum. Suggest you edit and get op to do the same.

 

wow, i knew there was a waiting list, but didn't know it was that long.... ill have to go talk to my recruiter this week to see what my options are

 

Again man thanks for the concern, but it is unecessary. There is no personal information given to disclose any troop movement (time, exact date of deployment, base deploying to), port of call (place leaving) or flight times/travel itinerary. If you really feel concerned email me on the AF global. There are general announcements on the news when Navy Ships leave for deployment and length of tour, all blessed by PA. There was no disclosure of personal information as mentioned earlier, but again thanks being a good Wingman and giving me the heads up.

 

^^

 

Hey man, I still say tough it out and get the degree to commission, but if you decide to enlist understand that the recruiter does not know everything about every job. If you get a job selection that interests you, ask us about the job before you sign the papers. Forums like this can help you see what the job is all about first.

 

i just can't afford college anymore, and financial aid is not working for me either.... but i did have a few jobs in mind that i'd like to know more about...

in flight refueling
aircraft loadmaster
airfield management
Aerospace Propulsion, Turboprop and Turboshaft Propulsion
tactical aircraft maintenance
air transportation
fuel specialist
aerial gunner

those are in order from most wanted to to wanted...but not like i wouldn't want the job

 

Alright, I will run down your jobs for you.
In flight refueling = boom operator. Good job for being in the AF but you have no chance of a job on the outside (unless flying gas station attendant is a job???).
Loadmaster-- Need prior MX experience to become one, same with flight engineer.
Airfield management-- Great job since it does float right over to a great civilian job.
Aerospace Propulsion= Jet troop. Great job, but any MX job does not directly equate to a civilian job of any sort. Still need an A&P license to do the same job in the real world. Good job though to play on jets.
Tactical Acft MX= crew chief--believe this one is on fighters. Get to have a jet with your name on it, but the traveling is minimized. If you want to travel more, become a CC on heavies.
Aerial Gunner--Great AF job, training sucks though.
Air Transportation--flight attendant.
Fuels Specialist--Don't even think about this one brother. You play with petrol products all day long.

 

so it seems like airfield management is a good job... but how do i become a CC? and what kind of exp do i need to get a loadmaster job

 

CC = crew chief. You just have to find which one it is. 2A5X1 is a CC AFSC http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforceenlistedjobs/a/afjob2a5x1.htm
To be a load master or a flight engineer you need to work on airplanes first. Loadmaster not so much, but it helps you get the job.

And I would say airfield management would be your best bet for a high paying job in the future unless you can get school done and become an O.