Stay in the mil or get out?

Well, I have 10 months left in the military. Was Totaly planning on getting out and going to school full time for three years. I have been playing around with the idea of re enlisting, but the kicker is I am stationed in Cali and my wife and step duaghter have to live in Idaho due to a visitaion agrement with my step duaghter's real dad. Was totaly going to get out to live with them and be a family. We had a plan all laid out for what we were going to do. Now we are starting to freak out with the way the market is and all. And my wife says if I get out I have to get rid of my truck too! I think that last part pushed me to try to get orders to the base in Idaho. 4 more years. uhhh. Anyone been to Mountain Home? How is it? Im a Jet Eng Mech. I will prob go to 16s. Im going to go try for a B.O.P. What ya all think?

 

bro this is totally your call, its a big life change. Its not like you are debatting on what rims to put on your truck here. Good luck with everything!

 

What he said Thanks for your service!

 

Mt Home is cold in the winter and hot and brown in the summer. There is nice areas around there and really cool stuff to see and do. I understand about staying in. Im in Iraq, had to do one more till the jobs open up again. Benefits and that paycheck every two weeks is tough to let go of. Good luck deciding.

 

So your at Beale?

 

Yeah man...It's a big life choice so you gotta talk with the wife an make the best decision for your family.
If you have the $$ to keep your life going and cover school (New GI Bill, right??)...Go for it. Unless you have a solid plan that you know you can make work- I'd stay in. It's a job, health care, etc etc.

Best of luck making your choice.

 

Well....that's a tough one.

I would think - your financial situation is a priority to help support the family.
If staying in the army supports your wife/family in Idaho and they're OK about the overall situation.....Then I'd stay in the army. Trying to find a job with this economy sucks. If you don't have $$, you can't necessarily afford to go to school either. Atleast it's 4 years - and hopefully the economy will get better by that time.You're already skilled Mech - so hopefully the job market will open up by that time also.

It sucks that you can't spend time with your family -but- sometimes, you've gotta do what you gotta do to put food on the table, shelter, and clothes,etc. You're working hard in the army to make sure your family is taken care of.

 

dude if your WIFE has custody of the child then the real father needs to make it out to where she is not the other way around. my .02

 

cant go wrong with the northwest, and you wont enjoy your taco any more than you will in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana... I say work on some F-16s and enjoy the beuty of the NW...

 

I've got 22 yrs in the AF at the moment, did the recruiting thing many moons ago...I got calls every week for guys wanting back in that got out for similar reasons you are considering.

My advice to you from a SNCO, is you need to look at the big picture, focus on how you are going to get there and then do what it takes. If you don't have anything solid and are looking at a lot of uncertainty, you'd better stay where you are. You can then try to work the system to get you orders to MH.

Not sure why so many get hung up on the enlistment/reenlistment deal. You've got a guarenteed job for the next X years...try that in the civilian community. If you don't like what you do, cross-train, if you don't like where you are at, work the orders system, in the mean time, take advantage of what the AF can offer you and take strides in advancing yourself professionally AND personally.

.02

PM me if you need to, be more than happy to talk with you if needed.

 

+1.

I'm retiring this Dec after 24 years in. I finally reached a point where I'm comfortable leaving, even if the economy news is bad. But things are also looking up a bit.

I'm also an IT/Project management kind of guy, so I won't have many issues finding work.

In the end, just educate yourself and do what's right for you. When you do bail, be ready for a big adjustment from lifestyle to finances.

 

I love my job and the security, I just am not a big fan of the military side of things. I give respect to all that deserve it, but at the same time I have never seena bigger group of educated idiots that the Air Force. There are 10 times the amount of people kissing ass and trying to look good for their bosses than there are poeple trying to get the job done right, and I hate it. Thats why I was planing on getting out. But I guess it's the same as the out side huh? I lived in Boise for 8 years before I joined so I am familer with the area. I was just wondering how Mountain Home itself was? Good Commander? Ass hat? I know it's going to be a change for me. Im comming off of heavys going to a fighter base. Big diffrence. Im still trying to get the paper work in so I don't even know if I can go yet. And I get deployed here in a month. "F" my life.

 

In most cases it is the same on the outside. I retired from the service in July 2007 & currently work for myself after a few civilian jobs all which had their share of office politics & BS. In two weeks, I am going back to work for DOD as a temp fed employee in IT, I cannot wait. FWIW, I was a 25A (Signal) with a functional area of 53 (Info Systems).