Anybody in the military or military knowledge

Originally Posted by wontonjon

Late to the party an didnt read all 5 pages but I sum up some salient points made by others...

- if you can commission as an officer, it'd be hard to pass that and go enlisted. I have the utmost respect for my fellow NCOs, but as someone mentioned, it's hard to pay the bills as an e1-4. I've also worked with many an enlisted with a degree - they sometimes have a hard time connecting/meshing with their younger counterparts in training. Think 17-18year old straight out of HS or with GED vs you with a degree. Sometimes it just doesn't jive well.

- flying a desk is inevitable as an officer...especially as you're set on the AF (unless that changed through the 5 pages).

- keep the questions coming and if you have any specific ones, feel free to PM.

----and congrats on retirement Swish!!! I am finishing up my final week of terminal leave before separating. Am having a tough time with letting go oddly enough!

Thanks, and CONGRATS Sir!!! I retired 1 Sept and I still miss being in. The USAF is without a doubt one of the greatest fraternities you could even belong to, and when its gone, a small piece of me died. Hopefully we can meet up one day as retirees and grab some lunch/beer!

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

Hello again everyone, I come bearing updates: (Swish I STILL am meaning to get around to calling you )

With my graduation this upcoming spring season, I've been forced to do some serious thinking about a lot of things. I will cut to the chase, I've decided I am enlisting in the Air Force

But you'll have a bachelors degree!?
True. Which is good because now I'll start at E3, with my intention on having a career in the military, I have no need to rush into becoming an officer just yet.

Why not wait until you can commission and just get a civilian job?
Another option I thought heavily about, but I'll have a degree in Psychology, which essentially requires graduate school to get a job in any reputable field. I am just simply done with school, I'm going to beast out my senior year, and thats going to be that. Some people are just done with school, others can go on to graduate and post graduate... Not this guy. I'm not bad in school either, just simply done with this part of my life.

Why do I want to enlist over commissioning into another service?
Student loans will begin to collect 6 months post graduation. I'll owe my school about $30k which isn't bad at all now a days for college debt. That said, I need to leave before this time period so that I can begin to pay off college debt promptly. The waiting list for the Air Force OTS is far past 6 months, and to be honest the only other service I would consider commissioning into would be the Army, but I'm not sure that its for me. All in all, my GPA is not impressive enough to commission right now being its a 3.0 out of 4.0 with a major in a non technical field.

Whats the dream sheet look like?
If all goes the way I plan it, which I know is rare, I will enlist in the AF. I very much want to be part of enlisted Air Crew, with most preference on becoming an aircraft loadmaster. I will put Travis AFB as my #1 base on my dream sheet where I could be stationed with my little brother, a C-17 Crew Chief. I want to be enlisted and work with my hands, travel the world, maybe get overseas for a tour or two, and then in at the end of my 4 year enlistment, my college debt will be history, I'll have benefits established, a future setup fpr myself, and then attempt to commission with prior enlistment on my record. If not, I'll evaluate if I want to enlist again. By that time, my current girlfriend will have graduated the same college I am about to, and (not jinxing this) I will ask her to marry me and move out with me. This is the one thing I am sure of at this point.

Talked to my recruiter, this coming fall break from classes is when I'll go take my ASVAB and physical and such.

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who posted in this thread with ideas and different routes. I continue you to please keep them coming because I know many many people find themselves in the same situation as me and could benefit from this thread. Thanks very much guys.

Call whenever man! PS: Mrs Swish is now a USAF recruiter in Houston Tx. If you have any questions for her also, you have my number. You made a great choice with the USAF!

Hey everyone, updating this thread a little bit:


I'm going through MEPs January 7th (ASVAB), and have my physical on the 8th for Air Force enlistment. I would like to discuss a little bit about Air Force careers with you guys, because as of late, I've been re considering my plan to become a loadmaster. My little brother and I have been discussing this (he's a current AF crew chief for those not caught up) and being a loady, all I'd be doing is flying and traveling. Wouldn't get much time to myself, at home base, and unable to form a routine for myself job wise, not really worth the committment if I'd really never have much time around base. I have a woman too that if all goes well, I'd be getting on one knee for within a year or two, and having that on the back of my mind really makes me question whether I want to be traveling around the world as a career for the next 4+ years. Add all that together with being a loady probably doesn't yield a lot of transferable skills.


I know for sure that I'm not interested in the administrative field, but all else I'd like to look into (within the Air Force) I haven't read the thread in a while, I'll give it a good re-read now. Thanks guys

What do you want to do?
How do u see yourself when u think about your military career.
If u see yourself with a 9-5 then yeah skip any flying job. Look for something in a lab or a office. None destructive testing or bio chem or some crap.
But if you want to do something else. Something that is more directly Impacting the mission, then u can forget about the 9-5 type hours.

for the love of god do not enlist to be a nuclear engineer in the navy program, you will love your life by doing so

I enlisted today. Got sworn in at MEPs! Its official!


I got an 88 on asvab, and a perfect 100 on the physical. Liaison said he's not even going to council me on jobs, just go home and pick out which one I like best and when I feel like leaving. Feeling really good right now.