How many former Air Force do we have here?

I always said I did 22 years, my dad was a lifer (23 years) and I did 4 as an 81150A, Security Police Patrol Dog Handler from '73-'77. Not the best time to be in the military, the country was fed up with the Vietnam War and there wasn't much love for military members. I'm to independent to be a lifer, I ask why to much I guess, but don't begrudge my time at all. Went to college and finished my B.S. after my hitch, so I always figured it was a fair trade, 4 for 4.

It's probably the least martial of all the services, and a good place to learn a trade and get some travel. I saw lots of places in my 22 years affiliated with Air Force, and most of it was sure interesting, besides I've always been an airplane junkie, so loved being around the hardware.

Take care...
 
Join USAF and see Bexar County !!

I joined the USAF in 1979 and saw different parts of Lackland for four years: 1) go thru basic, 2) get on bus and go SP/LE Tech school, 3) get on bus and go to Camp Bullis, 4) get on bus again and go become permanent party at Lackland's 3700 SPS (work gates, patrol, and confinement). Get honorable discharge and leave to go home to Massachusetts. Also spent one year in Mass Air National Guard, at Otis ANGB. Did not care to be a part time warrior, so I got out.
 
I was a genuine AFD [Air Force Dependent, for those who don't know] and spent time overseas in Europe with my spouse and children. I'm the niece of an Air Army B17 pilot, sister-in-law of an AF enlisted man, and the mother of a potential flight surgeon [she's not sure of her posting yet]. Although I was never officially "active duty", I did learn a lot about the Air Force.

If your daughter understands authority and can follow directions without arguing, she may fit well with the Air Force. If she is a totally independent thinker, it may not be such a good fit. She also has to be able to put up with some foolishness too--any large structural organization has its crazy moments.

Do get everything in writing as far as the type of job she is looking at--or she may end up doing almost anything north of the arctic circle.

One nice thing about the Air Force is that you don't have to coordinate your clothing for work everyday--the choices were made for you.
 
Retired Air Force. 22 years 2 months 22 days.

1955-1977

It was a great life. I did two tours with B-52's in SAC. A 3 years hitch in a bomb dump in France. Five years in the Pentagon in Air Force Intelligence Collection. Ten years in the Air Force Satellite Control Facility in Sunnyvale, CA.........

Then moved directly into a job with a local contractor for another 20 years.

It was a fun career!!!!!!!!!
 
Started out in the Marine Reserves and tried to go AD Marine but it was a numbers game at the time so I ended up AD AF. Spent the first 8 years in Supply, then 3 years as a Facility Manager of a Missile site and then the last 8 years as Missile Maintenance.

I loved the Marine Corps but the Air Force has been good too. Got to live in Alaska, Germany, Montana, North Dakota and traveled all over Europe, Russia and of course the USA.

Any young person who has a sense of adventure and is a hard worker I would highly recommend the military. Good Times!
 
1981-1992, Spent more than eight years in Okinawa. Should have stayed in to retire. Hind sight is 20/20.

Used to build 500 lb and 2000 lb bombs and missles for the F15/16's. Not much use for that in the civilian world.

Still, would do it again in a heartbeat.
 
Don't forget Johnnie Cash, Mel Tillis, and Jimmy Stewart. Keep shootin'
 
22 years active duty and 11 years teaching Air Force JROTC in high school. I miss it everyday, but at least I still wear the uniform every day. My oldest son enlisted after high school and has 2 years in now as a firefighter--he loves it and Im very proud of him, and even a little jealous.
 
She needs to work really hard on the ASVAT test and score as high as possible.
The higher the score, the better the schools she will be offered.
Both the AF and Navy have some top notch tech schools and this is how a recruit gets into them.
Before enlisting in any branch of the U.S. Military, you must take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which covers four critical areas: arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension and mathematics knowledge.
 
For the record, 24 years, five months, eight days. All in all, a privilege.
For the OP: make sure your daughter gets everything in writing from the recruiters. ASVAB scores are important, but GPA and advanced studies are as important. Pre-nursing w/3.9+ GPA is a fast track for AFROTC & commission if she wants to be an officer. After she does the initial tour (and does well) she'll have lots o' options. And... USAF will pay for all her certifications. Nice chunk of change there ;)
 
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Even tho this thread is several years old...USAF has the second best mess halls. First being the submarines of course (how else you going to get them in that thing). We also have the best quarters for enlisted, beautiful WAFs, and if you want to go big & bad, go Para Rescue.
 
When I was stationed at Charleston AFB my nephew was thinking about joining the Navy. I told my mom to send down to Charleston and I'd drive him around the Navy base there, which looked like an industrial waste processing facility, and then drive him around the AFB, which looks like a country club.

I did 20 years- three as a jet mech at Travis. cross-trained to Flight Engineer and did ten in Charleston, and the rest at McChord in Washington. I saw more of the world in the last 17 years of my time than almost anyone in any other branch of the military. The flyers go everywhere.
 
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Got drafted in '65, pre-empted and went USAF air/security police for 4. It was--eventful. Like everything else, some ups, some downs.

After HS I had nothing going, and unbeknownst to my folks I had already decided to go down and enlist in the AF. At the same time they asked me if I wanted to go to college. So--I did.

Always thought I should have gone with my first notion, grown up some, and maybe THEN gone to college...

A hitch in the service doesn't necessarily work miracles, but for a lot of us, it's a really, really good thing. Wish more people knew that.
 
I retire from the AF in 2003 after spending a career in it. I was initially assigned to the USAF Security Service and was posted to NSA. After 4 years of AF Intelligence at NSA, my career in the Black Air Force began. I was involved in the shadowy world of intelligence and information gathering, even included working with the SR71s. Very interesting career as we knew what was really going on the world.
 
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