Yes, I was in the Air Force. No, I was not a pilot.

[JamesArthur60]

Veterans: Anyone in the AF besides me notice this? When I do wear my USAF cap, someone always seems to ask me: were you in the Air Force, were you a pilot? Hello people, the vast majority of airmen are not pilots. Do guys in the Army get the question, were you in the infantry, a sniper or in a tank? Navy, were you on a aircraft carrier or sub? Marines, do you drive a hummer? Coast Guard, were you a land, sea rescuer? My guess is the overall public associate each branch of the military with a specific task. Anyway, I know this is a pointless post, but I'm curious if other cap wearing vets get dumb questions. I must admit however, I've had a few say, thanks for your service (which was decades ago). It's still nice to hear.

 

[Jyezahn]

Yes, I was in the Air Force. No, I was not a REMF.

And, yes, I get asked all the time if I was a pilot, or what plane did I fly.

 

[labworm]

Ran into a few Air Force helicopter crews that were refueling in Nam, I wouldn't want to mess around with, enjoyed conversing with them.

How about, you were in the cavalry, did you ride a horse?

 

[J Rich]

Everyone knows. All Air Force guys are Pilots, Navy guys are boat Captains, Marines are Snipers, and Army guys drive tanks.


J/K.... My Cousin was a Nurse in Desert Storm for the USAF. My Brother worked in a bomb warehouse and worked in the post office for the USAF. Yes! They get dumb questions too.

 

[mkk41]

Was chatting it up with an attractive gal at a bar one time and she pointed to my Navy Vet hat and asked if I was in the Navy!

Then she said her brother was in the navy and asked what ship I was on.
Told her I was mostly an aircrewman on P-3s.(pointing to my wings)

her, (confused look) "P-3?"

me, "That's an airplane".

her, "The Navy has airplanes?"

Me, "Yeahhh!"

her, "But I thought the Navy all ships and the Air Force had all the airplanes?"

It went downhill from there!

 

[feralmerril]

I was a fat night watchman. If you knew where and when to look I might have been found snoozeing on the chief test pilots chair with my feet on his desk at 3 am with a six foot sub and watermellon nearby. (We called them power naps). Did you ever ask a kid what they wanted to be when they grew up? I wanted to be a night watchman or bridge tender. By the way I used to guard those P-3s. No wonder my hearing is bad!

 

[NCTexan]

Would you like this better?

You were in the Air Force?

Did you fly a desk?

 

[dpowers311]

My dad was in the Air Force. I bought an Air Force cycling jersey out of respect for all he has done for me. I always get asked in a group ride if I served.
Dave

 

[pluspea]

My Son was the only A.F. guy in army ranger training, kept referring it as the chair force for some reason. They also shouted at him while climbing a mountain, hey air force, sing the air force song on you're way up.

 

[Texas Star]

If I wear a vet cap, I occasionally get thanked for my service, but no one ever asks what I did in the USAF. (Cop)

What does bug me is when newscasters talk about a member of the military and call him an airman in one sentence, a soldier in the next. Sometimes, the marines come out a little better, but most newspeople seem not to know or care a lot about the military. I think very few of the current crop have served. Indeed, they seem to have grown up with liberal values that made them look down on the armed forces.

But I was quite touched when I wore a vet cap to the free Veteran's Day meal at Applebee's last year. I took a taxi and the driver asked about my service and refused to accept payment when I told him and explained about the Appleee's offer. I thought he might be from Kuwait or some other nation that has benefitted from US military help. He was from Ethiopia, but wanted to express his thanks for our military and for his being able to come here.

Generally, I don't wear those vet caps a lot. They make me feel old and I don't especially want to attract attention or flaunt my service. I don't even use the avatars here that many do. But no matter which cap I wear, not many people seem to notice. I have one from Zeiss Optical that never draws a blink. I don't think most even know much about binocular brands. I do sometimes get asked about a Smithsonian cap that my son bought me on his way home from Iraq, or one from NASA.

 

[shouldazagged]

I was at a local Steak 'N' Shake recently with a friend and her middle-aged daughter, when a very frail old man was helped to a table nearby by two women who might have been granddaughters. He was wearing a "World War II Veteran" cap. I didn't care what he did in that war, some of which I remember, and all of which I've studied a lot. I got up from my seat, walked over to him, and snapped off a salute. He loved it, and began to tell me the entire story of his combat experiences. About that time his food arrived and I excused myself, but I wish I'd gotten his phone number so I could have called and listened to his stories.

I like thanking vets, whatever they did in their country's service.

 

[Texas Star]

My Son was the only A.F. guy in army ranger training, kept referring it as the chair force for some reason. They also shouted at him while climbing a mountain, hey air force, sing the air force song on you're way up.

Why was he in Ranger training? Is he on a Combat Control Team? In covert ops? Just curious.

 

[BillyMagg]

My dad was in the Air Force. I bought an Air Force cycling jersey out of respect for all he has done for me. I always get asked in a group ride if I served.
Dave

Thank you all for your service, I am the Air Force Brat on the Sino D forum. It is an innocent question, I was always disgusted to be called an Army Brat. My little brother and I were both private pilots. My Dad's flight engineer was always his best friend, Jim Dobson, and John Daily were stand-out gentlemen, their sons were my best friends. My Dad always wanted to be a pilot, had been talking to an Air Force Recruiter, but then got a draft notice from the Army, Recruiter told him to ride the army troop train to St. Louis, the recruiter meet him there and spirited him away. He was a radio, then radar operator, then accepted into the cadet program, he never forgot where he came from. He was a true patriot, loved the Air Force, loved flying the most......I am disgusted that the modern Air Force seems to have forgotten their real reason for existance, airsuperiority is a game changer, for all those who are serving or have served thank-you for your service and bless you for guarding our freedoms, I never forget who pays the price... Billy Magg

 

[SmithNut]

Now I'm confused.....

I never thought all Air Force guys were pilots, thought they were all golfers......

Never met an Air Force person who didn't know how to golf.... and well....

 

[thomasinaz]

I spent 8 years as an SP; walked around a bunch of planes, never rode in one. I don't think I've ever been asked what I flew or if I was a pilot.... Maybe I don't have that pilot look.

 

[bgrafsr]

I never thought all Air Force guys were pilots, thought they were all golfers......

Never met an Air Force person who didn't know how to golf.... and well....

.

I didn't golf. I was a "sky cop", and I gave tickets to speeding pilots, if I could catch their aircraft.

 

[Damn Yankee]

My daughter was in the Air Force for 26 yrs. The first 8 I would ask questions and she would say "Sorry dad I can't tell you"
She was a Ballistic Missile Tech on a Titan 2

Last 18 Load master on a C130. Now there she can tell some tales.

 

[carpriver]

Never learned to shot golf

I was career Air Force, I wear a Air Force Cap or a Viet Nam Vet cap. When I wear my Air Force I get the pilot question, If a Air Force Vet asks me anything it's where did you serve. If I wear my Viet Nam Vet hat I get asked what branch or where did I serve. But mostly I get "thanks for your service". I am proud of my service to my country, I wear my hats and fly an American Flag every day. When I see a WWII vet I will go out of my way to thank him for his service and tell him he is one of my hero's. And I was always busy doing my job to learn to shot golf.

 

[pluspea]

Why was he in Ranger training? Is he on a Combat Control Team? In covert ops? Just curious.

No he is in security forces at Moody AFB. He has been to airborne school, and his captain felt like he would be good at ranger training. They have a few slots they have to fill and they encouraged him to go, man what intense training they put those guy's through, I salute him for making it through the course. Here are a couple of pics I took at graduation.

 

[pluspea]

I know a guy locally that was a golf instructor in the Airforce, can't imagine a better job.