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Thank you flu189,
My friend is not interested in the Army.
She should get her citizenship first so
she can go OCS. But of course now in days
it could take up to 4 years to get approved
for American citizenship.
Some are due to the pressure of their "quota's" each month...but then again some are not..I served in this role for a few years and helped a good number of civilians with their enlistment process, ensuring they received what jobs they wanted "but based on their ASVAB scores" and were qualified for the program of choice, but always remember the "needs of the military are always first and foremost...
vette-dude
Well-said, Vette-dude! I had a super recruiter and have personally seen nothing but true professionalism in the Recruiting Services folks of all branches that I've dealt with. Are there recruiting scandals? Unfortunately. That's true of every occupation in the world.
Now, having said that, I think there's a lot to be said about the recruit "hearing only what he/she wants to hear" Certainly the recruiter offers good information. But you need to listen with your mind engaged, do some independent research on your own and have some idea what YOU want out of a militray career.
In both the military and my current career in the trucking industry, I've met folks that haven't done their homework before they sign on the dotted line. Most jobs involve commitment. And I've always believed that you should go into any job with your eyes wide open. (I still crack up at Goldie Hawn's line in "Private Benjamin"; "I joined the Army with the condos...")
Last edited by Crew Chief; 11-14-2008 at 12:47 PM..
Reason: "Speling"...
Thank you flu189,
My friend is not interested in the Army.
She should get her citizenship first so
she can go OCS. But of course now in days
it could take up to 4 years to get approved
for American citizenship.
Greenlabs, if your friend is fluent in a language other than English, that might open some really good opportunities in the military for her...
Greenlabs, if your friend is fluent in a language other than English, that might open some really good opportunities in the military for her...
I checked into it and her language is useless for the military
according to one Air Force Recruiter.
Anyways she is going to get her citizenship first and then try for OCS.
When she does get in, have her look into pay for foreign language fluency. I don't know if it is solely an enlisted pay, but you can get a bonus pay each month (not a huge amount but more than zero) for fluency in a foreign language.
The military can be kind of funny about recognizing foreign language ability. I have spoken a second language fluently my entire life and inquiries to have the DOD to even list me in the linguist pool have met with negative results, despite the language being spoken by a limited population and of a country now belonging to NATO, formerly under the sphere of the now defunct USSR. As far as citizenship goes certain positions will definately require US citizenship and some for a certain period of time. Way back in '65 my brother tried getting into the USAF but by not being a citizen he was out of luck. In '68, while still not a citizen, he was drafted by the US Army which had no issues having him as a non citizen until discharge in '71.
BTW, y'all, the Coast Guard has some great folks in aviation; they do everything from drug interdiction to search & rescue to other specialized missions!
BTW, y'all, the Coast Guard has some great folks in aviation; they do everything from drug interdiction to search & rescue to other specialized missions!
Little known fact about USCG aviators, Crew Chief; Coast Guard helicopter teams rescued more people from New Orleans when Katrina hit than all other service branches and organizations combined.
Little known fact about USCG aviators, Crew Chief; Coast Guard helicopter teams rescued more people from New Orleans when Katrina hit than all other service branches and organizations combined.
Great news! (although we shouldn't be surprised; that's what the Coast Guard does best!)
Oh YES the women in the Air Force do deploy and with more joint forces missions becoming the norm, the Air Force and the Army are doing more deployments together, which means LONGER deployments for AF members. They used to call us the "Chair Force" and joke about how we sat in our chairs while the Army fought the wars, but we're deploying just as much as the other branches are now and sometimes just as long or longer. My hubby did a joint forces mission with the Army in 2006 for 10 months and it was no joke. We used to be "last in, first out" and far from any dangerous zones, but he had suicide bombers trying to attack their base, they had guys setting up IEDs (improvised explosive devices) along the roads they convoyed on, it was not the "chair force" we enlisted in once upon a time. The AF does just as many dangerous missions as any other branch now and the women ride along on those convoys just the same as the men. When women enlist they sign on the same dotted line that the men do which means the same responsibilities that are required of the men. Same pay, same deployments, same-e same. The military is really hard for a lot of moms because when deployments come up they don't have any choice about going and have to have a family care plan for their kids, ie who will their kids live with while they're deployed and what would happen to their kids if (God forbid) they didn't make it home. That is REALLY hard for a lot of moms to think about. On the up side, the pay is stable, no layoffs, etc. the insurance is free and mostly good. The bad thing about enlisting so late in life is that the pay for an Airman basic is really not enough to support a family of 4 without her hubby being able to contribute. Not sure what kind of benefits he's receiving as a disabled vet, but I can't imagine it's a whole heck of a lot. I would suggest she look into the coast guard.
The Air Force is really becoming a lot like the Army and you mentioned she wasn't interested in the Army. We have so many friends who have been getting out of the AF for that exact reason. My hubby had 4 days notice before he was sent to deploy with the Army to an undisclosed location for an unknown amount of time. Did he enlist in the Army? No. But did he deploy just like the Army, yes. And as far as deployments depending on what job you do, sometimes that's not a guaranteed thing either. You never know what the needs of the military missions are going to be. My hubby is a computer guy and was sent to train the Iraqi army. Who knew that back when he enlisted and said "I want to be behind the scenes and work on the computer networks." that he'd end up doing something like that! That's just the way the AF is now. The army is just too short handed to do some of these missions on their own, so they're pulling from BOTH the Navy and the Air Force! When my hubby did that deployment with the Army there were Navy guys pulled into it and even some Marines. One guy was on terminal leave to retire from the Navy and they cancelled his leave, postponed his retirement and deployed him anyway!
Maybe the Coast Guard can offer some more guaranteed state side assignments. Or possibly consider working for the DOD (department of defense) as a civilian, good pay, less deployments. Just some insight from an ol' Air Force wife who's been at this gig for a long time, and seen lots of moms crying as they say goodbye to their babies on the tarmack when they're leaving for deployments, never really realizing that when they enlisted in the military they COULD actually in fact deploy to a war. Not to mention how hard it is on their kids. Just my opinion. Best of luck to your friend.
Last edited by MTI Wife; 12-14-2008 at 10:10 PM..
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AF is hard for single moms
