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Classic Thread - Why go Air Force?


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Because the AF honestly values your academic degree and carefully plans to maximize its use of each and every person's unique training.

But really: try interviewing with some guard and reserve units. They hire people directly off the street and send them to pilot training. Those dudes know exactly where they're going to live, what squadron they'll be in, what the mission is and what they're going to fly. If I had only known....

Before you start trying to interview though, read through this thread and think about where people are coming from. Repeat that process until it is funny to you. Guard and reserve units have the luxury of choosing people they can get along with. They'll know if you've failed to acquire a sense of humor...and then you might as well go live on a boat because they won't want you either.

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But really: try interviewing with some guard and reserve units. They hire people directly off the street and send them to pilot training. Those dudes know exactly where they're going to live, what squadron they'll be in, what the mission is and what they're going to fly. If I had only known....

Great advice until they turn your F-16 guard unit into a MQ-9 unit...

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It is funny how they messed this thread up. I'm sitting here cracking up at how they trolled me. I don't think what I posted was sh!t though. And I am going Navy cause it really appealed to me. I was wondering why everyone didn't want to go Navy. The whole carrier experience seems awesome. But maybe its awesome only as long as you don't have a family and all.

Not_sure_if_serious.jpg

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Also great advice until....

...your Hog unit transfers to F-15Cs (Barnes)

...your Hog unit transfers to C-21s (Bradley)

...your Hog unit transfers to UAVs (Ft Smith)

...your Hog unit closes (New Orleans, Willow Grove, Barksdale, Battle Creek)

...your Hog unit is under threat of closure or transfer to MC-12s (Selfridge, Ft Wayne)

Obviously just an example of the A-10 Guard/Reserve thrash, but LUGNUT is right, the claim that "dudes know exactly where they're going to live, what squadron they'll be in, what the mission is and what they're going to fly" is laughable these days.

Navy Reserve isn't much better.

VFA-201 went on a deployment cruise during OIF. They came back and not long after they were shut down. Their first notice was when they looked at the budget for the next FY and the numbers were zero'd out.

VAW-77 (E-2s) in New Orleans found out much the same way, although it started when a personnel chief noticed a lack of incoming full-timers... then they noticed their budget zeroed out. They're closing their doors next month.

Of course, none of these hire dudes off the street, but the Navy isn't much better.

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Not_sure_if_serious.jpg

Haha. I was laughing pretty hard, still laughing every time I look through this.

Also great advice until....

...your Hog unit transfers to F-15Cs (Barnes)

...your Hog unit transfers to C-21s (Bradley)

...your Hog unit transfers to UAVs (Ft Smith)

...your Hog unit closes (New Orleans, Willow Grove, Barksdale, Battle Creek)

...your Hog unit is under threat of closure or transfer to MC-12s (Selfridge, Ft Wayne)

Obviously just an example of the A-10 Guard/Reserve thrash, but LUGNUT is right, the claim that "dudes know exactly where they're going to live, what squadron they'll be in, what the mission is and what they're going to fly" is laughable these days.

Wouldn't they have to train the entire unit to operate and maintain the different kind of aircraft. Isin't this rather inefficient?

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Wouldn't they have to train the entire unit to operate and maintain the different kind of aircraft. Isin't this rather inefficient?

You DEFINITELY need to stay away from the Air Force. You don't have what it takes to be a leader in today's Air Force. You would never be promoted above Lt asking silly questions like this. :nob:

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#1 reason to become a USAF pilot is because these guys are honor bound to get you home if you become a pedestrian.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTc_lkuJWE8xeR3pJAXtYUQtcHFIvinKS9t9UPg2ZTSQZauz4Lr

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#1 reason to become a USAF pilot is because these guys are honor bound to get you home if you become a pedestrian.

https://encrypted-tb...UPg2ZTSQZauz4Lr

You can do that in the CG and Army WO. As a matter of fact, lot more opportunities to do stuff like that. Not knocking the CSAR, but I wouldn't put it in the #1 reason for USAF aspirants.

It's about dwell time at home, facilities and greater preponderance of fixed wing slots. The best paid regional airline, in essence.

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I got to hang with a E-2C squadron aboard the Kitty Hawk a long time ago.

One of the coolest experiences of my military career.

But I was damned glad that I knew it was for a finite length of time before going back to Kadena.

-Interchangeable water/JP-8 when showering - using something like a bar soda dispenser.

-Bunking with two other dudes in a space the size of a closet. Couldn't imagine repeated tours of that at 6-8 months per.

-If wanting any sort of promotion to O-4 or above having to do not only the queepy additional duties but also learning all the ship driving stuff - OOD, etc. Without doing that, you self-eliminate for promotion and command consideration.

I give kudos to the USN because, at the time anyway, they were very "the book only tells you what you can't do" mentality. If the book didn't say 'no,' you pressed. They treated their officers like grown-ups, but if you fcuked up, they hammered mercilessly.

They did not treat their enlisted like grown-ups. Man, that really sucked to live like that and be treated like that.

Some of us chose to turn right at the recuiters, some turned to the left.

And that made all the difference...

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