My husband wants to join the US Air Force or Navy.....

[Jeannaisais]

Tell me if I should be freaking out or encouraging him to do so? He pulled one of my strings that with the Air Force he might get stationed overseas and I could travel, which it is a huge dream of mine to be a world traveler so.....yeah....ummm....

 

GO!

[wheeloftime13]

well... if you join any of them you can travel, but if your husband were to join the army or navy, he'd more than likely be gone more unless he had a job like my dad's... if he were to do air force, he'd  get to choose to fly airplanes or stay in an office... the office is generally better and more for technology and math people... army and marines are more likely to go overseas and fight... navy will be on the water/ships.... but it's just from personal experience that i've told you what I know... however, i'm sure that if someone in the military were to talk to you, they'd give you better tips...

[Christine]

Listen to me, and I am a Marine's Wife, and a Sailor's Daughter.

 

 

Air Force.  You want Air Force.  Shortest deployments, and nicer things.  Is he smart?  Not to be rude, but getting promoted in the AF is due to whether or not he is smart.  The AF does more traveling than the rest.  

[Andrej]

I would agree that the AF would be the most preferable. He'll get bagged on by us Marines, but deep down it's really just because we're jealous because our lives suck lol

[Karasayl]

As an Airman I can fully assure you that the USAF is the way to go! If you have some specific questions, drop me a line- I'd be happy to help Jean!

[Davrick]

Hmm I have two friends in the marines and another in the Chair force lol. Currently the one in the chair force is stationed in Germany.

[Ryrin]

My son is in the Air Force. My father was in the Air Force. Air Force is the way to go.

[Jeannaisais]

Listen to me, and I am a Marine's Wife, and a Sailor's Daughter.

 

 

Air Force.  You want Air Force.  Shortest deployments, and nicer things.  Is he smart?  Not to be rude, but getting promoted in the AF is due to whether or not he is smart.  The AF does more traveling than the rest.  

 

I spent an hour looking through both website earlier today and the more I looked, the more I liked what he would do in the AF and how often i would get to see him. He already has his bachelor's degree in Telecommunications and is brilliant in Math, but not the best at reading or test taking and I'm worried that might hurt him....

 

I would agree that the AF would be the most preferable. He'll get bagged on by us Marines, but deep down it's really just because we're jealous because our lives suck lol

 

At first he wanted Navy, but a friend of his who is in the Marines I believe told him he would be perfect for the Air Force...especially with his degree in Telecommunications.

 

As an Airman I can fully assure you that the USAF is the way to go! If you have some specific questions, drop me a line- I'd be happy to help Jean!

 

I have lots and lots of questions lol As in two pages worth - and those are questions that come off of looking through the FAQ pages....I know nothing about the military so I'm starting from scratch here...

 

Hmm I have two friends in the marines and another in the Chair force lol. Currently the one in the chair force is stationed in Germany.

 

I honestly hope you mean Air Force Dav, lol! And I saw there is an AFB in Italy, UK, Germany and France - I would love to have him stationed at any of those so I could travel through Europe again!!

[Davrick]

Chair force is a nickname I've heard for the Air Force.

[Jeannaisais]

ooohhh okay then, interesting. 

[Christine]

Airforce is what you do if you are smart. Navy is what you do if you want to work with Nukes or be on a boat. You go Army if you justdon't care. Marines is if you want to blow things up, beat people up, or just drink way too much.

[Jeannaisais]

Well, sounds like we're going to be talking to an Air Force recruiter in the near future. Any advice for that meeting? Also, we're curious about on base housing....?

[Andrej]

All of that will get sorted out once he joins and actually reaches his first duty station, wherever that may be. Depending on the contract he signs for whichever job, he'll have to first go through boot camp and then complete his job training schools before he gets stationed anywhere for a long period of time. Usually the first 6 months to a year he'll be going through school and I doubt they would allow him to bring you along.

[Christine]

AJ, the chairforce is a bit different when it comes to spouses.  There was someone on DM that was at a schoolhouse for 8 months, and they moved his wife with him.  

 

 

Regardless, he will get all of the info about housing.  If you live on base, then you get no housing allowance.  If there is no availability for base housing (but there normally is for AF) then you will get a housing allowance.  Also, you can enter Tricare once he has joined.  I don't care what insurance you have now, it isn't better than tricare.

[Moon Sedai]

Listen to me, and I am a Marine's Wife, and a Sailor's Daughter.

 

 

Air Force.  You want Air Force.  Shortest deployments, and nicer things.  Is he smart?  Not to be rude, but getting promoted in the AF is due to whether or not he is smart.  The AF does more traveling than the rest.  

Sorry. Saw this and had to agree. 

Army Vet. Wife of a Vet. Daughter, granddaughter, niece, and daughter-in-law to Vets.

 

Air Force. 

 

They have less focus on the Physical side of military life. And the smart thing. Yeah. Brains over Brawn. 

 

 

I should've gone airforce. 

[Christine]

Always welcome in a thread like this, Moon.  Had she posted this at the WT, you would have def responded.  All good.

 

 

Everything Air Force is way nicer.

[Andrej]

Damn Airmen...

[F Horn of Valere]

Most of this has already been said or alluded to... but between Air Force and Navy, with no consideration of MOS.. AIR FORCE.

 

Why Air Force?

 

1. Deployments don't happen as often. In the Navy, unless you are lucky enough to get stationed at a base garrison and not a ship, you could be out to sea up to 6 months per year.

 

2. Way better for families and a healthy marriage... see #1. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'd bet money that Navy has a higher divorce rate.

 

3. Air Force is known as the Chair Force for a reason... it is a lot less physically demanding (though it should be noted that Navy is a lot less physically demanding as well... just not nearly as much as the AF.) Everyone ribs on the Air Force, but that is only because we are actually jealous. We might be proud to be tougher, but we are still jealous anyways, even if we don't always admit it.

 

4. All branches have some fun overseas assignments, but the Air Force is better than Navy for getting the family to come along to good places abroad. 

 

5. Promotion is less of a pain. (The scan-tron tests that Navy does are a huge pain, I hear. Note: This is on the enlisted track. I don't know a thing about promotions for the officer track.)

 

6. He won't have to call a bathroom a "Head." That is just silly! You know what else is silly? Calling a floor in a barracks-- on LAND-- a "deck."

 

7. Air Force bases have some nicer perks... AF has a reputation from being higher maintenance, but that is great since it usually translates into better amenities. For instance, in Korea, even the Army camps 4 hours away organized trips to the AF base because its base exchange was twice the size of any others in the country. Their base there is also huge. 

 

 

 

So, somewhat related to all that, here are a couple other suggestions:

 

1. Go the Officer route at all costs. ALL costs. WAY better pay, way better life. Life sucks as lower-enlisted, or even mid-enlisted sometimes. Both have their own issues, but even without the pay, there are enough perks gained and annoyances cast aside if he goes that route, even though it is a bit more difficult at the start, due to the selection process and some of the schooling. Besides, the ranks are way cooler. (Air Force enlisted ranks are as silly as the Navy's term for a bathroom.)

 

2. Go Active Duty if at all possible. Reserves are great if you are just taking a break for education and don't want a break in service, or if you love the idea of getting paid less, proportionately (technically you get paid the same, but the higher the rank you are, the more "off the clock" duties you will inevitably receive. A career can be a huge pain depending on your  civilian employment circumstances.) Also Active Duty is WAY better for retirement... more money, and you get paid right away instead of when reaching age 65.

 

3. At MEPS (where you sign up), play hard-to-get. Make a list of your top three assignments (places to be stationed) and top three jobs. (Ask the recruiter for some help for job suggestions that will actually have openings. If you go the officer route, you only need a list of top three assignments.) If they won't offer you one of your top three IN WRITING in your contract, pretend you have second thoughts. Only give in if they don't stop you after standing up to leave, in which case you should quickly change your mind about leaving, but if they need the numbers, they will cave in.

[Jeannaisais]

We've decided we're going to set up a meeting with an AF recruiter that's nearby and ask them all of our questions as well to see what might happen.

 

And Horn, in response to number 2 for other suggestions: He has his Bachelors of Arts in Telecommunication, has been working at Wal-Mart for a year with the only absence being for bereavement and getting married, and the only debt we have is his student loans. So, career path should be okay for him or is it still going to be a pain? Because that's what is spurring him right now....

[Jeannaisais]

Its Bachelors of Science in Mass Communications. 

[F Horn of Valere]

It doesn't matter what college degree he has (except that it is a good indicator of what he will enjoy). There are two (either-or) benefits to a degree:

1.You can skip the first few ranks on the enlisted side (not sure about AF, but Army starts at E-4. I know at least one other branch starts at E-3. You basically skip the ranks that are easy to get, but are a pain because they require a certain amount of time spent in that rank before promotion.)

 

2. A degree is the main prerequisite for becoming an officer.

 

 

Check to see what kind of student loan repayment program the AF has and shop around. The Army has a great program that will repay 1/3 of your loan for each year of Active Duty service... see if the AF has something similar. If not, you'll also need to weight the pros and cons of an easier job vs. someone paying off his student loans.

[Jeannaisais]

So, basically a degree makes it much more likely for him to be an officer sooner. Got it.

[Christine]

Uhh... no.


Look, either you join as Enlisted, or you join as an Officer. That's it. There isn't a shift between the two.  If he joins as Enlisted, he won't one day be an Officer. Well, you can be a Warrant Officer, but you do that after eight years of being in, and you still aren't really an officer.

[F Horn of Valere]

He could still try for the officer route if going enlisted... it is just a huge pain. Most people who go officer after enlisted do it because they realized it was a mistake to start enlisted! But college is a requirement for officer route OR it removes some of the early annoyances of enlisted (though it is little impact in the long run.)

[Christine]

I say just go for officer. More money and better living. I wish Jon had gone officer, but as he (and Gibbs) says, "I work for a living".