My sister is a single parents and considering joining the Air Force, can anyone share their experiences. Good or Bad, any information would be helpful.
120501
Single parents may not enlist in  ANY Active duty branch of the military.  They may NOT give up custody for the sole purpose of enlisting( the Marines make you wait 12 months after giving up custody before youy can even try to enlist).  you may NOT regain custody at all during your first term of enlistment( anywhere from 2-6 years.) \n\nThe Air Force RESERVE will take single parents.. HOWEVER, a rock solid family care plan must be in place at all times. Additionally.. the AF is overmanned, and can afford to be picky about who they will take.  Same with the Navy.
122710
My husband was an Air Force officer for 10 years and loved it.  Opportunities abound and the pay isn't bad in the officer ranks.  The Air Force has the most to offer in terms of recreation, housing and other amenities.  That's not just personal opinion, either.  While he was razzed for being in the "easiest" branch of the military, he did his time overseas and worked a lot of hours.  \n\nI'll take the nicer temporary housing and commissary any day of the week for a bit of razzing.
236486
At our base there is something called BOSS, better opportunity for single soldiers...they love it ..have all kinds of events and go all kinds of places..but thats army. when i was in the air force, we didnt have anything at my base..try the enlisted club to see if they have anything, or a local church has a singles thing. if there isnt anything, start something. BOSS is a huge thing here.
319706
I WAS in the CAP, but it's been a loooooong time ago (1954), and yes, it's a good place to start learning what the Air Force is all about. Join if you can. You won't be sorry, I'm sure.\n\nRetired Air Force MSgt
377074
My father-in-law joined the Air Force to "see the world", and he got stuck in Omaha.\n\nMe, I joined the Navy and visited several countries in Asia, visited Australia, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and several west coast cities in the U.S., not to mention Great Lakes, IL!\n\nBut that doesn't mean you can't travel in the Air Force. It all depends on what your job is. The best way to find out is to talk to people who are in, or just recently discharged. They probably won't feed you the BS like a recruiter will.
544284
thanks i am pretty awesome.\n\n\nseriously though  thanks to all who have served and are serving for our freedom. (to say the air force is a bunch of chumps), haaaaaaaaaaa.
587381
I am sudent at a Japanese university and right now i am studying Japanese.\n\nby the way cool job. I used to want to join the airforce too.\n\ngood luck.
215679
I am LDS (male, married with children) and have lived on Army, Navy and Airforce installations overseas for the last 10 years. If you have prayed about this and feel that it is right, then go for it. Much good can come from enlisting. However, I would strongly caution you to really find out God's will. Don't get me wrong. I think that the armed services are good and necessary. There are many financial and educational benefits to joining one of the branches of the service in addition to being able to serve your country, like the GI Bill, free housing, free health care, training, etc. \nI have seen however that these installations are often a place where drinking, partying, adultery, fornication, and general promiscuity run rampant. The deployments are long and often grueling. Soldiers frequently work on Sundays and are unable to attend meetings. Sprituality slowly erodes as you are constantly surrounded by foul language and behavior. There are also very few active LDS singles on many of these bases. \nIt is my opinion that the Air Force is the most family and LDS friendly of the branches of military. My personal recommendation from what I have seen, is that it is better to get one's college degree and then enter the service at a higher pay and rank rather than to enter as an enlisted soldier. I have only seen one active single female in my 10 years overseas.\n\nGood luck. Contact me at whapingmon@yahoo.com if you have additional questions.
184027
My Father retired from the Air Force, it provide he and the family opportunities that we may never have had. We got to live all over the world.  My Husband is Special Forces, Air Force.. He left after 2 years, but regrets not staying in longer.\n\nI think it takes a strong person, mentally and physically to give 4 years of their life to their country. Make sure you are doing this for you and not what others think you should do.
636388
I was in the Air Force and loved it.  If you're looking to get out into the wild and rough it a lot, then the AF isn't for you -- it's a bit more cushy.  But I had my share of field exercises as well, so it's not all easy.  I honestly can't think of any reasons NOT to join the AF, it was the smartest thing I ever did for myself.  But some other reasons to join any branch of the military would be the educational benefits, job training, early retirement (if you stay in long enough) and lifelong benefits, a sense of partriotism, job stability and the chance to travel/experience the world.  If you're already seriously considering joining, I don't think you'll be sorry if you do.  Good luck!
469688
You're going to love it. I grew up all over the world because my dad was in the Navy. N i had lots of friends that were in their late teens early 20s that were in the Navy. LOTS of girls do join the military..there's a good number of them. Its a lot of fun for them..they see the world..and its like being in college. Because you will live in a barracks. BEQ...Bachelors Enlisted Quarters. Its like living in a dorm. Weekends theres parties..during the week you work. N check this\n\n- You dont pay rent..even if u have a family..or after u get past   E-2 or E-3 u can move out of the dorm n live in ur own place..they give u housing allowance\n\n-You dont have to pay for your electric n water bill\n\n- Free health insurance and dental...4 LIFE! If you go past 10yrs in the navy\n\n- after 20yrs u can retire..if you're in your teens when you join..u can easily retire at the age of 38-39 or 40. My dad retired at 42. With Pension!\n\n-They pay for your schooling (college..vocational..its encouraged)\n\nIf I were you...i'd join the Air Force though. If ur pay gade is E-2..n u go out to sea for 6months on ship, you wont get extra pay. u wil l make as much as somebody in the air force who is on land working at his office. That's just me. If u want to join the military but dont wanna get sent off to war..Join the Navy or Airforce. Navy is harder since you will be required to do sea duty. and when you're at sea..u work 18hrs a day..instead of the regular 8-4 job u'd do on land. \n\nEither way, whatever you choose, you will have so much fun. Im joining the airforce early next year. I'm just in it so i can retire at 40 n just open up a little business n just relax. Goodluck to you! But plz research the Airforce because it IS a good job to do if you dont wanna go to war...n their bases are a lot nicer!\n\n***ADDED***\nAbout ur 2nd question about going out to ship. Here's what happens, you have 3 choices to what base you want to go to. Some bases have ships..some dont. For example, NAS (Naval Air Station) Sigonella, Italy..is a shore base..it doesnt have ships. So you'd be on land. But, NAS Mayport, it has ships. But, you can choose, either shore duty, or sea duty as your next assignment, you aren't REQUIRED to do sea duty, u can dodge it. My dad in his 20yrs time..he was on ship for only 3yrs during our tour in Florida. after that, he dodged the sea duty. But, its ok to be on ship, its fun, you get to see the world, and it's an experience. You do get moved up i rank faster if you have had sea duty, and that's  good, because the higher u move up..the more money you make.and the bigger housing allowance you will get. TO become a Chief Petty Officer..u need to have served 2 sea duty tours. My dad only served one..so he wasnt able to become a Chief though he was over qualified. So, my suggestion is...get the Sea duty done with within the first 10yrs of ur 20yrs. So that u dont have to worry about it later..unless you like being on ship. Like..when you first get out of bootcamp..request sea duty..3yrs then after that..request shore duty...thats a total of 6yrs already. Then 3yrs sea duty again after your shore duty. then after that..keep doing shore duty...have fun, learn the ways, you're just gonna have lots of fun.
540961
I grew up an Air Force "brat" and am now an Air Force wife, so I guess I'd be considered biased, but I see NO reason why the military should be kept out.\n\nOur Armed Forces are entirely volunteer. When a recruiter goes to a school, he is not forcing kids into signing up. In fact, to sign up on delayed enlistment while under the age of 18 you have to have a parent permission, so it's not like anyone is being duped.\n\nMilitary service provides great opportunities and is also necessary for our country's survival. I don't believe the argument that only the poor and uneducated get railroaded into service. My husband and his brother grew up in a middle class home and are both college educated and are enlisted.\n\nTo keep the military out of schools is to do our students a great disservice. Let them make up their own minds as to whether or not the program is right for them. To do otherwise is to assume they cannot think for themselves.
610795
Hey Congratulations. I myself leave for USAF BMT August 1st, 2006. I will be seeing you a week later I guess. I have done a whole lot of research on the Air Force, and lifestyles and such. It seems to be an awesome program to go into, as long as yyou don't mind always being under other people's command, but you will get that with any branch. You made a smart decision, but remember, the USAF is not right for everyone, you will determine that maybe within your first year to year and a half. I am also DEP commander for my unit in Eastpointe, MI. If you need to know ANYTHING about the Air Force, contact me, and I guarantee I will get you an honest answer. Til then, I'll probably see your Rainbow Flight at Lackland when you get there.
639855
Hi there, as a former AF type of 8 years I think I can answer this pretty easily. We'll take the questions in order.\n\nBasic training length? With travelling, waiting for the class to arrive or the like, you can expect the time of going to the MEPS station and completing AF Basic to be approximately 2 months long.\n\nWill you be able to spend time with him after that? That all depends on you, him, and the training school he gets arranged to go to after Basic. You can go and see him graduate from Basic, and spend the day with him, but that would be about it for being in Texas. Typically, to assure a smooth transition, new airmen get travel orders directly from Basic to their tech school. This tech school can be another 2 months long if it's small, or as long as mine, of a year and change for cryptolinguist studies. You can figure on an average of 3-6 months for tech school though.\n\nSpending time apart? It happens. I was in the military for 8 years, and of that I spent about 3 and a half years of that overseas. Typically, unless you're deployed to a war zone like the Middle East is right now, an overseas deployment is no more than 1 year long in duration. Either way, the biggest thing that both you and he need to realize here is this... once he signs on the dotted line his life is leased out to Unka Sam.. he goes where they say, when they say it, and for how long they want him to be there. Maybe half that time it will be for stuff that you're not allowed to go, or that if you chose to go the finances for it would be strictly on the two of you. Speaking as someone that faced that, trust me, unless one of you has some excessive funds stored up already, trailing after him is a very tiring and expensive endeavor. I'm not saying it can't be done, it's just difficult for young people to accomplish according to the AF's rules.\n\nWould it be easier to be married before-hand? Yes and no. You would have legal right to be with him in locations that allow family members to be with their spouse. However as an E1-E2 airman, he would be at the bottom of the list for getting on-base housing. You can get a housing allowance to live off base, but depending on what state you're in, it rarely will cover what you need. When I lived off base in California I had to come up with about 55% of my housing costs out of my own pocket, which hurt the finances, a lot. So, if you truly wanted to be there with him and have legal right to get covered in the housing clause and such, getting married before-hand can allow for such. However...I don't know any personal background here.. but time has proven in the past that giving time for him to accustom himself to AF life first is best if you want him to get all that he can out of the career choice. You can't be with him during Basic. You can't be with him during tech school. Usually leave is granted after the tech school and he reports to his first duty station, and if the hunger and desire to be wed is even stronger then than it is now... that has been the best time for friends I have known to actually get married. So many that did the deed before they went into Basic came out from the schools... different... and so much time apart.. it was awkward.. and ended badly. Like I said though. I don't know your circumstances... but if it was me.. I'd wait.. it's the smarter route to go in today's tumultous times.\n\nWould he have to live on base? As a young airman? yes. He could only live off-base with special permission, or if there was NO available dorms on the base that he'll be stationed at. As a single airman, it takes 2+ years before you have enough time to get the permission. As a married couple you are placed on a shorter list if no on-base housing is available.. but still... it takes time. My friend in NJ had his wife living 35 minutes away in a crummy apartment for nearly 3 years before they could get the permission for him to be allowed to
452879
Hi, I'm an Air Force wife.  So far I have been very lucky not to have my husband overseas at all.  The longest he was ever away from me is 6 months.  Now most of the time it is just for a couple of weeks at a time.  Stay strong and I'm sure you can get through it, I'm sure he is worth it.  At least that is how I feel about my husband.
21822
First off all my husband we in the military and got out in 1997, USAF. There are support groups for you already. Family Services on base has programs for wives. They should have play groups for children also. I think it would be easier for you to use the base since it is already done for you and then you can meet other wives and suggest going to lunch, babysite for each other, go to the laundry together, give each other rides to appointments. \n\nIt is a wonderful program.
33032
I was in the Air Force for 10 years, and it's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. I only did 10 because I wanted to experience other things while I was still young enough, but I had so much fun while enlisted.\n\nFirst off...you REALLY need to decide if the military is right for you. The rules are quite strict, and you just don't have the freedoms you do as a civilian. You also have to adhere to many rules...some of which will get you blacklisted for a long time (trust me on this!!).\n\nBasic training is no cake-walk either. While nowhere near as bad as what the other branches of the service go through, it is still something to be taken seriously. Can you handle being yelled at for anything by someone who is literally standing nose-to-nose with you?\n\nBut once you get past that (6 weeks when I did it, but I think it's a couple of weeks longer now), the fun part starts. After tech school (where you'll be trained for your job), you'll be able to go anywhere. I have been all over the world, and I had a blast. Where else can you travel like that and still get paid for it? I have been to Iceland (not as bad as it sounds), Italy, Germany, Bosnia (volunteered for that one), Greece, and all over the US..including a tour at the Pentagon. I gotta tell you, that was an interesting assignment.\n\nThe best advice I can give is to find someone who has been in, and ask him or her everything you want to know. Don't talk to a recruiter, since it's their job to hook you in. Get some straight answers before you make one of the biggest decisions of your life. Also think about what's going on the world today, and ask yourself if you are ready to tackle that kind of situation.\n\nGood luck in all your future endeavors.