Army to AF or get out??

M

MilitaryWife?

New Member
My husband is currently in Iraq and not very pleased with the way the Army handles things. We have been considering switching to the AF for a while now, but is it really better? Do the soldiers get treated better? Are the deployments shorter and fewer? Or should he just get out completetely?
By the time his ETS date comes around next year he will have 8 years in service and he is currently an E-6. He is determined to get out of the Army, the only question is - AF or civilian??
Anybody who has some advice for both of us - I would really appreciate it.
:camo:
 
Hey there!

Dexter is in the ARNG right now and is currently serving in Iraq. His Bro and sis are both in the Air Force, and his Mom and dad are both Air Force Retired.

Dexter used to want to join the Air Force after he got out of the Army National Guard, but them he got activated and now he's changed his mind.
I"m not too sure if its better/worse or not..... One of the other guys will be able to answer your question better than I could.

Anyway, welcome to the site!!

Feel free to PM me..... I may not be a wife, but I'm going through a deployment just like you are!!
 
If your husband simply doesn't want to deploy, then yes, he needs to get out. We are at war, and all branches are subject to extra long deployments - if he and you aren't willing to accept that .. civilian life is your answer.
 
First off, I don't have any experience with the US Army and the experience I have with the USAF is from my dad who is in Special Ops and other who have worked directly with the Army.

The USAF is spoiled. A recent example I can think of was when my dad was deployed to Romania and he was staying at a top star hotel in Romania and there were people complaining about the food and the Air Con at the hotel while not too far away the Army was staying in tents eating MRE's with no Air Con whatsoever. My dad being in spec ops has told me that the Air Force really does offer more benefits for families and offers a more comfortable living style for AF members than the Army. When I was looking to join the military he said that although the benefits and conditions the Army and Navy offer are improving they are still not as good as the Air Force.

As for deployments it really depends on what your husband wants to do in the AF. If he gets a job at MPF (Military Personnel Flight) than he will probably never deploy. If he becomes a PJ than he will be deployed A LOT and will probably have the same living conditions as the army because the of people PJ's deal with. Its really impossible to tell you what deployments are like in the AF without knowing what he wants to do in the AF. If you could tell me what your husband is looking at cross training to than I might be able to offer you a better idea of his deployments.

I think the best person to talk to would be an AF recruiter but at the moment and until the next fiscal year the AF is not accepting any more recruits because they have recruiter 2500 to many this fiscal year. I heard that directly from my AF recruiter.
 
MilitaryWife? said:
My husband is currently in Iraq and not very pleased with the way the Army handles things. We have been considering switching to the AF for a while now, but is it really better? Do the soldiers get treated better? Are the deployments shorter and fewer? Or should he just get out completetely?
By the time his ETS date comes around next year he will have 8 years in service and he is currently an E-6. He is determined to get out of the Army, the only question is - AF or civilian??
Anybody who has some advice for both of us - I would really appreciate it.
:camo:
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I made the switch few years ago when the AF was accepting prior service from other branches. However not long after I came in that program was stopped cold since the AF is now way over strengthed. Now the AF needs people to get out. The only way he could probably do it, is ETS from the Army and join the Air National Guard and then maybe later try to go active duty. But either way, even if he does decide to go civilian my advice would be to go in the ANG anyway. That way his 8 years active duty wont go to waste and it can go towards a retirement. Also the extra check everymonth for drill pay would be nice. If you have anymore questions just ask.
 
I am at the point in my USMC career where i need to either reenlist or EAS. I have looked in to the Air Force but none of the recruiters can give me a no :cen: answer on my chances of getting enlisted in Feb of 09. I would like to go Air Force for my family and get them out of the 13-16 month deployments that i am currently in line for. The bonus i get in the USMC for reenlisting can't really compare to getting to watch my son grow up and possibly having another child. I do love my Corps and will miss it very much but i am not happy with this MOS and the Air Force offers the EXACT MOS that i am wanting to work in.

Any advice on getting good info on how to switch branches is much appreciated. feel free to PM me.
 
Geez... Marine life is hard huh?
I am re-enlisting but not as a Marine. Basically carrying too many damned injuries to make it happen there.
 
Thoughts on the original question.

Get out.
If neither of you are ready to go through another deployment the only answer in my mind is to get out.

Do NOT compare this situation with SOF units, they are a completely different animal.

Implicature, I have an aquaitence that switched over from Navy to Army not too long ago.
I dunno if that would help you in your current situation, but if you want the contact info I will provide it after checking with him.
Your call.

//KJ.
 
Right now it's real hard to switch out of either Army or Marines to Navy or Air Force. Nigh on impossible right now actually.
 
implicature said:
I am at the point in my USMC career where i need to either reenlist or EAS. I have looked in to the Air Force but none of the recruiters can give me a no :cen: answer on my chances of getting enlisted in Feb of 09. I would like to go Air Force for my family and get them out of the 13-16 month deployments that i am currently in line for. The bonus i get in the USMC for reenlisting can't really compare to getting to watch my son grow up and possibly having another child. I do love my Corps and will miss it very much but i am not happy with this MOS and the Air Force offers the EXACT MOS that i am wanting to work in.

Any advice on getting good info on how to switch branches is much appreciated. feel free to PM me.
Click to expand...

Go here: http://forums.military.com/eve/forums

They have discussion forums for individual services and many recruiters are there. Switching services and WTC are covered in-depth, including daily questions and replies that sound much like yours and the young lady's that began this thread.

Not that I in any way mean to dismiss this site, as I love this site! But military.com really is where you need to be asking questions that will affect your life and career future.

Thank you, everyone, for your service, and God Bless our troops!
 
I'll tell ya this. It used to be real hard for a Marine to get into the USAF. Seems that Marines are aggressive and "too Military." to fit into the USAF culture without a cool off period. Got this from a buddy who got out of the Corps after his first hitch, (he was a microwave comm guy). Tried to join the zoomies, no soap. He ended up in the Army.

On the other hand both my younger brother and my oldest daughter love being Zoomies.
 
Yeah, if I get in the Army as an NCO people, including myself, are expecting that it'll be a huge change and that I will struggle in the beginning adjusting to their culture and if I'm unlucky I very well could spend a little time in the brig. :( Hope it never comes to that.
 
KJ said:
Thoughts on the original question.

Get out.
If neither of you are ready to go through another deployment the only answer in my mind is to get out.

//KJ.
Click to expand...

I wish it was that simple but it isn't that simple. I have a wife and two children. I don't have my BA yet so i don't have any formal training. I don't have any job experience in the field i am trying to get in to. I did my four years in the military for the sake of serving my country. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing a strategic move to better myself and my family's financial situation present and future.

EDIT: Update

If i transition to the Army (which is a possibility) I will be trying for 35T Military Intelligence (MI) Systems Maintainer/Integrator anyone with insight please PM me.
 
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implicature said:
I wish it was that simple but it isn't that simple. I have a wife and two children. I don't have my BA yet so i don't have any formal training. I don't have any job experience in the field i am trying to get in to. I did my four years in the military for the sake of serving my country. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing a strategic move to better myself and my family's financial situation present and future.
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Sure I get your point.
In my mind the simple fact remains though, if your country is at war and you decide to stay in the armed forces, no matter what branch you will have to deal with the chance of getting deployed.
Not everyone thinks like me thank God, but some do and thank God for them too.

I thank you for your service, you have done a great bit for your nation during your four years.
If I can help out I will.
I´ll have a look around.

//KJ.
 
03USMC said:
I'll tell ya this. It used to be real hard for a Marine to get into the USAF. Seems that Marines are aggressive and "too Military." to fit into the USAF culture without a cool off period. Got this from a buddy who got out of the Corps after his first hitch, (he was a microwave comm guy). Tried to join the zoomies, no soap. He ended up in the Army.

On the other hand both my younger brother and my oldest daughter love being Zoomies.
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I think that Marines going blue, would bring military discpline skills and a high level of professionalism to the gentlemen of the wild blue yonder, whats not to love?
 
Sukio... lots of people hate that. There are in some places a culture among enlisted men that is based on not getting work done. They think you are an idiot if you work hard and that you are a tough guy if you don't listen to people. Obviously it's b/s. The only reason they get away with not listening is because of the rules that protect them. So if someone squared away shows up, they HATE it.
You'll find these in the civilian world too.
 
Oh.... NOT getting work done? Thats what I admire about military organizations, they are there to get the job done. I want to join the military so I thought it would logical way to think.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
Sukio... lots of people hate that. There are in some places a culture among enlisted men that is based on not getting work done. They think you are an idiot if you work hard and that you are a tough guy if you don't listen to people. Obviously it's b/s. The only reason they get away with not listening is because of the rules that protect them. So if someone squared away shows up, they HATE it.
You'll find these in the civilian world too.
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Yeah, strange how a 15 minute job can take 30 days for some people. I've spent so many working hours recently cleaning the mess after people who gives a d**m, but they aren't aware of the many holes in the regulations which will make them fall through in the end.
 
Tell me about it! I once had to fill out 3 months worth of paperwork in one night because a guy didn't do it and went on leave and we were going to have inspection the next day. The guy lied right to my face, "It's all ready for inspection."
Holy crap. So I had to figure it all out... and it took all night. I didn't get any sleep. We passed inspection. Inspector said it seemed that we were doing a good job at keeping our records up to date. I have to admit it was a little inaccurate but it was the best I could do at the time.
 
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