To our military personel (esp women)

I have recently begun throwing the idea around of joining the air force (for a lot of reason i choose the air force over others but because of personal feelings i wish not to discuss that here.) I spoke to an army mom (my great aunt) and she adviced me to getopinions and advice from other people in the military so i can build a better perspective of whether it will be right for me or not. I don't have many questions right now but as i said, advice and opinions will be helpful.

MTFBWY

I'll put it this way. Very few bad thing can happen from joining and serving honorably, especially the airforce, not to say that it is anyless of a life changing choice, but it certainly means that you are far less likely to be thrown into a situation where it's life and death, like a grunt. Plus free* college, medical, and if you so choose, super cheap housing on base. It's also almost the ONLY stable career choice these days, let's face it not many jobs are hiring even after 4 years in college and debt upto your eyeballs, something is always wrong in this world that needs the help of the US it seems. Not to mention if you choose not to make a career out of the Air Force then chances are you have been trained in something that most people will spend at least 2 years at college to learn and you got paid to learn it, AND you should be an expert at it as well. All this and after serving there are very few things that you will feel incapable of achieving, I know very few people who retire from the military and are unsuccesful.

So let's recap
Pros.
Stable income
Free Medical houising and College*
Paid career training
Every body looks sexy in a uniform lol
Looks great on a resume regardless of what you did
and chances are that you will be paid to travel
and you'll make life long friends

Cons.
at least 8 years of your life will be the governments due to the IRR (inactive ready reserve)
While your in active duty you probably won't see your family let alone any civilian friends much
Hard to have an unstressed realationship with someone

Incase you don't know what the IRR is it's a contract that is mandatory when you enlist that states if you are honorably discharged without medical reason that you are in an UNPAID reserve pool so incase somthing goes wrong E.G. 9-11, during the first 8 years of service you may be called back into active duty. So basically if you serve 4 active then retire for the next 4 years you are elligble to be called back into services. Basiclly it's the draft for veterans

Secondly the reason i put a * by free college is because it has the potential to be free the new GI bill states that it will pay up to the most expense tution for a public college in your college's state so lets say you apply to Random University and it cost 35k a year but the most expensive public College in your state only costs 30k well that means that you have to pay the 5k difference on your own which is pretty freaking cheap if you ask me and if you were smart with your money that you earned in the military you should be able to pay it no problem. One other side note is that it only pays for 4 years of college so if you want to be a brain surgeon then that means the last 4 of your 8 years are on you. AND you also get 1000 for room and board yearly and 2000>3000.01 a year for books so yeah damn close to free

So what are you waiting for go enlist lol. Really though why not set your self up for sucess rather try and pay of your degree debt with McDonalds lol. Really though being that you were born in 84 if you already did the college thing if you have a 4 year degree you can become an Officer and 2 years will garuntee quick advancement in rank right out of boot camp and being that your what like 25 if you don't make up your mind soon you'll miss out. Just look around at how many Vets are living very comfortably and look at how many college grads are struggling to get by even with that degree. Set yourself up for success and go join.

MTFBWY

I am not in the military so maybe you don't want my opinion...

But you are a human and I would tell any other human the same thing.

DON\"T DO IT.

Do you really want to kill people for a living?
What exactly are you protecting?
Do you really trust those above you in the chain of command?

Your heart knows...
MTFBWY Will

MichealTeg wrote:

Do you really want to kill people for a living?
What exactly are you protecting?
Do you really trust those above you in the chain of command?

Your heart knows...
MTFBWY Will

Few people want to kill people for a living Br.Micheal and it's not about how many lives you take, it's about how many you save.

What she would be protecting are democracy, and what our forefathers saw as inalienable rights not to mentions her brothers and sisters in arms. AND your right to speak your mind.

It's not about trusting the chain of command thats not your job as long as you are below E-3 your job is to stay quite, and do what you are ordered to do without hesitation or reservation, and understand that your E-4's and 5,6's see the order as lawful which is indeed their responsabilty.

Br. Micheal is certainly most right about one thing though your heart knows. If and only if your heart is strong enough will you be an asset to your brothers and sisters if you don't think you will make it you won't and if by some miracle you do make it with that attitude you will be nothing but a burden. NO RESERVATION you must trust fully and be able to be trusted fully only then will you succeed

MTFBWY

BTW Incase you're wondering about the validity of my opinion i have signed for 5 years in the USMC I ship out November 3rd

the main reason i am choosing Air Force is because there is a significant decrease in the possibility of having to actually see combat, not to mention i am a women and that decreases it further. The other thing, i do have a child, 3 month old. My husband has a bad knee that has made it almost impossible for him to do most phyisical jobs but he can take care of our son. yeah, i know that i will be away from him for a long while. but, i also know that he will have a future should i do this. at the moment, we are on wel-fare, getting money from the state, and that in itself i hate, but the other thing is the fact that i live in cali which has the 3rd highest unemployment rate in the country, not to mention i live in southern cali where you are lucky to get a job if you don't speak more then one language which i don't. i speak english and bad english, bad english doesn't count. i don't know enough of german or japanese to qualify for being multi-lingual. so. there is, for the most part, my situation. you have been of the utmost help Br. Patrick and Br. Micheal, i don't know exactly what your problem with the military is but in the end i do believe in helping others and if i can direct a some marines away from a fire fight, or if i can help to fuel a jet to help save tax payers money for not having to land and refuel then so be it. there are people doing a lot of good out there. just because the people pointing the gun might not be pointing it in the right direction (ie, government) doesn't mean you should blame the gun or the bullet. Also, i am fully aware of the possibilities. My cousin is in the army and almost had to shoot a CO because he had gone massively stressed and was threatening (don't know all details) but my cousin was a trained sniper and he almost had to pull the trigger. luckily the negotiators got threw to him, but still. I do have some idea of what i might have to go threw, the worst and the best. Don't think i am naive, this is one reason why i am asking for advice. i don't want just yes or no. I want opinions and reason and advice.

And as far as who i am protecting, my families future. This country may be great but in my opinion it could be a lot better. I am not doing this for my country. so i think i spoke my peace and if anyone has anything more to add then by any means, do so.

MTFBWY

I wish you all the luck with your pending decision Sister April. I know that that you will complete exhaustive research before committing thus you will know if your heart is in it or not. Are youin touch with Master Perris? I could think of no better a source for you concerning females in the military. She has been a Marine just long enough to give a good picture but not long enough to know only \"the life\" lol.

I have served in my past but being from another country, in a different branch, and it was over twenty years ago well...my experiences may not serve to help you in these modern times, but I am always only a PM away my friend.

In any case May The Force Be with You - Always!

Master Garm
aka
Lt. L.Aslop (ret.)
7/11 Armour
DND/CF

In Hoc Signo Stabilitas
“Steadfast by this sign”.

Micheal, I let a friend of mine read this, and here was her answer:

Wow, what an assumption >.>

My own response: I have many friends in the military, and some of them are there because they want to legally kill others, and then some are there because they truly want to make a difference. The Air Force reduces the chances of seeing combat-not the combat zone, but combat itself.

Anora^una_Ilorn, I wish you the best of luck.

Randi Oxford wrote:

...The Air Force reduces the chances of seeing combat-not the combat zone, but combat itself...quote]

Completely true. In 2007 I want to say, my recruiter was stationed at an Air Force base in Kubal?, Afghanistan for a basic sentry type job for around six months and being that our current war is less with people and more with ideas the \"Front Lines\" can be quite blurred, that being said around a month after the Marines left the base it was attacked luckly though no one was killed or even hurt just some blown front gates and a supply truck. So while you may not feel that you are on the front lines you are still very much at risk.

Another thing to remeber is the ASVAB everyone has to take it and chances are when you walk into a recruiters office thats the first thing they will have you do, a much shorter version of course. Now What it consists of is basic English Grammar, Mathmatics everything from addition to Trig, Compilied Sciences, Comprehension skills, Mechainical education, and there is one other part that I never took because it delt with basic war manuevers i.e. what is the best choice in this situation A.) Empty the mag B.) Raise white flag C.) Run like hell) D.)Pray and what not and I was a Sophomore in High school so they didn't let us take it. But It's all multiple choice so guess guess guess if you don't know the answer. all in all it took about three hours and each section is timed for I think 20 minutes. Every section is scored seperatly and then added together based on what job you would like *LINK Great Example* so chances are that if you want to be flying UAVs then you better be a whizkid.

ALSO if you have any medical conditions serious or not tell your recruiter and they will tell you wether or not you have a chance of being DQed. Example I fractured my skull in the third grade, I was chasing a girl in duck duck goose and smacked into a metal pole, but nothing serious came from it other than CARZY lol seriously though i told my recruiter and he said verbatum \"Any brain damage?\" No sir \"Good then just keep that skeleton in the closet, because you tell the Doc that checks you out that and he'll show you the door, he doesn't give a shit about you he just wants to get you out of his office so he can go play golf or some other doctor shit.\" lol but yeah unless you are currently sufferring from anything the only person you should worry about telling is you recuiter, like he said again \"There's no magic eye in the sky that will shine on you when you lie and say you have had no serious injuries because there are to many other dumbasses who say they have and they spend their time putting them under the microscope.\" So don't worry they won't take the time to dig up the past unless you give them reason to. Also drugs are bad if you ever experimented keep it to yourself as long as you arent currently using they don't care.

^All of that junk is called MEPS it's just your basic medical screening it involves vision tests, hearing tests, blood tests, urine tests, the \"Duck Walk,\" a standard physical, and a but load of paperwork. I think the duck walk is just a fun bit of hazing for those in charge but what happens is you and around 9 other females will be marched into a room stripped to your undies and be asked to do all sorts of strange calistenics while doctors stare at you, it sounds awkward and it is.

But yeah at the end you swear in and are officially a recruit. It's really boring nand exiting all at once

OK - Im not in the military - but im the odd one out (or at least my generation is) in my family in having not been in the military - and this applies to my family tree dating back to at least the 15th century.

I WOULD serve if I was asked too - but based on reasons you know about - it aint gonna happen - but if it helps - I did agree to serve the TA before 'it' happened when I was at uni - so perhaps this counts as 'service' (due to certain skills geologist have - id have been used for locating artillery positions)

Anyway - My Great Grandfather was a cavalry officer in WW1 9the last war where actual horseback fighting by the UK took place) - in WW2 my Grandfather was a navy commander - one of his roles was an inspector of new vessels - he checked they were fit for duty etc (as well as seeing combat all around the globe and suffering all his adult life with chronic pain from a spinal injury he received when he was thrown against a naval gun barrel after an enemy shell made a direct hit near to him)

My father was in the RAF (Airforce) for his national service during the late 50's/early 60's and signed for an extende4d service stint.

Now what Micheal teg wrote could be taken as true in some instances - but to me its like saying all cops join the police so they can ride in cars all day, eat doughnuts, and tazer/gas etc folk legally or all vets do the job cos they like putting their arms up the back end of cattle on a regular basis - my point is his remarks are the classic reasons as jedi we believe and teach that one ought not assume anything about anyone and that putting all members of a group into a 'category' is at best foolish

that aside - there are many jobs in all the military services that dont involve killing - there are medics, priests, (a possible role for you in the airforce), highly skilled engineers/technicians, communications, logistics, explosives diffusion (these guys get all my admiration without question) and many many more. Sure youll learn to use a gun as basic training but that isnt necessarily just about a skill in killing.

But in terms of the airforce - in the UK anyway - the airforce also operate the helicopter rescue services (not the air ambulances) - these guys fly high risk operations to save the lives of others on a daily basis, they fly within inches of rocks and trees to airlift folk who come into difficulty at the coast, they do mountain rescue, they go out to sea and horrific conditions to rescue those in need at sea, they are always on the scene on natural disasters - somehow i don't think these folk do what they do for the chance to kill.

So that aside - yes i do hold all service personnel in high regard and i would say 'go for it' BUT you and your family MUST be 110% sure you can ALL deal with whatever life throws at you and the trials, and challenges ahead as a family (especially now you have a youngling). Only you can decide whether or not you want to do this - but my last thought is it is at least better to have tried and found its not for you than to not have tried and spend all your life wandering about it.

Whatever you decide - I wish you all the best and most of all

MTFBWY - A