Thinking about joining the Air Force(questions) (civilian, graduate, home)

[joey2000]

He already stated he has the degree, but not what it's in......I doubt you'll need close to a 4.0, but can't speak to specifics for sure offhand. Certainly the higher the better.

[ashley_traughber]

Hey guys you miss me...lol!!! Well I still want to do Rotc through a college and I applied for a college that offers AFROTC, but still have questions.

Is AFOQT the same as the ASVAB?
...and if not how do I sign up and take it and is it hard?
It is also to late to sign up for high school scholarships for ROTC, so how do I go about applying for the in college and HBCU minority scholarships?

[Balad1]

The the AFQT is part of the ASVAB. It determines if you can get in and the rest of the ASVAB (line scores) determine the type of job/position you qualify for.

[dmarie123]

AFQT= ASVAB (Air Force qualifications test= Armed forces vocational apptitude battery- just scored specifically for the Air Force).

The AFOQT, Air Force OFFICER qualification test, is TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND MUCH HARDER!

Got to your local book store and buy a study guide.

FYI- right now, it is darn near impossible to get a commission.

[ashley_traughber]

Well then I definitely passed cause I took the asvab in 11th grade, but I really want a 70 instead of the score I made

[Poncho_NM]

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States armed forces. It is often offered to American high school students when they are in the 11th grade, though anyone eligible to and interested in enlisting can take it. The ASVAB was first introduced in 1968 and was adopted by all branches of the military in 1976. In 2002 it underwent a major revision. In 2004, the test's percentile ranking scoring system was re-normalized, to ensure that a score of 50% really did represent doing better than exactly 50% of test-takers. ASVAB scoring is based on an Item Response Theory (IRT) model. IRT is a theory that enables test questions and examinee abilities to be placed on the same scale, thereby allowing tests to be tailored to the specific ability level of each examinee and scores to be expressed on the same scale regardless of the combination of items that are taken. Examinees also receive a score on what is called the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). AFQT scores are computed using the Standard Scores from four ASVAB subtests: Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), and Word Knowledge (WK). AFQT scores are reported as percentiles between 1-99. An AFQT percentile score indicates the percentage of examinees in a reference group that scored at or below that particular score. For current AFQT scores, the reference group is a sample of 18 to 23 year old youth who took the ASVAB as part of a national norming study conducted in 1997. Thus, an AFQT score of 90 indicates that the examinee scored as well as or better than 90% of the nationally-representative sample of 18 to 23 year old youth. An AFQT score of 50 indicates that the examinee scored as well as or better than 50% of the nationally-representative sample.


Official Site of the ASVAB Testing Program

[Knox Harrington]

Best of luck to you, Ashley. I was enlisted for four years and that is where I met my wife. She left active duty after 4 1/2 years (six months stop loss) and has been in the Air National Guard for the last eight years. She made it to Tech Sergeant (E-6) as an enlisted person and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant just last Friday. I am a big fan of the Air Force and am very proud of my wife and all of the new Lieutenants I met at her graduation at Maxwell AFB. The caliber of the men and women I came across was unbelievable. A member of her class was even a Harvard Law graduate.

I was talking to a Major from her base last weekend and he said the Air National Guard is short 1,500 officers. They graduated 136 last Friday, but there are only four classes a year. Knowing that, I would also suggest you look into opportunities in the Guard.

I wish you luck in whatever path you choose.

As to the earlier questions about combat and deploying, I will say that it is not like it used to be. All of the branches are being stretched like they have never been stretched before. There are a lot of AF men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. Granted, they are not in the sh** every day like a lot of the soldiers and Marines, but being in the Air Force now is not quite as "easy" as it was 10 years ago.

[ashley_traughber]

Thanks, Knox Harrington for your support and great wishes to you and your wife.

And I know I asked this previously, but it is also to late to sign up for high school scholarships for ROTC, so how do I go about applying for the in college and HBCU minority scholarships?

[Tommyboy5]

I am in the ANG but i am considering the active side. I dont know which one I want. I dont really want to be home with a job and going to college. I love my drill weekends and I wish I could do it everyday. but what kind of life would I have in active duty.

So basically whats the pros and cons of AF active duty compared to AF Guards.

[dmarie123]

Tommyboy5, you should start your own thread cuz your question is going to get lost in this one.

Pros compared to guard are FREE health care, retirement benefits start AS SOON as your retire, not years later, full time work and full time pay. Those are the biggies.

However, going Active duty AF from guard is nearly impossible. Talk to a recruiter, ASAP. You need a 368 with at least 6 months to expire, and you probably have to cross train and will only have special operations, recruiting, or contracting as choices, will have to retake the ASVAB, redo your MEPS physical, and pray you get one of the 30 recruiting or 30 contracting slots available for the whole world for the whole year. (those numbers are actual numbers, they are not sarcasm).

Good luck.