Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What is it about the Air Force that it always gets possitive comments everywhere? Is it just the fact that it offers "the best living conditions" of all the armed forces? At least that is one of the comments that I read about the most. Is this biased info?
For the most part, the Air Force is seen as requiring less sacrifice than the other branches.
For the most part, the Air Force is seen as requiring less sacrifice than the other branches.
Odds are very high that is the truth. I still know very little about the coast guard; I do know they deploy but I won't say anything further about them.
The Navy/Army/Marines tend to deploy around half of their first enlistment. In the air force, they switched to a "tempo band" system, in which the job dictates deployment duration. What's somewhat assuming about my experiences with the Air Force deployments, and I'm probably airing dirty laundry, is the control of the people deploying. I know people who have been in for 10 years, have wanted to deploy and haven't deployed. I know someone who received non-AEF deployment orders, received a LOR (like a written warning) for being habitually late to work and they took away his deployment as a penalty and rewarded it to someone else. Imagine that happening in the army? lol. I also know of an entire unit not wanting to deploy, found out a new troop was coming from tech school and gave the deployment to him. He spent his first month inprocessing into the operational air force and outprocessing to deploy. I just found this all interesting.
For the most part, the Air Force is seen as requiring less sacrifice than the other branches.
I have to disagree. Consider USAF Pararescue, Combat Control, Combat Weather, and support personnel. Not to mention the pilots. Also, have you not heard of “In Lieu of Tasking” (ILO) that can utilize virtually any career field to literally “replace” an Army grunt “outside the wire”? Consider this quote (link attached).
“Your chances of being deployed (on the ground) to Iraq and Afghanistan are not as great in the Air Force and Navy, and depend much on your military job. However, both services task members (regardless of their specialty) to train and deploy with the Army in Iraq, under a program called "in-lieu-of," or ILO, tasking. The active duty Air Force has a couple of thousand deployed under this program at any given time, and the active duty Navy about 5,000. Of course, depending on your job, you could also be deployed on a ship patrolling the Gulf region (Navy), or on any number of Air Bases (Air Force) in and around Iraq and Afghanistan. The Coast Guard keeps about five or six patrol boats in the Gulf to assist with port security.” Top 10 Lies (Some) Recruiters Tell (1. Your chances of being sent to a combat zone are slim.)
Note the author mentioned the US Navy as well as the Air Force. One of the more accurate acid tests of “sacrifice” (beyond body count) are the families of those committed to serving their country. Ask Air Force families if they consider their service members sacrifice (concerning risk/deployment locale) to be on par with sister service contemporaries. As for me, I didn’t deploy much in my twenty-one years, primarily because I moved every two years to another base. However, I served as a Munitions Specialist, and worked hands on with nuclear weapons, every model missile in the inventory, “smart” and “dumb” bombs, etc. There are other USAF folks performing far more dangerous tasks than that (EOD) and other career fields).
To summarize, the “sacrifice” argument is like comparing apples and oranges. Too many gray areas to really state it’s a “fact.” As always, the bottom line is, “thanks to all who’ve served, and who are serving in any capacity.”
I have to disagree. Consider USAF Pararescue, Combat Control, Combat Weather, and support personnel. Not to mention the pilots. Also, have you not heard of “In Lieu of Tasking†(ILO) that can utilize virtually any career field to literally “replace†an Army grunt “outside the wire� Consider this quote (link attached).
“Your chances of being deployed (on the ground) to Iraq and Afghanistan are not as great in the Air Force and Navy, and depend much on your military job. However, both services task members (regardless of their specialty) to train and deploy with the Army in Iraq, under a program called "in-lieu-of," or ILO, tasking. The active duty Air Force has a couple of thousand deployed under this program at any given time, and the active duty Navy about 5,000. Of course, depending on your job, you could also be deployed on a ship patrolling the Gulf region (Navy), or on any number of Air Bases (Air Force) in and around Iraq and Afghanistan. The Coast Guard keeps about five or six patrol boats in the Gulf to assist with port security.†Top 10 Lies (Some) Recruiters Tell (1. Your chances of being sent to a combat zone are slim.)
Note the author mentioned the US Navy as well as the Air Force. One of the more accurate acid tests of “sacrifice†(beyond body count) are the families of those committed to serving their country. Ask Air Force families if they consider their service members sacrifice (concerning risk/deployment locale) to be on par with sister service contemporaries. As for me, I didn’t deploy much in my twenty-one years, primarily because I moved every two years to another base. However, I served as a Munitions Specialist, and worked hands on with nuclear weapons, every model missile in the inventory, “smart†and “dumb†bombs, etc. There are other USAF folks performing far more dangerous tasks than that (EOD) and other career fields).
To summarize, the “sacrifice†argument is like comparing apples and oranges. Too many gray areas to really state it’s a “fact.†As always, the bottom line is, “thanks to all who’ve served, and who are serving in any capacity.â€
While every thing you stated is correct, you're focusing on the exceptions to the air force. Most of the critically jobs you mentioned like EOD, fall under under the last band which has the highest deployment rate in the USAF. I believe that its less than 5% of the air force. Also the ILO changed it's name to JET, joint expeditionary tasking, about half are volunteer. About.com reports there were 2000 in 2008 and confirm half were volunteer.
For vets and retired people......
If you could go back and enlist again which branch would you choose and why?
For the rest......
What branch of the US armed forces would you join and why?
Air Force would be my first choice due to the 'glamour' factor-----------with the USMC being a close second due it its very tight comraderie (sp) between Marines.
In all fairness: I may have been 4F'ed due to some emotional problems had I attempted to join back in 1975.
Yesterday I met a 22 year old Marine Recruiter that was trying to convince me to go Marine instead of Navy. As I was walking into the Navy recruitment center he called me over from the Marine Marines recruitment center (both buildings are side by side). I told him that I was just considering the option to join the Navy because I was already hired by the Border Patrol. Then he went ahead and told me that he could not wait for his contract to be over so he could join the Border Patrol. What kind of recruitment is that. That is one confused Marine.
Flip side: said Marine would probably make a good BP agent.
Yesterday I met a 22 year old Marine Recruiter that was trying to convince me to go Marine instead of Navy. As I was walking into the Navy recruitment center he called me over from the Marine Marines recruitment center (both buildings are side by side). I told him that I was just considering the option to join the Navy because I was already hired by the Border Patrol. Then he went ahead and told me that he could not wait for his contract to be over so he could join the Border Patrol. What kind of recruitment is that. That is one confused Marine.
No. That is one proud marine. There is a mind set that is not understood by many. He was doing what he thought was right. There is a lot of "Behind the scenes" stuff that most folks don't appreciate.
I was Navy. Marines are a department of the Navy. We used to joke, the difference between a Marine going to war or a sailor. A marine grabs the biggest bandalier, the most granades, the biggest flack jacket. A sailor just pulls in close enought to drop the marines off. Then we go out and drink coffee until they call.
Jagman, I have to agree with IMOGAJAD; ALL of the services have both "shoe clerks" AND those in jobs that are inherently dangerous; and your circumstances could change at a moment's notice, regardless of which branch you serve in. Anyone who enlists in ANY of the five branches thinking they'll spend their enlistment (or commisioned service) in some cushy job in the ConUS will find they are sorely mistaken. And that's the way it should be; there should be a minimum of deferments from worldwide deployment. IMOGAJAD's last line says it all; "Thanks to all who've served and who are serving in any capacity"
I'll elaborate...You first need to determine how you define sacrifice...IMOGAJAD's premise was deployment durations and that's all I'll focus on. An Army deployment is generally for a year, and the Air Force's is 120 days. IMOGAGAD mentioned the ILO (now JET) where you are basically transition from an airman to a solider for a year. As a member of the Air Force, you're scarfice is no greater than the Army's. Furthermore, as an airman, after you get home, you know IF you get deployed again, it will probably only be for 120 days next time. On the otherhand, if you're a solider and at the end of your 1 year deployment, you know the next time you deploy again it will be for a year.
Jagman, I have to agree with IMOGAJAD; ALL of the services have both "shoe clerks" AND those in jobs that are inherently dangerous; and your circumstances could change at a moment's notice, regardless of which branch you serve in. Anyone who enlists in ANY of the five branches thinking they'll spend their enlistment (or commisioned service) in some cushy job in the ConUS will find they are sorely mistaken. And that's the way it should be; there should be a minimum of deferments from worldwide deployment. IMOGAJAD's last line says it all; "Thanks to all who've served and who are serving in any capacity"
Yes, this is quite true for all services. My son is Air Force, works maintenance on the planes in Arkansas and is deploying to Afghanistan for a couple months. There isn't any rate really that is exempt from deployments.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
