So im thinkin' about the Air Force

[SN2BH22CB7]

appreciate it bud...very couraging. Thanks.

Edit: I was thinkin' of something Airline related...commercial something..i forgot what you call it

Plus i saw something pretty awesome while at the recruitment office today when i noticed a big picture of a Jet that was called, "F22 Raptor something something"..i said to the Srgnt..i have an F22 in my garage. LOL he was like " "

if you want to work on that F22 Raptor...the job title is called ( Tactical AirCraft Maintainence )

my ASVAB score was a 93.. its not hard....its just a LONG ASS TEST! ...3 hours.

[Djmoua]

if you want to work on that F22 Raptor...the job title is called ( Tactical AirCraft Maintainence )

my ASVAB score was a 93.. its not hard....its just a LONG ASS TEST! ...3 hours.

What do you exactly do?? i mean i want to work on something close or anything about vehicles/guns...but...i heard that some dood in the airforce gets paid about $120k a year JUST for checking the run way..can that true? im sure there's more to that. ANyway...all my buddy is doing is just refueling the Jets or other aircrafts and I forget how much he gets a month...but i know it's about 1,200 a month..he says that's just as an "E-2"..whatever that is...im assuming that's his rank?

my buds older bro fixes/repairs the MGs mounted on certain aircrafts..im thinking a chopper though..but no clue how much he gets a month...i heard that all he does everyday in Japan is scuba dive for fishies while his wife goes shopping happily and such.

[Turbo Dave]

its not worth your life to go in the air force. you can straighten yourself up without it. your lucky to be in college, i realized that working sucks and im doing better in school.

[SN2BH22CB7]

What do you exactly do?? i mean i want to work on something close or anything about vehicles/guns...but...i heard that some dood in the airforce gets paid about $120k a year JUST for checking the run way..can that true? im sure there's more to that. ANyway...all my buddy is doing is just refueling the Jets or other aircrafts and I forget how much he gets a month...but i know it's about 1,200 a month..he says that's just as an "E-2"..whatever that is...im assuming that's his rank?

my buds older bro fixes/repairs the MGs mounted on certain aircrafts..im thinking a chopper though..but no clue how much he gets a month...i heard that all he does everyday in Japan is scuba dive for fishies while his wife goes shopping happily and such.

maintainence....

on the $120K...I dont think so >shakes head<

even the upper ranking officers dont make that much! ( O-6 to O-10 )

Col to General ...( O-6 to O-10 ) they dont even make that....so I think that $120K is mucho exaggerated!

and the pay grade is according to rank! not your job!

doesn't matter what job you're doing...you get paid according to your pay grade! you start seeing some good pay after you hit E-5

not the greatest..but you can pay off bills and whatnot if you're on base.

UNLESS you're an Officer....or Upper enlisted personel E-7 to E-9 isn't Extravagant...its feesible...but its not out there like you think.

Oh yeah, and its Salary.( sucks )

say you work 12 hours a day...right....you only get a flat rate...

EXAMPLE...say your pay grade breaks down to $8.50 an hour right..and you work OVER 100 hours every every two weeks right...

you would be expecting a check for around upper $700 right...WRONG...you will not get $1400 a month..you will be given what your pay grade Salary is!

it doesn't matter how many hours you work.....you're still given what its set at according to your rank and paygrade!

and X amount of years served!


and on your friend's rank E-2 ( thats just Airman )

it goes

E-1 ( Airman basic ) Chevron of no stripes
E-2 ( Airman ) Chevron of 1 stripe
E-3 ( Airman First Class ) Chevron of 2 stripes
E-4 ( Senior Airman ) Chevron of 3 stripes
E-5 ( Staff Sgt ) Chevron of 4 stripes
E-6 ( Tech Sgt ) Chevron of 5 stripes
E-7 ( Master Sgt ) Chevron of 5 stripes and 1 up ( 6 )
E-8 ( Senior Master Sgt ) Chevron of 5 stripes and 2 up ( 7 )
E-9 ( Chief Master Sgt ) Chevron of 5 stripes and 3 up ( 8 )

NOTE: E-7 - E-9 is considered NCOs ( NCOs are Non- Commissioned Officers )


then you have the Commissioned officers ( 4 year college degree MINIMUM and ROTC )

O-1 ( 2nd Lt ) Gold Bar
O-2 ( 1st Lt ) Silver bar
O-3 ( Captain ) 2 silver bars connected
O-4 ( Major ) Gold leaf
O-5 ( Lt. Colonel ) Silver leaf
O-6 ( Colonel ) Silver Eagle
O-7 ( Brig. General ) 1 silver star
O-8 ( Major General ) 2 silver stars
O-9 ( Lt General ) 3 silver stars
O-10 ( General ) 4 silver stars

NOW, you have 1 Chief Master SGt of the AirForce.

and during Wartime..you have a 5 star General...*(only during Wartime )

[SN2BH22CB7]

its not worth your life to go in the air force. you can straighten yourself up without it. your lucky to be in college, i realized that working sucks and im doing better in school.

^

how old are you???? aren't you still a teenager??????

have you ever served in the armed forces?? ..if not....who are you do SUGGEST him not to join? let him make HIS own decisions! ...Yes, it may be a Drastic and stupid decision to make DURING wartime...but its HIS life...HIS decision..let him choose for HIMSELF.

I mean..dont get me wrong my friend...you're a cool dude...but if you haven't served in ANY branch..and have personal experiences...then dont include suggestions that you have no reasoning behind. Each branch is different in its own unique way...and each branch, despite the differences are doing ONE JOB...and thats defending this country.

NOTE: it can be a bitch...and the justice system is NOT like the Civilian system...its completely structured in a different maner.

a question for RnR......

for you to suggest that....I want to ask serious question.

Has anyone in your family joined the Airforce or any other branch and NOT make it home?

is that your reasoning behind that suggestion?

im curious.

[Ralphie]

Deev and Sn2 are exactly on the money.

Dj Deev wasnt being mean or rude...he is saying it like it is.

And btw im currently serving my 4th year out in the Army...im getting out because i want to run my own shit and not answer to anyone else anymore, besides my gf and the law lol.

Its been a great run and ive learned a lot from it and taken a lot away from it. Somehow i managed not to be deployed to Iraq at all in 4 years...i even volunteered x2.

Its just time for me to go, and i get to take away lots of benefits like my GI bill which is somewhere around 35k. Sure that aint paying for harvard but its gonna pay for my MRI school which is 10k.

Like i was saying Deev is right. if you join as a tanker and blow shit up guess what after 20 years of service if you dont have some worldly skills there are no jobs in the civiliian sector that equal tanker. So you could very well end up at a dead ass job.

And we are at war for sure. And i track battle casulties and i will tell you the Army and the USMC are not the only ones in harms way by far so give that a long hard thought. War is probably the most ugliest thing on earth and even tho i cant speak from experience i can imagine like anyone else i suppose. Only difference is i track the guys that come back....and i know first hand what their wounds are and how bad it is.....so just make sure.

Ive seen a lot of guys join to be a pimp and get money and become a man but when they find out they going to Baghdad they crumble and get kicked out for anything they can. You DONT want that, that follows you forever.

My reasons for leaving....i needed to grow up as well, i needed to get away from home, and i wanted to quit smoking rofl!

Well it worked. i dont smoke, (although i breifely did but i finally quit). Im more responsible, i dont sleep all day, and i have a solid plan for getting out, going to school and making some real money, cuz as has been stated...you get paid per rank and service...and the military will work you 80-120 hrs a week sometimes...training is included in that on top of work and pt. It gets hectic.

Just make sure you do it for YOU and not to rebell or make your parents worry or any bs like that.

Make sure you WANT to be there, because when you decide you dont want to be there anymore the USAF or whomever will not just send you home.

it costs a few grand to train, dress, and ship a soldier to their first duty station and once you sign that contract your theirs untill you ETS or Uncle Sam says your a peice of shit and sends you home. Ultimitely its your choice.

So just being real with you dude, its a great thing and youll make tons of awesome friends.

Dont let anyone say your a pussy for joining the USAF...thats what i should have done...they push more education on you and get more perks then the Army...like for instance if you go somewhere and have to stay in Army barracks youll get extra pay for staying in "sub standard living" lol....

Well hope it helps!

GL and you improved by making the first step which is to want to change....now its up to you to decide how you will and what will best suit you!

[accordaffair]

^ I agree with Ralphie, I say listen to what this man just said.

[owequitit]

All very realistic perspectives.

Also, combat service is a VERY altruistic thing. Perhaps the most altruistic thing you can do. If you aren't in the mood to give your life for something you don't believe in, then nothing good can come of the service.

It is like Firemen and Paramedics, and Police Officers. They don't wake up in the morning and say "I want to die today." But they have a basic set of beliefs and values that allows them to be fully prepared to do so if necessary.

9-11 is a good example. The things those rescue workers went through to try and save the lives of those they had never even met before, requires more than a job description, a retirement fund, etc. There is a certain satisfaction that goes with that kind of work, that isn't measurable. You can find a similar set of values, in teaching, healthcare, and just anything that traditionally results in helping others.

[Djmoua]

hmm...you guys got me thinkin' to hard now...First off..
It's already too late to sign up for Fall semester classes..Only got 30 bucks in the bank...got suspension on my student loan, my accord has been sick sitting in hte garage for a whole month and a half so far and ive been driving my slowass civic coupe with the CEL still on, GPA so far is only " .333" (WTF?), im still in the same spot eversince graduation from high school (REAL SAD), im an embarassment to cb7tuners.com who works at Cheddar's getting paid 3.15/hr being a "BUSBOY", 20years old and still under a roof with parents , still NO CLUE on what i want to major in through college!..and my summer classes didn't bring my GPA to a 2.0 or higher to be back into student loan..my summer classes was my last chance to prove myself to my parents that i can make it through college (they dont know yet that i fucked myself over...AGAIN!)

...so my question is...as a real person who knows how to deal with things, how the hell am i suppose to get my ass straightened up? I mean yeah..i can do what Deeve mentioned too, but REALLY...what's my first step then? I mean i know my situation is not as WORST as others...but i got a feeling im getting there. So...advice?

[owequitit]

hmm...you guys got me thinkin' to hard now...First off..
It's already too late to sign up for Fall semester classes..Only got 30 bucks in the bank...got suspension on my student loan, my accord has been sick sitting in hte garage for a whole month and a half so far and ive been driving my slowass civic coupe with the CEL still on, GPA so far is only " .333" (WTF?), im still in the same spot eversince graduation from high school (REAL SAD), im an embarassment to cb7tuners.com who works at Cheddar's getting paid 3.15/hr being a "BUSBOY", 20years old and still under a roof with parents , still NO CLUE on what i want to major in through college!..and my summer classes didn't bring my GPA to a 2.0 or higher to be back into student loan..my summer classes was my last chance to prove myself to my parents that i can make it through college (they dont know yet that i fucked myself over...AGAIN!)

...so my question is...as a real person who knows how to deal with things, how the hell am i suppose to get my ass straightened up? I mean yeah..i can do what Deeve mentioned too, but REALLY...what's my first step then? I mean i know my situation is not as WORST as others...but i got a feeling im getting there. So...advice?

First off, you need to prioritize. That will give you a hint about where you should be headed. As far as "how to man up", you sort of have to figure that out for yourself, but it will involve sacrificing, and going without sometimes.

[Djmoua]

First off, you need to prioritize. That will give you a hint about where you should be headed. As far as "how to man up", you sort of have to figure that out for yourself, but it will involve sacrificing, and going without sometimes.

Prioritize? lol i dont follow..you mean set things/make plans?...how to man up isn't a problem for me..just setting my future is..im soooo damn lost there because i do/enjoy just about everything and really like doing everything..also one reason why i've had too many jobs back then.

EDIT:..i have a cousin taking classes in Lincoln Tech for automotive technician/mechanic or whatever..and I have been thinkin about taking that classes as well...but...maaaan...what do i do from here in my situation from above..and if you dont feel like typing a whole bunch of crap...thats fine...just make a quick list going in order. TIA!

[owequitit]

Prioritize? lol i dont follow..you mean set things/make plans?...how to man up isn't a problem for me..just setting my future is..im soooo damn lost there because i do/enjoy just about everything and really like doing everything..also one reason why i've had too many jobs back then.

EDIT:..i have a cousin taking classes in Lincoln Tech for automotive technician/mechanic or whatever..and I have been thinkin about taking that classes as well...but...maaaan...what do i do from here in my situation from above..and if you dont feel like typing a whole bunch of crap...thats fine...just make a quick list going in order. TIA!

Prioritizing is self explanitory. You make a list in order, from most important to least important. There is no specific way to do it, as it depends on the situation.

Basically, you have a limited amount of resources. That would be time, money, and ability. You can spend them anyway you want, but when they are gone, they are gone.

So you make a list of what you want to spend the most on. And so on and so forth. You also need to learn how to set realistic goals and achieve them.

Where there is a will, there is always a way. Nobody is going to give anything to you, but if you want it bad enough, you will figure out how to get it.

[deevergote]

Out of all the people here..i didn't expect you to respond to someone something like this everything alright dood?

anyway..2 of my buddies who are brothers are in the Air Force as of now...and heh they said themselves that Air Force hasn't been doin' much as the Marines or Army is...They said they've so far gone through basic training and then one of those brothers is living in Japan right now for 3 years so far...while the younger one (age 19, my closer buddy) has just graduated from tech school recently...all i know is that if it was me joining the marines or army..right after training, i'd be shipped off to overseas or something like that.

Plus those guys ar mcdonalds..did they finish their military thingy???..because i've never heard of someone from the air force ending up with dead-end jobs, because supposedly from what my recruiting officer has told me is that air force is suppose to help you with college and stuff.
does it depend on what branch those guys were from?

Sorry... I've seen way too many good people choose the military for reasons other than the war we're in. Most of them are over there now. One won't be coming back... only one, so far. I only have ONE friend who joined with the intention of going to war... and he did two tours. Would've done a third, but he had surgery and didn't go.

As for the guys that worked at McDonalds (one was Taco Bell... later Hollywood Video), they were both Army. The Air Force has the reputation of accepting and improving intelligent people, so perhaps you would have a much better chance that way. The Army and the Marines are often seen as grunts, and don't have the greatest reputation for intelligence (not that it's true... at all... but I've heard people in business talk, and that's the general opinion I have always heard from them)


I also hate to see people assume that their problems would be solved by putting their lives under someone else's control. If your problems are bad now, they'll only get worse if you run from them.

I apologize for being so harsh... but honestly, I figured it might be a good way for you to stop and really consider what you're thinking. In a time of war, the military is not a free ride to college. It's not free training for a good job. It's not a way to regain control over your life. It's just signing up so you can be taught to kill... and then shipped out to use that knowledge.

[deevergote]

Now that I've read the rest of the thread...


You have no money. You have a crappy job. You're 20, and you live with your parents. Your grades suck. Your car is in bad shape. Your parents are probably getting fed up with you, thinking you're lazy. Worse, you're getting fed up with yourself, which is probably making you miserable... those near you are affected by that.


Ok. Not so bad.
No kids, right? No criminal record? No major addictions? Drivers license clear?

First, your major problem is money. For money, you need a better job.
I've worked in restaurants for YEARS. I know busboys make crap in most places. However, you have restaurant experience. You could go to a better place and make more. You could go to a crappier place and be a server (not the greatest job... but it payed my mortgage for 3 years!)
If you want to get out of that altogether, take the Civil Service test. Become a trashman or postal worker. They make great money, have great benefits, and you might even have a future there. If not, it'll at least get you back on your feet. Once you get some money under your belt, head back to school.

You're 20 and living at home. No big deal. I moved out at 23. I was still going to school at 23. Graduated when I was 25. There is no shame in living at home... especially when you're going to school.

Your grades suck. Well... study harder! If you don't like your classes, perhaps you've chosen the wrong major. The bullshit classes that are required for EVERY major are unavoidable. You should be mostly through those by now anyway. The rest should be tolerable, if not fun. If you truly hate it, change your major. Change schools, if necessary. Take some time off to shake off some of the other negatives in your life. As I said, I graduated at 25... 3 years later than I should have for my Bachelors degree. It's better to take the time to do it right, then to screw it up (or not do it at all)

You and/or your parents are just fed up with the way things are. That will fix itself. Don't make it worse. Think positive, and work towards fixing the things that are causing this... You'll be surprised. Your parents won't hold it against you



You're not too bad off. I know people in much worse situations that are fighting hard to make things work. A very good friend of mine is awaiting his second child, and working his ass off to try to get out of his parents' house (he and his wife, who is unable to work because of the kids, are currently living there). Easy? No. His internal struggle is just as hard as the one everyone can see. However, he's doing what he needs to do to make things work for himself and his family. And he will. He has no other choice!


Don't run from your problems. Especially towards something that could possibly get you killed. If you're not going to the military to be a soldier, you're going for the wrong reasons.

[owequitit]

I apologize for being so harsh... but honestly, I figured it might be a good way for you to stop and really consider what you're thinking. In a time of war, the military is not a free ride to college. It's not free training for a good job. It's not a way to regain control over your life. It's just signing up so you can be taught to kill... and then shipped out to use that knowledge.

The military is NEVER a free ride to college.