# Questions To Ask USAF Recruiter



## TPD Lt.

My son is meeting with the Airforce recruiter on monday. Anyone have any good questions we can ask. I have started a list...

Guranteed MOS?
Tech School Fail?
Incentives/Bonuses?
Deployment Length?
Choice of bases?
Enlistment times?
Delayed enlistment?

Anything to add to this would be great. Also any tips info or anything else would be helpful. Its been a long time since ive been in a recruiters office. 

Thanks in advance


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## OfficerObie59

The issue is not knowing what questions to ask, but knowing the answers you should be getting. 

Recruiters are like used car dealers, and right now, their business isn't so bad. Asking these questions is a good start, but the recruiter should only supply a fraction of the information you and your son will consider in a decision of this magnatude.

Take it from me: Unless you ask for specifics, you won't get them. They don't just tell you about special programs and perks; you need to ask for them SPECIFICALLY. 

Not to come off like a jerk, but if you guys still don't know if an MOS can be gauranteed, you're way behind the 8-ball. Granted, there may not be a lot along the lines of predicting choices if your son hasn't taken the ASVAB yet, but you should know what he's eligble for when he does get his score. There are countless grunts out there who scored in top percentiles, but were never given the option by their recruiter or the career councillor at MEPS who had an combat arms quota to fill.

Moreover, your son needs to be armed with all the knowledge; you can't be there with him when he actually goes to MEPS to sit down and actually sign the enlistment contract. He MUST be MORE well versed in all of this than you.

Finally, just like when buying a car, if your son doesn't get exactly what he wants, he should have no problem walking away despite the pressure from an irriated recruiter who just realizes closing this sale might just not be as easy as he thought. If your son has say, Secruity Forces in mind, and they tell him no, reply by saying thank you very much, we'll be checking other branches. Never let them know just how bad you want it. Also, while this certainly varies wildly by service branch, the military has waivers for nearly everything, and the recruiter will no doubt have much more latitude to pull strings than he may let you on to.

I would spend this weekend doing all the research you can, and this forum is a good start. I would also recommend the Military section at About.com.


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## SargeLorenzo

"Which way to the Army Recruiting Station?" I had to do it! Best of luck to your son with whatever he decides, LT.


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## TPD Lt.

SargeLorenzo said:


> "Which way to the Army Recruiting Station?" I had to do it! Best of luck to your son with whatever he decides, LT.


Thats on Tuesday. We are going to meet with the Army and the Airforce, he is leaning towards the Airforce, he wants to be a Police Officer when he gets out so he is looking into being an MP in the Army and either Security Forces or Emergency management in the Airforce.


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## HELPMe

My brother is in the AF reserve, credit and past criminal history are big with the AF. Army not so much. The AF is downsizing and he may have a tough time getting the MOS he wants. My brother got stuck with some MOS he didnt want but, was able to get a slot where he could travel. He basically pushes shit out of a plane I dont know what the exact title is. Good luck. I would just ask about bonuses, and MOS availiability. Many MOSs have a wait.


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## OfficerObie59

TPD Lt. said:


> Thats on Tuesday. We are going to meet with the Army and the Airforce, he is leaning towards the Airforce, he wants to be a Police Officer when he gets out so he is looking into being an MP in the Army and either Security Forces or Emergency management in the Airforce.


 SF and MP's are always in high demand, and MP's usually retain some high bonus figures, though the days of $20k bonuses are all but over as the worsening economy has spiked enlistment and reenlistment rates.

As an Army MP with 16 months logged in Anbar, MP's are also in high demand from combatant commanders in the field. Not to scare you, but if he signs as a 31B in the Army, he will almost definately see a combat tour or two.

If you guys have further questions specifically about enlisting as an MP in the Army, let me know. The Army does have guaranteed MOS's, and there are all sorts of little things that can spice up an enlistment contract (Airborne/Air Assualt School, etc.) that the recruiter won't tell you about unless you ask directly.


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## Hawk19

TPD Lt. said:


> Thats on Tuesday. We are going to meet with the Army and the Airforce, he is leaning towards the Airforce, he wants to be a Police Officer when he gets out so he is looking into being an MP in the Army and either Security Forces or Emergency management in the Airforce.


Make sure you find out all the details about your son's desired MOS - my father had an employee who signed up with the Army, and had it in his contract that he'd get the MP MOS. The recruiter KNEW he didn't have a driver's license at the time, but didn't feel the need to tell the poor kid you had to have one to be an MP. Combat arms, he went...


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## 9319

The AF (like the Marines, CG, and Navy) cannot "guarantee" you a job. After basic, based on the needs of the branch and the individuals performance and various testing results, they can place them where need be. Not trying to pitch the Army, but it is the only branch that can guarantee you a seat in a specific school. It's somewhat rare for a kid to enlist and get sent to a different school, but possible. Also, in the reserve side of the Navy, CG & AF, (and AF Guard) some jobs require prior service in that field, thus some MOSs will not be open to all initial enlistees&#8230;things that some recruiters may fail to mention.


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## 9319

Im no recruiter, but having been in and met different branch recruiters just being where I am, ive just noted it in basic conversation. In doing so ive pretty much taken there word on it (not being able to %100 promise a job) that’s also where I had been told about reserve jobs in the CG/AF & Navy not being open to first time troops due to prior service quals. If im wrong, then im wrong, just relaying what I have been told by individuals in the biz, but I deff didn’t just pull it out of my ass, sir.


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## OfficerObie59

USMCMP5811 said:


> If your son desires to get ino the MP field, just keep in mind that most of the MP field does fiel MP work and not garrison work. The Armed services are stedily now going towards DOD Police on the bases instead of the traditional MP's providing base security.


+ 1,000,000

As MP's are highly mobile, multi-purpose, and armed to the teeth, they have been so needed for combat missions that most CONUS garrison roles have been left to the DOD police with the occasional MP serving alongside to address issues that a civilian officer may not ba able to (some UCMJ enforcement, for example). You still tend to see them active in garrison roles OCONUS, however.

While things like Airborne and Air Assault which can be written into an enlistment contract (and I can only speak from the Army side of the coin), MP's are also eligible for a slew of MP-specific specialty schools once they graduate MP School. To my knowledge these cannot be contractually guaranteed in an intial enlistment, but they may serve as a consideration in your son's MOS decision.

Usually, you need to have put a year or two in and must be an E-4. In my reserve unit, we would constantly have slots open, and if you wanted to go and were resaonably squared away you could go.

The most common are:
1. Special Reaction Teams, Phase 1 (the military's version of SWAT)
2. Protective Service Training (Secret Service-type protection for SecDef/high-ranking officers/VIP's; I went to this three week course and had an absolute blast)
3. Hostage Negotitations
4. Military Police Investigations (basically low level detective work while still being a regular MP)
5. Criminal Investigation Division (Basically the Army's NCIS (though it's not as glorified as on TV), higher level of detective type work; you actually change your MOS and get reassigned to a CID unit.)

There are a bunch more; a complete list of schools can be found under the US Army MP School Advanced Courses list:
USAMPS_training_courses
All the branches train in these courses at Fort Leonard Wood, though I can't speak for how often slots are available to other branches. As I said, no one in my reserve company ever had any issues getting into the first four if they really wanted to go.


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## Killjoy

> My son is meeting with the Airforce recruiter on monday. Anyone have any good questions we can ask. I have started a list...
> 
> Guranteed MOS?
> Tech School Fail?
> Incentives/Bonuses?
> Deployment Length?
> Choice of bases?
> Enlistment times?
> Delayed enlistment?
> 
> Anything to add to this would be great. Also any tips info or anything else would be helpful. Its been a long time since ive been in a recruiters office.
> 
> Thanks in advance


Since, to date, it seems like a bunch of jarheads and doggies posting replies, I'll set you straight. 

As a former Air Force avionics specialist, I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Guaranteed MOS: I don't know what the hell an MOS is (just kidding, Military Occupational Specialties), in the Air Force you have an AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code). A new recruit can go in open AFSC, guaranteed field or guaranteed job. When I went in (more than 19 years ago), there were 4 main job fields, now there are 5, this is from US military.com:

The Air Force divides their AFSCs (enlisted jobs) into the following overall categories: Operations, Maintenance & Logistics, Support, Medical & Dental, Legal & Chaplain, Finance & Contracting, and Special Investigations. Withing these categories, AFSCs are further assigned to "career fields." A career field may have one AFSC assigned to it, or it may have several. AFSCs with similar functions are grouped together in the same career field.

I went in guaranteed field (electronics, now it would be maintenance and logistics), and in boot camp was given a big list of open electronic jobs to pick from. I got my second pick (fighters). You can go in guaranteed job, but your son might have to wait a period of time until that job field opens. I would not recommend going in "open enlistment"; you can literally get the worst jobs available with very little say about what it is.

Tech School Fail: I'm not sure what you mean here, but I'm assuming you mean, "what if you fail tech school?" I went to electronics training at Lowry AFB, CO, and the program was about 4 months longs and fairly comprehensive. If you failed two exams, you were placed on academic probation, if you continued to fail, you were kicked out of the school. If you didn't pass tech school, you became "open enlistment" material, with most of the washouts ending up as truck drivers (because becoming a truck driver requires no tech school). Our school had about a 10-15% washout rate. Some schools (like language schools) have a much higher 60-70% washout rate.

Incentive/Bonuses: I can't speak to this, because this changes as manpower needs change. When I got out, during the awful Clinton years, they were giving no re-enlistment bonuses. Just a few years earlier, they were giving $3000-$5000 bonuses to guys in my field. So basically its a crapshoot.

Deployment Length: I don't know what you mean by this either. During D-Shield/D-Storm, one was deployed for however long the conflict went on and the DOD needed you there. I left tech school and went straight to a unit already in the sandbox, I joined them and was there from December through May. During enforcement of the no-fly zone, fighter units did a 3 then later 4 month rotations in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait. I did an emergency 3 month deployment in October 1994 to reinforce units already in theater during operation desert fox. I'm not certain what the current rotation schedule is for AF units serving in the AOR, but be advised, it is strictly at the needs of the Air Force, and not for anyone's convenience.

Choice of Bases: This is kind of a funny one. When you are at boot camp you fill out your first "dream sheet". A dream sheet is just that; where you want to be based. Of course, Air Force needs, and the realities of what your AFSC is, comes into play long before anyone checks your dream sheet. For example, if you put "Pope AFB, NC" as your first choice on your dream sheet, and your AFSC was "ICBM technician", let me give you hint; you are not getting Pope AFB. To my knowledge, ICBM's are located in wonderful places like North Dakota and Kansas. So if your AFSC is not needed at a base, you will never get assigned there. Also, even if your AFSC is eligible for a base, only if that particular base _needs_ that AFSC will you get assigned there. So there's a long row to hoe before you get what you want. Some AFSC's are lucky and are needed at every base like cooks or Security Police, so you have broader choices. I worked fighters, so I could only go to bases that had fighters. If you worked bombers or heavies, you only could go to those places that have those jobs, etc. The good news is, IF your AFSC is needed at a base you want, AND there is an opening, they will try to give you a fair shake to get that assignment. But as always the needs of the AF come first.

Enlistment Times: Not sure on this either. Back when I was in you could enlist for 2, 4 or 6 years. I had a 4-year enlistment, with 4 years in the inactive reserves. That means that even if your enlistment is up, they can keep you for the duration of your inactive reserve length. I extended 1 year, hence I had a 5 year enlistment, with that time counting towards my inactive reserve length, hence I only had 3 years in the inactive reserves (actually less, but I'll get into that). I was also never called up for my inactive reserve time, they just mailed me postcard every year to update my status and that was it.

Delayed Enlistment: I went in on delayed enlistment, several days after my 17th birthday. My delayed enlisted time counted towards reducing my overall time in the inactive reserves (hence I was in the delayed enlistment program for 7 months, so it reduced my inactive reserve time to 2 years, 5 months.) The advantage of delayed enlistment is that it often gives you the time to get the particular job you want, and time to prepare, both mentally and physically for your eventual departure. While in delayed enlistment, I had to report to my recruiters office once a month for meetings, and to ensure I still wanted to be in the program. While a delayed enlistment contract is technically a legally binding document, you can opt out of delayed enlistment at any time, for pretty much any reason, with no negative effects on later life. They will not haul you off to jail, force you to go to boot camp, fine you, or put you on some kind of secret list. All that happens is you are given an "Entry Level Separation". The only thing this will effect is your ability to re-enlist in the same service. It has no negative effects on enlisting in another service.

I can say that I went into the Air Force because I know I didn't want to go straight to college and it did a lot to give me direction in my life. But a bid in the military is like anything else in life; _you get out of it what you put into it._ One can putz around for 4 years and come back exactly the same person they went it as. But if you are willing to work hard, the military will reward you with rank and responsibilty, usually far more responsibility than a 19 or 20 year old would ever be given the the civilian world. Serving in the military one of the most honorable professions one can do, but know that every service is dangerous, no matter what your job is, and that service to your country can cost you your health or your life. Its the price some must pay to keep this country afloat. Good luck to your son.


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## Foxy85

Killjoy pretty much nailed a lot of everything on the head when it comes to the AF. I was raised an Air Force brat, up in Loring Air Force Base, and can say the family life, from a childs prospective is awesome.....

I enlisted in the Air National Guard out of high school, and wanted to follow in my father's foot steps and become a Security Police Officer. When he was in they had two different divisions of the Security Police.... Law Enforcement (municipal police type work) and Security ( Gate Guards, standing a post at a hanger, etc.)....Some time ago they merged the two into what is now Security Forces. Just be aware like others said, a lot of the Police Work is being handed over to the civilian DoD police. What I was told when I was enlisting....and the recruiter was VERY upfront about everything..... is that you may be sitting on a missile silo week, and out on the road the next week....Something to think about when you are signing up.....

I will say this....Everyone in the Air Force goes to the same training.....Air Guard, Reserve, active duty, etc... The Comradery is absolutely amazing.....I miss it.

The Security Forces Tech School was 10 weeks 4 days when I went through, it may be longer now.....BMT was also only 6 weeks long.....it is now 8 weeks.....THings have changed.....

I had good luck with the recruiters station on Park Ave in Worcester, as every branch is reprsented on one floor, and they are great with walk ins.

Any questions about BMT, or SF tech school, PM me.... It wasn't all that long ago for me....


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## TPD Lt.

Thanks for all the replys. We met with the recruiter today and we both like what he had to say. ASVAB test on August 24th, then the physical by the Airforce. It looks like the Airforce is going to be his choice.


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## MARY3

After getting the ASVAB score back have your son take the time to talk to a recruiter from each branch to see what they have to offer. With the ASVAB score in hand you will be able to see what jobs he qualifies for in each service. Even if he may not be interested in anything besides the air force the worst that happens is that he spends a few hours of his life finding out about other services.

 As a former Marine who spent a year recruiting I can tell you jobs can be guaranteed just make sure it is in the contract and keep that in a safe place. I know of more than one person who wanted t be a navy SEAL and had a recruiter write that I the contract. Well a SEAL position is something you must qualify for and can't be guaranteed by a recruiter. The navy was forces to let them out of their contract, they then came to our office and joined the Marines.

Just remember there is no hurry, research all the services and take time and make an educated decision. Good luck to him no matter what branch he decides upon.


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## TPD Lt.

Joining the Airforce...can the Airforce gurantee a Security Forces job in the enlistment contract if he qualifys? The recruiter told me no, replies on hear have said no, and looking online I get both yes and no's. Anyone 100% certain if he can get it in his contract?

Thanks


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## dcs2244

See? Not everyone who asks a question on "Ask a Cop" gets pooped on!  Great responses from everyone.

Good luck to your son, TPD Lt.


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## OfficerObie59

dcs2244 said:


> See? Not everyone who asks a question on "Ask a Cop" gets pooped on!


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## dcs2244

I saw Triumph doing one of his bits on TV, talking to some lemming:

"...well, yes, thank you. You have such a kind face ('Jack Bennys' the camera, looks back at the woman)...THE KIND I LIKE TO POOP ON."

Triumph is the best.


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## Irish Wampanoag

Ask them when are we going to bomb Iran and North Korea


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## Foxy85

With a choice like Security Forces, you probably don't need it guaranteed....Its a position in need. That being said, I'm curious as to why he won't put it in writing for you......

There were two types of guys in my Tech School. Guys who wanted to be there, and guys who couldn't qualify for anything else....Usually, at least it was when I was in, if you couldn't do anything else in the Air Force, they made you a cop. lol.

Contact another area AF recruiter to see if they changed their policy or something, but it doesn't sound right....I've heard of jobs being promised before.....


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## TPD Lt.

Well after talking to the recruiter again and doing a little research online (military.com) the Air Force usually does not let people enlist that are set on getting only one job. The recruiter said he is willing to work with us but he will not promise my son a Security Forces job. He said if he goes on the DEP he will be put on a "waiting list" for that job. He also said if you enlist for six years as opposed to four you will be an E-3 upon completion of tech school. He also said if he enlists for six years when they pick there jobs in basic he will get first choice over anyone who only enlisted for four years. Any truth to this? 

Thanks.


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## Killjoy

> He also said if you enlist for six years as opposed to four you will be an E-3 upon completion of tech school. He also said if he enlists for six years when they pick there jobs in basic he will get first choice over anyone who only enlisted for four years. Any truth to this?


I think that is true. I'm pretty sure guys who enlisted for longer enlistments got some stripes. But, back when I was in, guys who did some college got one stripe automatically upon completing boot camp, and guys with more than two years of college, or a degree, got two stripes as well. But its not really a big deal; you get your first stripe after only six months in; I got my first stripe at tech school. You make Airman First Class (A1C) after 2 more years (I think), with some guys who do promotional boards (called "below the zone" boards, or "below the desk" boards, depending on who you ask) getting their third stripe after only 18 months time-in-grade.

Quite frankly, there's not a lot of difference between a skill level 3 Airman or a skill level 3 A1C. Your skill level is your measured amount of skill in a job field. Its rated at levels 3 (newbie), 5 (competent), 7 (highly skilled), 9 (senior highly skilled specialist). A level 3 A1C is exactly the same as a level 3 Airman; they're not going to be given more responsibility because they are still learning the job. Depending on your specialty, it could take a couple of years to get rated as a 5 level, hence being given more responsibility. One generally doesn't get rated 7 level until you make at least Staff Sargent. So by the time rank really makes any difference at your job, most of the other airman who didn't get extra initial stripes have often caught up to the guys who got those extra stripes. Of course, one does get extra pay for being an A1C, so there is that, but all lower-ranking enlisted man pay is crappy. The current pay scale lists the E-3 pay at 1649.70 per month, but E-1 is 1399.50 per month, and E-2 pay (which you'll make after 6 months) as 1568.70 per month. I wouldn't recommend enlisting for an extra 2 years just for two stripes, as far as pay goes, its like enlisting for two extra years for about 2000 dollars.

As far first job picks in basic, I don't know if that's true, but it doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility.


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## Foxy85

I signed for 6 and received A1C pay right off the bat. That is the benefit....and its not really an 'extra' 2 years... Instead of doing 4 active, 4 inactive, you do 6 active, 2 in active....

Was worth it to me.....In basic you're making a little extra money do nothing more than the next guy......

Weigh it out...


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