Any career military individuals on here?
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Anonymous
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Looking for some advice. I'm going to set up a meeting with a recruiter but me and DH are trying to figure out which one of us should go into the Air Force. Our motivation is plain and simple: we have two DS's and want more for them. We are barely surviving. All of our bills are paid but we will never be able to do things like buy a house, invest in their college savings, invest in our own futures, etc.
The specifics for me: - Recently graduated, 3.3 GPA in English, good physical fitness, I've only been able to get hourly positions with no benefits but I enjoy my job daily, I am a terrible test taker. The specifics for him: -2.7 (maybe 2.8) GPA in Business Admin, works in finance now, has a salaried position with low pay but is miserable in his job (between the commute and his pay), his fitness is not the best (as in non-existent but he isn't fat); He is an excellent test taker. The only part that gives me anxiety is spending time away from my kids and having them forget me. It may seem irrational but it is there. |
Anonymous
| Why wouldn't you both inquire and see who gets more traction? |
Anonymous
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No one cares about your test taking skills. If you are fit and get along well with others then career military is an excellent choice. You can opt choose your own service area. Lots of kids sign up for infantry (combat) so not much of a risk there is you don't want to do that. (You don't).
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Anonymous
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How old are your kids?
Military life is really hard and I have a lot of feeling and respect for military spouses and families for what they have to go through. You said it yourself. Just going to basic alone is going to be several weeks without seeing the family, while the other spouse has to handle all of the household duties and raise the kids. There's potential of having to miss birthdays and other special events. It's basically like they say, when you sign on that dotted line you're basically signing your life over to them. So I think your feelings of anxiety are valid. I don't want to completely dissuade you. As I know some people (and their family members) who love the military and the opportunities it provided to them. But just something to think about. If it's something you're definitely going to do, would suggest looking into OCS options to get a commission. Don't know if it's much better but I remember there were struggling military families barely making ends meet too. Life is probably a little bit easier and better as an officer. And maybe see if you both can take the required tests first: https://www.airforce.com/how-to-join/prepare-for-success/meet-requirements to see what opportunities each of you might have? |
Anonymous
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OP Here. We are both looking at OTS so that's why I thought test taking would play a role.
How candid should we be with a recruiter about our reasoning's? I would prefer both of us to go. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thank you for this. Our kids are young - 1 and 3. We would not go into this as enlisted - my best friend is in as enlisted and she struggles paying student loans. |
Anonymous
| BOTH? No. One of you needs to be the trailing spouse. |
Anonymous
The recruiter won't care about your reasons, only whether you are qualified (test scores, no criminal record, clean drug test, etc.) and interested in whatever slots they have available at the time. Back when I was in people with kids had to have a family care plan which you will have since your or your spouse will remain behind with the kids. |
Anonymous
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Others might know better but I'm not seeing it as realistic or possible for you both to go.
Who would watch and raise your kids while you're both gone? Then are you guaranteed to get the same duty assignments? Then what happens when one spouse wants to pursue an opportunity to advance their career? Can the other just pick up and go with them? Another thing that I always kind of thought about military spouses is that they can never really establish their own careers as well. Where they're always constantly picking up and moving following their spouses around. An example is someone that went to the same medical program as their spouse. But never really got to pursue that career due to moving every couple of years with each reassignment. I probably skew on the more negative side of your idea. But I'm not in your shoes either and don't know all of the aspects as well. |
Anonymous
OP Here - sorry if I made this confusing, only one of us would be going in, not both. Trying to figure out who would have a better chance of being an officer and if this is a good idea. |
Anonymous
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I'm not "career military", but served time in the military and am a mom (now, not then).
Quick reactions: -it's great that you're planning as such, but don't kid yourselves, there's a good chance it won't be a "career". -the recruiter likely doesn't give a shit why you're joining. They need to make numbers, the rest of the discussion is the just sales. -it's odd that you guys are having a hard time deciding which one of you wants to serve. It's totally smart and realistic for it to just be one of you, and you're being realistic that it (seems to be) mainly a financial choice, but this choice, and ESP. since it's whether to try and get a commission, should be also based on who wants to lead young people through deadly circumstances, and who wants to SERVE. It really should be a calling. This sounds altruistic and dramatic, but the person that should join should be: willing to die or be badly hurt during service, willing to deploy across the globe to shitty places for several months at a time, willing to forgo being at home with the family if work calls, and generally be willing to place service ahead of family. It's the AF, so there's also a chance that you might end up a desk jockey somewhere, but I think the above factors need to be at the top line of your decisionmaking. People that aren't aware of these factors are miserable in the service, and/or there for the wrong reasons and a drag on operational readiness. It's like someone becoming a fireman, and not taking planning on fighting fires. |
Anonymous
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How old are you and your husband?
Are you close with family? Would you have someone to watch your kids full time if both you and your spouse deploy or go TDY? My husband is career military, and I can't imagine if we were both in. Obviously people do it, but it's definitely nice to have one "on call" parent for basically everything. |
Anonymous
| Your husband’s 2.7 GPA is not going to make him an attractive candidate. You would have the better chance with your GPA, although usually the Air Force wants to see a STEM degree. Being a military officer isn’t as easy as just having a degree - it’s legitimately competitive. |
Anonymous
| Your DH could try to go in as a budget, contracts or acquisitions person. Even if he doesn’t make it to retirement, he’d still get out with great experience and a security clearance. That’s job security all tied up with a pretty bow. |
Anonymous
+1 to that. There tons of acquisitions and contract specialist jobs posted on USAjobs. |