How to Join the Air Force

Join the U.S. Air Force and you can train to become a cook, a medical technician or a policeman - or you can apply to work on the world's most sophisticated airplanes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet Access
• Computers
• Spiral Notebooks
• Career Counseling
• Laptop Computer
• Academic Counselings
• Pens And Pencils
• Book On Careers
• Internet Explorer
• Internet Explorer
• GED Study Guides
• Online Career Search
• Desert Storm: Original Air Footage Videos

1. Think about the U.S. Air Force's ultimate purpose - defending our national interests through warfare. Every member, including the noncombatant, is dedicated to that purpose.

2. Discuss your possible enlistment with family and friends who are Air Force veterans.

3. Listen to their personal experiences, but make your own judgments.

4. Understand that you may be devoting four years to an assignment away from your family, friends and home.

5. Understand, too, you may have many opportunities for traveling overseas while in the U.S. Air Force.

6. Consider whether you want to request special training when joining.

7. Remember, the Air Force can make an assignment after aptitude testing.

8. Visit an Air Force recruiter.

9. Take thorough notes.

10. Ask for literature. Study it carefully.

11. Establish rapport with the recruiter.

12. Understand that the recruiter needs to fill a quota, but he is also anxious to see your questions answered so that you can make an informed decision.

13. Clearly specify your desire to seek assignment to a particular military occupation specialty.

14. Ask your school counselor or a recruiter to schedule you for the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Test.

15. Remember, all branches of the U.S. military strive to be drug-free. A drug test will be administered while you undergo physical examination.

16. Understand also that you will be subjected to a criminal background check.

17. Make no legal commitment until you're absolutely sure of your decision to join.

Tips & Warnings

• The U.S. Air Force is the youngest of our military services, having been formed from the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1947.
• The Internet is an excellent resource to learn about Air Force history and opportunities and to keep in touch with your family once you've enlisted.
• Do your best every day and treat military life as an adventure.
• Consider joining the Reserves or the National Guard if you don't want to make such a four-year commitment.
• When you're taking the ASVAB, remember that higher scores provide better opportunities.

[remmy19]

on 6/30/2009 http://usmilacademyapps.blogspot.com/ is a great site for info on this topic, it is published by an actual liaison officer for the US air force academy. I highly reccomend it!

[reamere]

on 12/27/2008 Most enlistments are for 4 years or 6 years. What many recruiters do not tell you is that the military reserves the right to call you back to service for an accumulative of 8 years. This is due to a law enacted by congress.

[kavlins]

on 9/12/2008 As few of them suggested here about better life, and discipline Air Force provides, i would like add my thoughts too...

It all depends on a person's taste. Like someone said , "But you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig," Obama told a crowd in Lebanon, Va. "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, and it's still going to stink after eight years."

[AFPinay1983]

on 1/31/2007 The person who made a comment that the recruiter left out the information that she has to make 8 year commitment to the Air Force after getting an advance degree may have done selective listening. Most people blames the recruiter for maybe ommitting information to get them to sign up but sometimes what you hear maybe how you wanted the information "to sound." No branch will give you a free advance degree (pay for it) especially of you are a pilot and let you get out right after that. Even private company requires that you work for them for X number of years if they pay for your education. Needless to say, one of the Air Force core value is "Service before self" so don't use the military just to simply pay for your degree (especially advance degree if you are an officer already, like if you want to become a lawyer and join the air force JAG) and not pay back service time for it. My advice, don't simply rely on a recruiter, talk to other people, and the internet is your bestfriend too!

[AFPinay1983]

on 1/31/2007 First of all, understand that the Air Force or any other branch is not for everyone. The US is not a citizen army so they recruit or commission who they believe meets the standard/requirement. I have been in the Air Force for 6 years and my husband for 7. He is in a understaffed career field (Security Force) so cross-training to another career is not as easy as the other career field. We have both earned our Bachelor's degree while serving in active duty. It is not easy but it is not impossible either. The Air Force will always put the mission first so what you want, you may not always get. Just remember, when you are in the Air Force, you don't just have a job, you enlisted or commissioned so you cannot put yourself first and decide to quit when you don't like something. It has been great to and my family even when deployments because this branch will work really hard to give you a better quality of life so they also retain the highest number of people. In fact, the Air Force always exceeds their authorize numbers because more people wants to stay in this branch than any other service.