My name is Elizabeth. I'm seventeen years old and, as of a short while ago, I am a Trainee of the United States Air Force. Fancy title, isn't it?
I just figured that, after all the hardships I'm going to go through to become an Airman, why not write it (or rather type it) out to help other people through the same sort of things.
Maybe I should start off with a little background information.
My big, goofy brother is in the Air Force. I love him and his ridiculous ways of joking around. When he joined, I was pretty surprised. It was one of those 'if he can make it in the Air Force, any one can.' He's always been a little tougher than me, though. Not because I'm a girl, but because I've never really tried to toughen myself up before. That all changes now that I'm signed up, though.
Most people think that joining the military means I was out of options. You know, got bad grades, didn't want to go to college, yada yada yada. I have a 3.5 to 3.6 GPA (I just graduated from junior to senior, too) so it isn't that I'm stupid or was afraid of going to college. It just seemed like a better opportunity to join the Air Force. I mean, seriously, I don't have to have $20,000+ debt before even getting a job, I don't have to worry about not finding a job or losing it because people don't need it anymore, I'll get to travel places my classmates only dream about going, get a whole month of paid vacation time every year, I get to live in a very secure neighborhood (the base- obviously it will have good security), and I get to serve my nation and help protect people. Why would I trade that for thousands of dollars of debt, drunken roommates, tiny dorms, and employment insecurity? When it comes right down to it, the answer seemed so obvious. Plus, if I really wanted the college experience, I can go to college while I work my Air Force job (for free, I think - something about the Post-911 GI Bill [I need to read up on it first]) or I could go after my years are up.
You can sign up for 4, 6, or possibly even 8 years, I think. Everyone who signs on is technically in for 8 years, but if, say, you signed up for 4, then that's 4 years of actively working for the AF (Air Force) and 4 years of inactive duty (they'll pull you back in if, say, a war started or something).
Anyway, there are a few steps to getting in.
~First - talk to a recruiter. You can find the one closest to you on the airforce website (airforce.com)
~Second - sign paperwork. You get asked weird questions like: Are you a terrorist? A drug dealer? Do you wet the bed? Are you missing fingers/toes? Are you mentally ill? Etc, etc.
~Third - you go to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) This is true no matter where you're going (AF, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard). It's not super fun, but it's not bad, either. You go in, take your ASVAB (for the AF) and as soon as your done, you get your score. If you do super bad, like moronically low (tens and twenties), then you have to retest. There are really simple jobs that you can have really low scores on (Security Forces) or other jobs that require a higher score (Cryptologic Linguist). After the ASVAB, they'll feed you. Then you go to your hotel where you usually room with someone (of the same gender). If you want, talk to the front desk and they can arrange a separate room. You'll rest and the next day get your physical.
The physical sounds more scary than it is. You come in, get a folder with a bunch of papers, go into a waiting room and get a few tests done. They have you put on headphones and press a button when you hear sound. They have you look a letters to check your sight. They check for colorblindness. You go to a classroom and fill out more paperwork. They tell you you'll be arrested and imprisoned if you lie on your paperwork to get into the military - SO DON'T LIE! It's not scary. We joked around with our 'commanding officer' who was teaching us - he was Army. Made fun of the new 'digital camouflage' uniforms and wondered why the Navy had blue camo - if they fell in the water, how would we ever find them?
Also in the classroom, they have you blow into a small machine to check for drugs - why you would smoke a joint before going into a physical is beyond me, but whatever. After that, the blood test. The nurses that work there are super good at their jobs - you barely feel a prick. DON'T drink OJ the morning before the blood test or it'll show positive diabetes even if you don't have it.
You have to pee in a cup next. There's a window in the bathroom. Through it, a person will take your pee and check for alcohol, drugs, pregnancy (females only, sorry boys), and, I guess that's it. Next, the creepy exam. They bring all girls (and guys, separately, though I didn't see them go into their guys only room) into an exam room. They check your height and weight. (there's a chart in the AF website for size vs weight. Like if you're 5'1 then you can weigh a max of 145 pounds. They taller you are, the more you can weigh. If you're muscular, they make exceptions. They take you individually into another room and check your, um, parts, for warts and such. Awkward. It's easier, though, when the doctor (girls for girls, boys for boys) talks monotone and tells you ahead of time exactly what their doing and what for.
They have you bend your arms, knees and do walks (heel, toe, heel toe!) then you get the all clear.
Finally, you go to the AF office where an Airmen will show you your list of all possible jobs you qualify for. You pick your top five and they stick the data into the computer.
Next, you go to a smaller office where you'll be asked, 'if something happens to you, where do you want your money, house, etc, to go?' Then they'll do fingerprints for all of your fingers. It's kind of cool. "Ahhh, my old enemy - Female pinkies." - my scanner guy. Our pinkies are so small, it takes half a dozen tries to scan them in.
They might ask you to do a survey on how you felt about the physical, if they could make it better, etc. You could grab a sandwich from the cafeteria, or whatever. They'll take care of your folder, your paperwork, and you'll swear in. You raise your hand and repeat after the soldier in front of you. Easy.
It's late, so I'll explain more another time. Thanks for reading.
Respectfully,
Air Force Trainee Elizabeth
