Around This World

Welcome! Bienvenido! Youkoso! Willkommen!
Most people like the idea of joining the Air Force because of its traveling options. Ask most seniors in high school why they're in the AF softbook program and you'll get, "I'll get to see the world!"
I hate to burst bubbles, but the belief that by joining the military you'll get sent all over the world isn't as true as you'd think. But don't worry, it could still happen to you. Let me explain.
When you first join the Air Force, you'll get sent to BMT. Basic Training is in San Antonio, Texas, and every airman, no matter where you're from or what job you're assigned, will go there. (Unless you've signed up as an officer, which is totally different than enlisted. Officers go to college first, then the AF, so the AF pays off all the college debt and the officer-to-be goes to the AF Officer Academy or some such place. I'll get back to that one later.) Anyway, after Basic, an airman will get sent to Tech School.
Tech School is like a mix of Basic (strict and organized and, well, military) and College life. Depending on a person's job, they could get sent to any Tech School, anywhere. A Security Forces member will stay in San Antonio, at Lackland AF Base. Someone who works on A-10 planes or the Warthog (Wart-Hog is an airplane) are often sent to Mississippi. An aerial gunner could end up in Florida, Washington, Texas, or New Mexico. (If you have a job in mind for the AF, type it in on www.airforce.com and you can find every base that you could get sent to for Tech School.)
Now, don't choose a job for its Tech School location. Tech School isn't like College, although you will earn an actual degree at Tech School, because Tech School is very short. As an aerial gunner, to get a degree in Aviation Operations only takes 27 days. A Logistics Planner takes the same amount of time. Cyber Systems Operations takes 56 days while Geospatial Intelligence takes 100-110 days. While the time varies a bit from job to job, it isn't nearly as long to get an Air Force degree compared to college degree, eh? Tech School is cool, though, because you get the college life with dorms, teachers, peers, a cafeteria, and college homework. It's just shorter, tougher, and lacks hazing.
While in Tech School, the Air Force will ask you what your top places to be stationed are (12 of them, I believe, 6 locations OCONUS and 6 CONUS) and you can list you're #1, what you want most, #2, #3, then so on. There is no guarantee at all that you will go to the base you want. If you want Hawaii and you have a job that you can't do on that base, don't put it as your #1. Depending on your job, there are some bases you will never be stationed at because you can't do your job there. However, there are some jobs that can be done on every base. Every base needs a Security Forces Specialist or a Services Specialist or a Nurse or a Doctor, etc. Unfortunately, because every base needs that job, someone could end up in Nebraska or Utah or Italy or Hawaii. It just depends on the needs of the Air Force.
The Air Force isn't mean. If you put Florida as your #1 and they have a spot open in there, they'll ship you right down to Eglin. The trouble is, most people put the same things at the top, places like Hawaii and Florida and Italy and California - places lots of people want to go to. So think about where you'd like most. If you want to go to Florida really bad, put the bases in Florida on your sheet and areas around FL, like Georgia or Louisiana. Because it is the big digital computer that ultimately slides you into your spot on a base, it will put you in that general region. If you put Maine then California then Florida, the data looks like you don't really care where you're going.
A lot of people get sent to their base and will end up there for most of their career. There are exceptions, though. If you're in Security Forces, you can get sent to Korea or Turkey or Afghanistan for a few months, maybe a year, then get sent to a different, safer base. If you work on air planes, you may be stuck on one base or get shipped all over. It depends on the plane(s) you work on and need. If you fix all the A-10 planes that have come onto your base in Oregon and tons are broken over in Japan, they'll send you over to fix them. My brother works on planes. He went to Basic in TX, then Tech School in Mississippi, then Arizona, then Korea, then a different base in Arizona, then over to Germany (His #1), and now he's going to Georgia.
So, yes, you can see the world. My first recruiter (who retired) lived on one base his whole career. It wasn't on his dream sheet, either. As soon as his eight years were up, he got out of the AF. Then he signed back up again a year later and was sent back to his same old base. He could have been sent to a different base, but the need for his job skills there hadn't changed.
Now, if you feel upset because you might not get sent all over the world, relax. Even if you don't get shipped all over, if you join the AF you'll have 30 days of paid vacation. That is a whole month, every year, that you can use to go anywhere you want while being paid your normal salary. Plus, as an airman, you get a huge discount while flying. However, even though we're in the military, you still need a passport to fly as a civilian. If the Air Force is sending you somewhere, they box your things for you and ship them for free and ship you to your destination with just a normal military ID, but if you're going somewhere on vacation, a passport is a must.
There are many Air Force bases overseas for the more daring person, such as:
Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan (I wouldn't recommend those), Italy, Guam, several in the UK, several in Germany, Turkey, three in Japan, Portugal, possibly Spain, Alaska and Hawaii both count as overseas, and a few I'm forgetting. Some of the bases I listed, such as those in high danger zones, you have to have special clearance to enter and a reason to be there (like being stationed there for a job and not on a vacation). Places that are danger zones don't generally allow civilian family members to be sent there or even visit because it is too dangerous. So if you were married and were stationed in a dangerous area, like Korea, your wife/husband would not be able to come with you and would have to stay behind. Once you finished serving in that area and got sent to a safer base, they can easily move in with you. Which reminds me, I forgot to talk about housing.
Okay, there are 3 kinds of housing: Base housing, dormitories (Never call them Barracks or your TI will beat you-verbally), and off-base housing. Dormitories are for all single airmen. If you don't have kids or a spouse, you will live on the base in a 'dorm.' It isn't as bad as it sounds - the 'dorm' is very similar to an apartment. You have your own bedroom, your own bathroom, and a kitchen/living/washer and dryer area you share with a couple other airmen. Women and men have dorms that are separated and far apart for obvious reasons.
Another kind of housing is Base housing. It is for all airmen with a family. If you have a spouse, kids, a decrepit old grandma, you'll probably live in an on-base house. It is a very nice house with all the things you'd find in a normal home without any of the possible sharing that comes from living in the dorms. You have a dining room, bedrooms, living room, yard, and get security with a, ahem, safe neighborhood. These houses are only available to families, though, so if you're single, then no dice until you're at least an E-4 (that is a rank, people. E = Enlisted)
Finally, there's off-base housing. Sometimes families, for whatever reason, don't want to live on the base. A husband and wife can move off the base if they want and live in a house, a rental, or an apartment. If you move off base then the AF will pay you a food-allowance, housing-allowance, and clothing-allowance because on-base housing is free, there's free food on the base, and the BX (an Airmen store that's on every base and sells super good things for SUPER low prices.) So there's that. Single people living in the dorms cannot choose to live off-base. The only way an unmarried, child-less person could go from the dorms to off-base housing is if the base were overcrowded. It happens sometimes, on certain bases, when too many people get shipped to the same base because there are jobs there that need doing and not enough dorms are available for everyone. When that happens, several people can volunteer or be chosen, and those people go out into the surrounding area, find a good place, and stay there until space opens up (which can take a long time). While living off-base, single airmen will also be paid allowances. Airmen who live in dorms, but have dependents that don't live with them get paid an allowance as well because the Air Force, and the military in general, requires you to provide adequate support (including a home) to your dependents (people you're responsible for taking care of).
So don't worry so much about where you're sent to live.  Bases are safe, secure, and comfortable. And, if you're really that uncomfortable with where you've been stationed, then just cross-train. Cross-training is where you learn a different job than the one you've got. As long as you qualify for it, you can learn that job, get shipped where that job is needed, and relax.

Any questions? Feel free to ask.

Airman Trainee Elizabeth

Things to Look For

Hey there! I'm just going to jump in and start up around where I left off.

After all the work you go through, when you're finally sworn in, you're IN! But it's not over yet. If you're younger, like me, and swear in post-graduation, you go into the Softbook program. 

Basically, it is a bunch of empty slots that get reserved for a certain number of people still in school. You join now so that when you graduate, you go right on to Basic Training. As a member of the Softbook, you have your place secured in the Air Force. No one can suddenly take your place because they scored better or have a higher GPA, or anything. You have security in your spot. Generally, if someone is older and swears in, they don't get to pick their job. They get placed where the Air Force needs them. In the Softbook program, you at least put down the top five jobs that you want and they take those into consideration. For me, I chose Security Forces. 

That being said, if you have a job you really want, and qualify for (ladies, don't beg to be para-rescue, its guys only, etc) then stick to what you want. Be adamant about it! THIS is what YOU WANT! It's your future, what you'll be doing for the next four, six, or eight years. You choose! 

After you get into the program, once every month you have to meet up with your recruiter. It's standard procedure. They have to make sure you haven't suddenly gained fifty pounds or gotten pregnant or gotten traffic violations. You get a paper asking you if you're pregnant, have gotten someone pregnant, broken the law, been arrested, etc. Your recruiter will weigh you and take your height every meeting. Then, when that's done, you can just ask questions.

This is very good, very easy advice. ASK QUESTIONS. If you don't know something about the AF, ask. Ask your recruiter, ask me, go on airforce.com and click the LIVE CHAT button in the top right corner. There are plenty of people to ask and plenty of things to wonder about. On the AF website, there is a "find your nearest recruiter" button if you don't know where to look to find a recruiter. 

Personally, as a female, I had to ask about hair. The Air Force has a little strictness on hair policies. Your hair, as a female, must be at least one inch in length. Unless you have a medical condition you aren't allowed to be bald or wear wigs. You can not have hair in any unnatural colors, such as, but not limited to, pink, blue, purple, orange, or green. You can not have hair cut in a faddish style (No Mohawks, side-swept bangs, etc). Bangs must be cut above the eyebrows, if you want to have bangs. If you want to wear your hair down, it can not touch the bottom of your shirt collar. Usually, ladies will just put their hair in a bun and that'll be that. They have a special technique that the ladies teach in BMT (basic military training - get used to acronyms.)

Another thing is jewelry. One ring can be worn and one bracelet can be worn as long as they don't show anything illicit, vulgar, or, you know, sick. No naked people, no terrorist symbols, you get the drift. You can also wear a necklace while in uniform, but it must be kept under the shirt. Earrings can be worn by ladies, but they can't be large or gaudy. Small hoops of sliver or gold and small studs of silver, gold, pearls, etc, can be worn. Nothing else. No ankle bracelets, lip piercings, eyebrow piercings, tongue piercings, nose piercings, and the like. 

Make-up is a bit a of a toss up. The rules state that if you wear make up it must "look natural." and "compliment the skin tone" of the woman wearing it. No wearing any lipstick of any unnatural shade such as, but not limited to (you hear that phase a lot in the rule book - such as but not limited to- blah) purple, blue, green, unnatural red, or black. Nail polish can be worn by women, too, but they must be a natural color that looks good with a woman's skin tone (like pink or light brown). 

Tattoos. Lots of people have them and worry about being able to join because of them. The basic rules are that tattoos can not cover more than 25% of your body. Tattoos can't be visible if in uniform with the sleeves rolled up. Basically, none on your face, neck, hands, fingers, arms up to the elbow, and, I believe, none on the feet, toes, or ankles that is noticeable. I don't think you'd get in trouble for alcohol or drug tattoos, but you might. Tattoos are an "out of sight, out of mind" sort of thing in the AF. If they aren't seen, we don't really care much. But if you have a huge tattoo across your face or something, you probably won't get in. 

Clothes. You have lots of clothes in the AF and while off-duty. All airmen have ABUs. Airmen Battle Uniforms. They are really durable and really comfortable. They're the camouflage uniforms you see airmen wearing all the time (the army has the same camo pattern the AF does, but ours are a little different so do NOT confuse an army soldier with an airman.) All enlisted airmen have patches on their arm that show rank. They start with a V shape, then two Vs, and so on. Officer airmen do not have the V patches, only enlisted do. Officers have pins on their collars. It will start with a long rectangle that looks like a stick of butter. Then a sliver bar, and so on. You'll learn the ranks at BMT. You will get uniform socks and shoes, too.

After Tech school, some airmen have slight changes in their ABUs. If you sign up for Security Forces (SF), they wear berets, dark blue with the SF symbol. They also have camo bullet-proof vests over their ABUs, that are reinforced with four plates of solid steel. (Little side note: If a SF person is wearing the vest and a helmet instead of the beret, you have good reason to be worried. The helmet on an SF means there is a high danger risk on or near the area they're guarding.) Other jobs, such as pilots, have totally different uniforms because of the work they do. Pilots need breathable uniforms that will help the blood in their body stay where it should be even when the plane goes upside down or sideways. If you have to ride on a plane with a pilot, you generally get a 'flight uniform.' You look like a patch-less, new pilot, really, but its just for while you ride a plane.

Another uniform airmen have are Blues. While they have a more "professional" term, everyone in the AF just calls them blues. They're meant for formal meetings and such. Men get light blue shirts, dark blue-black jackets with their patches, pins or metals on them, dress pants, shiny black shoes, a dark blue tie, and ugly Tepee-looking blue hats. Ladies have more options. We can wear skirts or pants in grey, dark blue, or tan and a blouse of grey, light blue, or tan (matching colors only - no blue to grey or tan to blue). We have hosiery (like tights, but not), a strange neck-tie thing, shiny shoes, and a slightly less hideous trapezoid hat (ours is flatter on top where the guys have it pointy)

We also have PT uniforms. Physical Training. You wear them when you work out in Basic, when you work out in Tech school, and you can wear them when you get placed on your permanent base and want to work out at the on-base gym. They come in shorts, sweat pants, T-shirt, long sleeved shirt, and wind-breaker (light jacket). They have the AF symbol and are light and breathable. However, one of the rules you need to know is that you can't mix and match uniforms. It is against the AF rules to wear the PT shirt and ABU pants or blues shirt and PT sweats or civilian shirts and blues pants or whatever. No mixing them together! Not even the shoes or socks! Also, you can wear, are encouraged really, to wear your civilian clothes out and about on your days off. However, in other countries, try to act polite and look decent. You could be the only American they ever meet so don't wear a shirt cut so low your breasts fall out or pants so big they fall off. As an airman, you represent this country and everything about it. People will look to you and judge your country by your looks and actions. So don't think on your day off when you wear civilian clothes that you can do and say and wear whatever you want. 

Let me know any questions you have. I'd love to answer them for you.

Airman Trainee Elizabeth