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
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