Hey

I am currently Active Duty Air Force with 2 years in as a Communications Tech (3C0). Unfortunatly, the AF is downsizing and I am 99% sure I am not getting a CJR. I want to do something more military than sit behind a desk and my vision, although correctable to 20/20 is preventing me from going PJ, CCT or TACP. I am still considering SERE and OSI but have to wait till my 3rd year to cross-train.

I am also looking at going green and becoming a WO and flying helicopters and eventually fly with the 160th. My ASVAB score is in the 90's so I am good on that and I am confident with some studying I can pass the FAST test. My concern however is with the difference in lifestyle between Army and AF.

Can anyone tell me what they like and dislike about the Army life? Everyone I have spoken to is enlisted, low ranked and have nothing but bad words to say about life in the Army.

Also, could anyone direct me to a good book/website to study for the FAST test.

Thanks Guys

I did 1.5 years in the army national guard (as an officer candidate) and 2 years in AFROTC (through that may not count for much) but I will say this the army is no picknick, you will do 10-15 mile road marchs with 40-60 lb packs, also army mentality is alot more hardline, more yelling and beligerant behavior (and thats even after basic). If you can get WO school and flight school in your contract with set dates, it might be a good deal. Keep in mind you will have to sign on for 6 years to go to WO school and extend 6 more years to go to flights school (meaning if it takes 6 months to get through WO school, your total contract will be 6 years and 6 months), they also might make you go through basic again in which case I would just become a civilian, to go back through basic and WO school would be a nightmare. Keep in mind WO school is like army basic on steroids, the hazing is intensified and you are trying to learn class room stuff while knowing that as soon as you leave the class room you are going to be hazed, I dont know about you but I cant learn anything in that type of enviornment.

I have heard that once you actually get into your aviation unit and start flying its like its own little side world of the army, kinda like the army air corp back in the day, you get away from the drill sgt and combat arms types.

So make sure you get WO school and flight school with a total time commitment (to include the 6 year commitment for flight) and hard dates to go to each school that way it will prevent them from jacking you around and filling out a dream sheet or delaying flight school. If they make you go back to basic I would walk away.

That is just my opinion from an officer candidate that was also suppost to go to flight school.

Oh the FAST is cake,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0768910293/002-1532333...26?v=glance&n=283155

You can take the FAST before ever signing anything, and make them give you your flight physical before you sign up so that way they can write flight school into your contract. The military likes to hype up flight school like its campanging to be the next president, dont buy into the hype and stand your ground, if they refuse to work with you then walk away, becasue signing up under an undefined contract is very sketchy.

Commie: rppearso, as you may have noticed, is a fool. Someone who knows what they are talking about will come along and answer your question. He is totally anti-military and still has someone wipe his nose.

If it takes you 6 months to go through WOCS, then you don't need to be there.

I am actually probably the best one to talk on this specific subject because this was my exact situation (only I was an officer candidate instead of a warrant officer candidate, same difference really) so me after army basic and Commie after AF experence would put us in the same position I used to be in. All im telling him to do is to get it in black and white,

Cavscout says the same thing, if its not in black and white it doesnt exist, only he wouldent want it in black and white so that way they could shuffle you around to "meet the needs of the army"

"If it takes you 6 months to go through WOCS, then you don't need to be there."

The point was how ever long it takes you to get through the whoo haw hazing, extend that by 6 years.

I just dont want to see Commie get through WOCS and have his WOBC drawn out of a hat because he doesnt have a contract.

LOL, if you get WOFT, you're going to be a helicopter pilot. Unlike OCS, you go to WOCS for a specific MOS. 153A is the only WO MOS that anyone can be, if you qualify. Other WO MOS's you must be atleast an E5 with so many years experience within your field to be a WO in that field. So really you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

OCS is different because they usually put you in a field that you're the most qualified in or within the needs of the Army.

Ask any recruiter, its easier to get into OCS.

If that is the case thats great, just make sure its all in writing.

quote:

If that is the case thats great, just make sure its all in writing.

and make sure you dont have to go through basic again.

You'll have to go through some sort of BCT to become a warrant officer if you've come from another branch of service. Basic isn't bad, unless you're some sort of Prima Donna like rppearso.

the only time you don't have to go back through basic training is if you already went through Marine boot camp because it is the longest and if you are going from USN-USA or USA-USAF thats the only way you won't have to go back through boot camp.

I have already talked to a recruiter and he said that the Army has a Warior Transition Course, WTC, that I would have to go through. He said that they treat you like at Basic but its 4 weeks long instead of 8.

I did some research on it and found a week by week breakdown and it looks like its just training for the army rather than military in general. They will train me in a wide range of weapons, probably army uniforms and customs etc.

I am not so much concerned about training. Just short of hitting my head and losing all common sense I dont think Ill have any problems. I am concerned about after training. What can I expect in the normal day to day living. Are the facilities good or does housing have rat problems? Are troops who perform and act better than their peers treated better and promoted faster? Or is it no matter how hard I work as say an E4 I am going to be kicked around by E5's.

Thanks again

It is probably obvious to you at this point that everyone on this site thinks im a patetic losser because I have a different view point.

My experence in the army (the uniform says army remember, im just giving you guys a chance to save your self from being a hypocrite by saying I was army national guard) some NCO's treated enlistees poorly, most people were ok but it only takes a few bad ones with the army to make your quality of life suck because no one questions an NCO and they figure you deserve it because your enlisted, so while not all participate in the hazing it is definatly condoned. The facilitys themselfs were structureally sound but asteticly delapedated, the only exception was the admin offices and higher ups offices and buildings, even the helicopter hangers were delapedated.

rppearso, no one here said that your uniform said "army national guard" you were the one saying that the NG didn't fall under the UCMJ, LOL. So, many of us here had to point out to you that the NG uniform says U.S. Army and not <insert state> army national guard.

The military isn't bad, you'll have bad ones everywhere. Even in the civilian sector, there are bad ones. Say it ain't soooo!!!!

The difference is in the civilian world you can quit your job, and depending on what your boss or coworker is doing you can file a lawsuit.

In the military the situation or circumstances have to be exponentially more extreme in order to sue, in most cases you have no recourse for being treated poorly in the military, unless the treatment is many times worse than what it would have to be in the civilian world to justify a lagitimate lawsuit.

That's because the military doesn't believe in frivilous lawsuits. You're the type of idiot who sues McDonalds for "making" you fat. Go ahead rppearso, blame someone else for your short comings.

If a civilian employer instituted a military basic training working enviornment they would get sued and it would not be frivilous. The fact that you brought up the whole mcdonalds "fat" or "coffee burn" thing shows you dont know what your talking about, thoes types of things are frivilous, but there are many things the military does that would get them sued in the civilian world and it is not frivilous. I would say about 50-60% of basic training treatment would get you lagitimatly sued and would stand up very well in court.

Anyway back to the topic, quality of life in the day to day of the army is not very good. I know a guy that is security at the building I work at that just went through warrior training at ft nocks and he said it sucked a big one, its only 5 weeks (training is never the length of time they tell you it is) but it was a complete nightmare, you might want to check and see if they can recycle you in warrior training like they can in basic, I wouldent go if you could get recycled thats just my opinion.

Only believe about 50-75% of what a recruiter tells you, because they dont tell you the back story, like the possibility of being recycled to the end of time in basic instead of just ELSed or that you dont have adaquate legal representation at basic if you suspect the drills actions are sketchy. In the army its not a team its a dictatorship, you have the ones in charge and pond scum, not teams.