Hey AF people, what can u tell me?

Hey my boyfriend is looking into joining the military. What can u tell me about the Air Force? Let me give u a little info about my family and what I've heard and so on..also u can see my profile too. My boyfriend is thinking about this, we live in a very poverty stricken town in Ohio, we're on HUD and I'm always scared that we'll be kicked off for whatever reason. We want out of this town and off of HUD. Here my boyfriend makes like $10 an hour which is great for here because it is cheap to live here, but making that much isn't going to help our future any as far as savings go and it certainly isn't going to get us out of this town..I am a stay at home mom to our two boys and don't want them growing up here. I think that the military would be good because it would get us out of here (we obviously would have to get married first, no prob) and when he gets out we can get a great loan for a house. My boyfriend has graduated from college and has a bachelors degree in autocad/computer drafting so from what I hear that would get him in a higher ranking position and that would pay more. I know that our housing would be paid for and our utilities and that we would get a food allowance. I wonder if his student loans would get paid for? Also I am hoping that he can not go into a war zone so I was thinking if he went into the air force and went to school for something through the air force that would keep him from war and he'd get paid and our housing would still get paid for. Sounds good to me! I wonder if he does the schooling where we would be stationed? Also I wonder how long the boot camp is and while he is in bootcamp will my rent be paid for? Can you tell me anything else about the Air Force? Like is there a chance we would get sent out of the country to another country oh like France, or sent to hmmm Hawaii? lol..TIA!! ~Tema

I am an Air Force wife of 6 years, this is what I can tell you: yes you get a housing allowance, it does not always cover your rent, so you make up the diffrence. i will be frank with you, the pay sucks, compared to the civilian world. You said you hoped he got sent to a war zone for the money! You need to reevaluate that. Trust me no ammount of money is worth his life, my husband has been to Saudi once, we have been lucky. You stop watching the news, you fear every knock on the door will be 2 uniformed officers with bad news. Yeah it's better pay but at what price. Food allowance is around 200 a month, boot camp is 6 months. When he goes to school tou will move with him only if his school is a certin length. You can be sent anywhere, anytime, without warning. If he has a 4 year degree i would have him look into becomming an officer, you get paid about 3 times as much, but you move about every 2 years. Now on a brighter note, I love the Air Foce. We are an air force family though and through! We love the challange that comes with every new base. We take advantage of the programs, both my husband and I are getting our school paid for. I am getting my surgery paid for.It truely takes a certin kind of woman to be a military wife. Good Luck. and don't believe anything a recruiter says!

Sheresa- Please PLEASE read my post again, I reread it to make sure I didn't word it wrong and I didn't, I didn't say that I hope he goes into a war zone for the money, I don't want him to go into a war zone at all at for any money, I said I hope he doesn't go into a war zone. But now he is leaning more towards the coast guard anyhow because I have been hearing that the air force isn't taking people much now because they are downsizing. And he said he would rather stay with the U.S. and with the coast guard that is more likely. OMG if u thought I said that I wanted him to go into a warzone for the money u should have cyber SLAPPED me lol!!! NO WAY!! Not me!! That would be ignorant to say! ROFLMBFAO!! ~Tema

Sorry it was late, i misread it, my apologies. The coas guard is a good option, Always by a beach! Still all the benifits of the military. Sorry again, good luck

Hi I am an army brat and my husband was in the USAF 10 years and is currently a reservist, the military is great if you don't mind moving every year and making new friends(very friendly group). If he has a college degree he can go in as an officer if he passes a test. It is worth the wait not to go enlisted, It pays 2x as much! My husband had a degree and the recruiters lied to him saying he could become an officer after he went in enlisted (bunch of bull!) only 1 in 10,000 get in that way. Don't be bullied by the recruiters, decide to wait them out for 6 months or so of negociations to go in as an officer even if they say there quota is full. He could go into many fields: medical, police, engineer, airport managment,they will give you a list. My husband did the airport managment and almost did the Physician's Assistant which pays great if he gets out of the military, Do 4 years and if you don't like it get out (go reservist) and the job market loves the military because they are disaplined. When you get out they will send you anywhere you claim home. by the way Charlotte NC is great, Denver CO is Great, Alaska is great (if you love snow) Florida wasn't so great. NJ was great. Texas sucks (HOT) They will have him pick 3 jobs and he won't know which one until he joins but they try to give you the one you ask for. Basic training is a dog for older guys, my husband wanted to quit so bad he called me crying because he felt so degraded and didn't feel he had to take it, the younger guys don't seem to mind as much. We are now reservest and look forward to the retirment check and by the way the pay sucks enlisted but it's enough to live comfortably (no medical bills yea!) Lots of perks. Like jsut when you house needs painting they move ya into anew one (out of state)LOL PS. Airforce is the cushy job of all the military less combat.

Hey!! Wow thanks for all the info!! I thought I understood everything but now I am left a little confused so please help me clear up my head some. You can go in as enlisted (what does that mean?) or go in um the 'other' way (haha what is that way called?) and there is a difference in how u go in? Like money wise? Can you tell me more about that? He does have an associates degree in um Computer drafting/autocad, he went to a two year technical college, but wouldn't mind doing more schooling in the military or he'd like to do a job that he can use his degree for. I was thinking if he went to school in the air force then he wouldn't be sent out (deployed) lol and when he was done with the schooling then he could get a better job in the af and make more money. But then he is thinking the coast guard as well because they (from the info I've gathered) kind of stay here in the US and hmm we'd probably be living on a coast (can't hate that lol) The reason I am researching so much online and trying to talk to people is because this way when we talk to recruiters we are alot more informed and probably won't be bull****ted by them, we'll know what we want and how to get it kwim? I have been trying to talk to as many people about the af and coast guard as humanly possible so we are completely prepared for a recruiter to bull**** us and tell us what we want to hear (not that they all do). So I really appreciate it when people educate me!! I won't mind moving, I hate this town I'm in, it's run down and everyone is becoming heroin addicts..yuck!! And I don't think I'll have a problem with moving every so often, a change of scenery is always nice. Thanks again to you and everyone who has helped to educate me I truly appreciate it!! ~Tema

You can join the Airforce 2 ways as an enlisted person or as an Officer,"You can go in as enlisted" means you can join as a enlisted person E1-E3, E-1 means no education above High school, I think E-2 means 2 yr degree and E-3 means 4 year degree, each step E1-E? is a step-up in basic pay. E means Enlisted not an Officer. He will step up over time and after tests. This is how he will have to go in since he doesn't have a 4 yr degree. He can sign up for the GI bill(this must be done with his joining paper work) and finish his degree while in service for free (I think?) but that won't give him a pay raise(usually) what it will do is give him an oportunity to apply to become an Officer which will increase his pay and better his housing. This is difficult to do unless your supervisor loves you and puts in a good word for you and helps you get a test date and if all that works out you have to pass the test and go to basic training all over again with the Officers not the Enlisted. Some good colleges have ROTC, if he joins that program he can finish his degree for free and I think he is automaticly an Officer at graduation but agrees to 4-6 years in the military as pay back for the education. This would be the ideal way to go if it's possible because if he is an Officer as I said he will make more money and more of everything else, including retirement! I also think while in ROTC you get a small paycheck. Search the web for ROTC information at colleges. I recommend you stay on the bases for many reasons but the most is protection, incase he is a traveler and is gone alot. You will like the support of other women who's husbands may be gone too. You will have alot in common with them and develop more friendships and support on base. Good luck, I hope this cleared up the questions alittle more. It's good to get your info on line or where ever you can before you show up at the recruiter because once you do they will not let you out of there sight for along time and PS when you sign up remember you can change your home of record so you will end up where you want to be instead of where you came from (your little town). what I mean is if you ever get out of the military they send you back to where you joined unless you change your home of record. Well that is it for me I have to go now. Bye

I've been an Air Force wife for almost 9 years. If you live off base, you will get a housing allowance based on what the cost of living is in the area. That doesn't mean that what you get will cover your rent and electricity. We live in base housing in Florida. You may or may not immediately get into base housing when you get to your duty station. So you might have to get on the housing waiting list and live off base for a while. If he can get in with a higher rank because of his degree, go for it--he'll make more money. The pay can be crappy, but the health insurance is great, especially since they paid for my surgery. Whether or not he would go to war depends on his career field. My husband has been lucky and hasn't had to go anywhere. He volunteered to go to Iceland once for 3 months several years ago. When my husband was in basic training it was 6 weeks long. Then his tech school was 3 months. You don't get to join him until he goes to his first base unless it is a very long tech school (like a year or something). The military doesn't pay your rent while he is in basic or tech school. As a matter of fact I had a hard time getting any of his pay. He had to send it to me. And well he had other things on his mind. But then again this was almost 9 years ago. I think now you have to have direct deposit set up first. Initially he will get to fill out a "dream sheet" of bases that he wants to go to. There is no guarantee that he will go to any of those bases. They will send him where there is an opening. I don't think there is a base in France, but there are in Hawaii, England and Germany. As a matter of fact we are moving to England in August. Not everyone moves alot. Eglin was our first base and we have been here almost 9 years. My husband put in for the move, that it how we ended up getting England. I can't wait. I hope I answered some of your questions. Brandi