Advice...

[coyote]

Hey everyone, first off a little background on me.

Currently 23 years old, serving in the AF as a Satellite Communicatons troop, on my second deployment to iraq in 1 year. I got a wife and 2 kids back at home. I have roughly 2 years until my crosstraining window and being i'm not a big fan of maintance or anything like that I am looking to crosstrain ASAP.

My question is this, does anyone else, mainly in the AF or possibly other services, have this desire to really be in the shit? Like I dont want to become Rambo and kill a village full of terrorists. In fact I only want to go into combat if i have to. I just feel this incurable sense of wanting do more then just be in my cushy AF job. Like a real desire to get out there and do stuff. I know it will suck at times and in fact might suck a lot of the time, but i still want to go.

I've given thought into TACP, AFOSI, Blue To Green into infantry or something along the lines of that, or just getting out. Definetely no security forces.I love the military so i dont really want to get out. But to me the AF is more of a buisness then it is a military and that drives me insane. Especially with this new wave of "warrior airman". Does anyone else feel the same way and if so what do you recommend to someone who wants to do more? Once again i want to say I dont want to save the world or go kill folks in combat, I just really want to be in the shit as oddly as that sounds..... I think i'm just crazy personally but I definitely am interested in hearing your thoughts...

[ang1sgt]

What is it with Comm Troops?

Anyway, There does seem to be a need for some folks to delve deeper into things and a sure fire way to do this is go Army or Marines. I have all the respect in the world for our Sister Branches of the Military. For me though, working on Jet fighters or SAC Bombers was enough for me.

I think that you need to chat with DaveIn3D. 3d is a very good man that felt the desire to leave the USAF and Join the Marines. I am sure that he is a fine Marine and his talents as a Airman went unnoticed.

Good Luck!

[soccermark23]

You could try for EOD. They seem to be in the thick of things and are definitely in high demand right now.

[ang1sgt]

One thing I forgot to mention and I should have being a Career Advisor and First Sergeant. Make sure that your wife is up to speed and is included in your plans. Look at the impact these changes could have on your Wife and your Children. As an enlisted man, I doubt that you would find better Schools and Housing than you would with staying with the USAF. Families are important and making sure that they are safe, secure, and happy, will help you be a better Airman, Soldier, or Marine.

This is where I usually trail off into my Reserves and Guard ramble but I won't do that. It sounds like you want and need the Active Duty side of things. So much depends on family life and where you are in life. I went with the Guard after I got out after 6 years. I thought then and still consider it the best move for me and my family. Now after giving my company 28 years, I will find out on Friday what that service to them means. I guess I gambled on that, and I'll find out. I thank God that he gave me he strength and ability to serve 6 years on Active Duty and another 18 in the Air Guard. At least I have my military pension when I turn 60.

Good Luck!

[DaveIn3D]

Originally Posted by ang1sgt

What is it with Comm Troops?

Anyway, There does seem to be a need for some folks to delve deeper into things and a sure fire way to do this is go Army or Marines. I have all the respect in the world for our Sister Branches of the Military. For me though, working on Jet fighters or SAC Bombers was enough for me.

I think that you need to chat with DaveIn3D. 3d is a very good man that felt the desire to leave the USAF and Join the Marines. I am sure that he is a fine Marine and his talents as a Airman went unnoticed.

Good Luck!

Comm troops are just naturally cool like that TOP...

I would HIGHLY recommend you look for another job within the Air Force. I was single when I got out as a Tech Controller and went to Parris Island. I looked at blue to Green but 12-18 months away at a time was a bit much. I chose the Marines because Marines are Marines and we hold our heads just a little bit higher than everyone else. Also, the Commandant said Marines will only deploy for 7 months and when the Commandant says that, he doesnt change his mind. BUt I did have to start at the bottom again. 2years and 1 month after stepping onto the yellow footprints, I am one month away from making SGT....again...

Before I switched I was looking at the TACP,CCT,PJ stuff. The only thing that kept me from crosstraining into one of them was my color vision. Apparently I cant see 'pink' so the Air Force doesnt want me.....

My current MOS (AFSC) is counter battery radar. I am combat arms and I am on the front lines. But I do not have to necessarily be shot at or have to shoot back. I track incoming mortars and rockets and track them back to their origin. I then pass the coordinates of the origin to the Gun Bunnies (howitzer guys) and they blow the hell out of the enemy. So I am in the fight without being 'in' the fight. Really fun stuff that allows both me and my wife to sleep well at night.

If you do decide to switch, make sure you understand exactly what you will be doing. The army has its perks just my beloved Corps has its perks. Just keep your head screwed on straight and make the informed decision that best suits you and your family needs.

But remember

We'd promise you sleep deprivation, mental torment and muscles so sore you'll puke,"

"But we don't like to sugar-coat things

www.usmc.com

-3D

[Woody]

Well tacp gets you into "the shit" as much as anyone sane would want imho and you get to blow stuff up ,but, Once your a family man Its a bit more complicated than thats sounds cool .
I hope you can sort it out .

[SGM]

In one way I can relate - I went from a line unit(combat engineer) to a Corps Support unit. Which was a big let down. I like you always want to be up front, in the thick of things, but one question - what is the thick of things?

When I deployed to Iraq in 2003, I was the Rear CP G3 SGM - long way from the front, from doing what I really wanted to do. But my job was just as important as being up front. If the beans, bullets, fuel, replacements didin't reach the guys up front, then we lost.

Its the same with you. If people can't communicate the bad guys don't get bombed, or maybe our guys do!!

Make sure you take the time to really look at what you want and also look at the big picture - the end game. If you switch services, you start at the bottom again, and there is no guarentee you will get what you want. If you cross level in the AF, you stay the same rank, move up. You already know the system. You might think about the engineers!!! Were were called "infantry with a shovel". Also EOD will keep some exciting things in your life. If you're really gung ho - Spec Ops if you got the stuff for it.

But like TOP said, you must also think about your family. How will it effect them? You've heard from others who have switched Services and successfully, but this isn't for everyone. Lots of questions to be ask yourself. What are your long range goals - what are your short range goals?

What ever you deceide, not only you, but your family will live with it.

[coyote]

I definitely appeciate all the responses.

I completely see what your saying SGM, I am a firm believer in the whole every job is important to the mission and sustaining it. Like in the AF, if the dental technician doesnt fix the pilots teeth, the pilot doesn't fly which means bad guys dont get to meet their maker...which is bad news. And not trying to be toot my own horn here but for anyone who knows what an ACS does in the AF its a very important job, and SATCOM is a huge part of that. But i really just dont feel that its for me.

Davein3d- Are there a lot of the same shanagins in the Marines as there were for you in the AF?

Not going to lie but I do have an incredible wife back at home who has said she will follow me wherever I go which definitely makes things easier for me. Or harder depending on how you look at it.

I feel physically I could handle just about anything. Im pretty young and can run pretty well. (9:00 1.5 mile) Could use some work in the pool, but thats about it. Although if i did CCT or PJ INDOC alone is pretty intimidating.

I definitely see a general consensus of folks saying to stay in the AF and just go into a different career field thats a little more "expeditionary". Family is numero uno for me, so I think you guys are definitely on to something here...

[DaveIn3D]

I know about life in an ACS. You wouldnt happen to be 606 would you? I was in the TDC/ICAP shop there 04-06. I then went to the 728th in Eglin for my last 3 months in the AF. It was there in the NETMAN shop that I decided I needed something more.

There are shenanigans in the Corps. I would say that the level of 'shenaniganery' is much higher than that of the USAF. The flipside being that you ALWAYS pay the piper for your actions.

Also, there is more respect for rank in the Corps. As a SrA in the AF, your just dude to most junior Airmen. In the Corps, if a junior Marine calls you dude, he must have a deathwish. To an e-1, an e-2 is god. To an e-2, an e-3 is God. This is how is goes all the way to the top.

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

-3D

[Murray B]

Hi coyote, I’m a civilian but I may be able to help.

First of all, don’t ask people in other services what to do because they will always say theirs’ is the best.

Also beware of the Marine Corps because once you join them you will be a Marine until the day you die, or even longer. This is true regardless of what the paperwork says. I also hear they make you sleep with your head in a jar or something, but I am not completely clear on that.

I’ll bet you know what a GHz is and why waveguide is hollow. This knowledge is very rare and the vast majority of people are not interested in learning such things. You can do a poll to find out but I’m pretty sure that most people do not care about waveguide tubing.

Now, I’m a short, fat, balding, ‘computer guy’. Would I make a good infantryman in Iraq or some other light brown country? Nope, except I think that several ‘computer guys’ like me deploying from helicopters would surely cause enemy Special Forces types to fall to the ground with laughter.

This is not just true for me but true for most technical types I can think of.

Finally, how important are communications anyway? Well, at the beginning of every battle the first thing they always attack is C&C. That is how important it is.

Good luck, He! [This is a Canadians that is hard to translate into American but in this context means extra good luck, Eh? Which means don’t you agree, Eh...Geeze I better shut up. This could go on forever.]

P.S. I had a ride in a Leopard once and it was really cool. Maybe you could work on tank communications or something if you really want to be really near a hot war zone.