I Am Thinking About Joining The Airforce, But I Have A Family With 2 Daughters, And A Wonderful Wife, Any Advice?

[Bernd]

I am 26 years old, and will be able to graduate with a Bachelors in accounting next fall. My biggest concern is how my family will be. If there are any airforce wives out there to reply for my wife that would be appreciated too.

[Dow]

Then you need to go to Officer School, to become a officer in the Air Force to make enough money to support your family. If I was you, and I know I am not I would think of my family first, go out and get a job in accounting, take care of my wife and children. They are number 1 in your life or should be. The Air Force isn't going to pay half what you can receive in the real world. Once you join any part of the service the first thing they tell you, you are the Property Of The United States for the time you signed up for, period! During those years you have no rights, must eat, go to the bath room and do what they say at all times. There are no exceptions. Do you think you can live like that? Noing you have a wife and children at home?

[Colfre]

Predator said: 2 Don't. 63 months ago

[Eibhear]

Don't.

[Walbridge]

Please don't put your family through it. I am an Air Force wife and I promise you that YOU will be taken care of, and your family will be by finance and education alone, but they will be treated like your luggage emotionally. Especially if you get based overseas, expect your family to be left behind for a while until the AF decides to send them. It's been an awful experience for myself and my husband and I would not feel right telling anyone to join if they weren't prepared to forget about their commitment to their family being a priority.   CourtneyBaltz 26 months ago

[Saleem]

Different for each situation I never make a blanket "yes, you should join the Air Force" statement to anyone. Everyone is different and has different desires, priorities, etc. Being in the military is not a job, it's a lifestyle. Almost every part of your life will be affected by joining. It's not a job where you just clock in at 8am and go home at 5pm and not have to worry about working until the next day. Much of a person's Air Force experience will depend on their job. For instance if you are a cop or some other career fields like certain Intel analysts, you will probably be deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan every 6 months. Other jobs such as the one I have which is working with satellites and other space-related things very rarely deploys, if ever. There is nothing for me to do in the desert, as my job involves sitting at a computer and supporting the war effort indirectly by using and maintaining satellite systems. Since you are close to obtaining a bachelor's degree I would guess that you are interested in becoming an Officer in the AF rather than being an enlisted person. Officers get paid a great deal more than enlisted members and also have much better retirement benefits, etc. This chart shows the difference in pay. For example a 2nd Lieutenant, straight out of Officer Training School will make $2,500 a month plus allowances for dependents, Basic Allowance for Housing to pay for a place to live, etc. For an enlisted person to make that much they have to be a Staff Sergeant with around 8 years time in service. Officers have a lot more responsibility however. Your day to day life in the Air Force again will depend a lot on your job. Some people such as Finance personnel work a mostly normal 7 - 3pm, M-F job. Others have very different schedules such as mine where I work four 12-hour shifts in a row and then have four days off. If you work in operations of some kind then you can expect to be working long and inconsistent hours, as most operations have to be up and running 24/7. This can obviously be hard on some people as you can go days at a time without really seeing your family. You can also be deployed for months at a time, not being able to contact your family very much at all. Some assignments such as Korea are remote assignments and you can't even take your family with you at all. These types of assignments also usually last for a year or more. However, day to day life when not deployed is mostly like a normal job(again, depends on your actual job). Once you are done with your shift you can do whatever you want, just like normal. Sometimes you can be on call or be called in for extra shifts, or have to work a lot of hours a week. Other times you'll actually have a lot of time off. One thing that my wife really appreciates by being an AF wife is a sense of security. We know that I'll have a job for at least 4 - 6 years at a time. We know I'll have a steady pay check, a place to live, food to eat, etc. We live on base so we feel safer in our home than we would be if we lived off base in a normal apartment. I'll have about $80,000 from the Montgomery GI Bill to go to school while I'm in or after I get out(Officers don't get this, as they already have a degree). And there are tons of other great benefits to being in the military. But, it can be a difficult life. After four 12 hour shifts I am physically and mentally exhausted. I rarely actually get my four days off. Frequently being called in on extra shifts, coming in for training or evaluations, etc. You are also highly encouraged to pursue an education while in, so you'll probably be taking classes online, even working towards your Master's if you already have a bachelor's. You also have to do a lot of volunteer and community service work to stay competitive with promotions, etc. It can be hard on your family to move around. I've only been in for a little over 1.5 years so I have stayed at one base so far. But every 4 - 5 years you can expect to move to a different base. Kids have to go to new schools, meet new friends, etc. Feel free to send me a private message if you have specific questions about anything. I can't cover everything you could possibly want to know without seeing specific questions, so feel free to send a message if you like.   Derek(SA) 63 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Bhradain]

JEMS_Mom said: 1 I am not an AF wife but an Army wife. The AF takes much better care of their families and airmen. Their facilities are nicer and the deployments are SUPER short compared to the other branches(4 months usually) and to much safer places. The military life is a tough one and some people can not deal with it. However, it is up to the family as to how they handle it. You can either belly ache and whine making your life hell or you can look at each move(which will be frequent) as an opportunity to see new places, meet new people. The Army had a Army Family Team Building course for families to learn how to deal with military life. I would find it hard to believe the Air Force doesn't have something like that. Like I said, some wives can't deal with hubby having 24 hour duty, being away for a month or so for training or even 4 or 5 months for a deployment. Many can though, and sometimes, it is a matter of finding a good support system to keep you from losing your mind. I will be glad to help you out anyway I can. 63 months ago

[Werner]

If you are going to have a Bachelors degree, Then you need to go to Officer School, to become a officer in the Air Force to make enough money to support your family. If I was you, and I know I am not I would think of my family first, go out and get a job in accounting, take care of my wife and children. They are number 1 in your life or should be. The Air Force isn't going to pay half what you can receive in the real world. Once you join any part of the service the first thing they tell you, you are the Property Of The United States for the time you signed up for, period! During those years you have no rights, must eat, go to the bath room and do what they say at all times. There are no exceptions. Do you think you can live like that? Noing you have a wife and children at home? Delvet 63 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Gunn]

I never make a blanket "yes, you should join the Air Force" statement to anyone. Everyone is different and has different desires, priorities, etc. Being in the military is not a job, it's a lifestyle. Almost every part of your life will be affected by joining. It's not a job where you just clock in at 8am and go home at 5pm and not have to worry about working until the next day. Much of a person's Air Force experience will depend on their job. For instance if you are a cop or some other career fields like certain Intel analysts, you will probably be deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan every 6 months. Other jobs such as the one I have which is working with satellites and other space-related things very rarely deploys, if ever. There is nothing for me to do in the desert, as my job involves sitting at a computer and supporting the war effort indirectly by using and maintaining satellite systems. Since you are close to obtaining a bachelor's degree I would guess that you are interested in becoming an Officer in the AF rather than being an enlisted person. Officers get paid a great deal more than enlisted members and also have much better retirement benefits, etc. This chart shows the difference in pay. For example a 2nd Lieutenant, straight out of Officer Training School will make $2,500 a month plus allowances for dependents, Basic Allowance for Housing to pay for a place to live, etc. For an enlisted person to make that much they have to be a Staff Sergeant with around 8 years time in service. Officers have a lot more responsibility however. Your day to day life in the Air Force again will depend a lot on your job. Some people such as Finance personnel work a mostly normal 7 - 3pm, M-F job. Others have very different schedules such as mine where I work four 12-hour shifts in a row and then have four days off. If you work in operations of some kind then you can expect to be working long and inconsistent hours, as most operations have to be up and running 24/7. This can obviously be hard on some people as you can go days at a time without really seeing your family. You can also be deployed for months at a time, not being able to contact your family very much at all. Some assignments such as Korea are remote assignments and you can't even take your family with you at all. These types of assignments also usually last for a year or more. However, day to day life when not deployed is mostly like a normal job(again, depends on your actual job). Once you are done with your shift you can do whatever you want, just like normal. Sometimes you can be on call or be called in for extra shifts, or have to work a lot of hours a week. Other times you'll actually have a lot of time off. One thing that my wife really appreciates by being an AF wife is a sense of security. We know that I'll have a job for at least 4 - 6 years at a time. We know I'll have a steady pay check, a place to live, food to eat, etc. We live on base so we feel safer in our home than we would be if we lived off base in a normal apartment. I'll have about $80,000 from the Montgomery GI Bill to go to school while I'm in or after I get out(Officers don't get this, as they already have a degree). And there are tons of other great benefits to being in the military. But, it can be a difficult life. After four 12 hour shifts I am physically and mentally exhausted. I rarely actually get my four days off. Frequently being called in on extra shifts, coming in for training or evaluations, etc. You are also highly encouraged to pursue an education while in, so you'll probably be taking classes online, even working towards your Master's if you already have a bachelor's. You also have to do a lot of volunteer and community service work to stay competitive with promotions, etc. It can be hard on your family to move around. I've only been in for a little over 1.5 years so I have stayed at one base so far. But every 4 - 5 years you can expect to move to a different base. Kids have to go to new schools, meet new friends, etc. Feel free to send me a private message if you have specific questions about anything. I can't cover everything you could possibly want to know without seeing specific questions, so feel free to send a message if you like.  

[Darcell]

I am not an AF wife but an Army wife. The AF takes much better care of their families and airmen. Their facilities are nicer and the deployments are SUPER short compared to the other branches(4 months usually) and to much safer places. The military life is a tough one and some people can not deal with it. However, it is up to the family as to how they handle it. You can either belly ache and whine making your life hell or you can look at each move(which will be frequent) as an opportunity to see new places, meet new people. The Army had a Army Family Team Building course for families to learn how to deal with military life. I would find it hard to believe the Air Force doesn't have something like that. Like I said, some wives can't deal with hubby having 24 hour duty, being away for a month or so for training or even 4 or 5 months for a deployment. Many can though, and sometimes, it is a matter of finding a good support system to keep you from losing your mind. I will be glad to help you out anyway I can.