Anyone in the Air National Guard or the Airforce? I have a question

[CVCTURBO]

I tryed to get in the Air Guard when I was 20 but I got declined bc of maybe something I said? Kind of hard to explain. But I want to try and enlist again (now I'm 29) do they keep records of a previous attempt?

Thanks in advance

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[xRiCeBoYx]

I'm neither (former active duty Navy), but honestly your best bet is to talk to a recruiter. Don't bs them; tell them straight up what happened and they'll see what they can do for you. I'm pretty sure there are waivers for damn near anything you can think of. lol

 

[CVCTURBO]

I'm neither (former active duty Navy), but honestly your best bet is to talk to a recruiter. Don't bs them; tell them straight up what happened and they'll see what they can do for you. I'm pretty sure there are waivers for damn near anything you can think of. lol

Yeah I talked to one today and told him somewhat what happened years ago and he's going to call me back tomorrow. He made it seem like it was no biggie but I guess I just don't want to feel embarrassed. It was just the initial verbal communication that i mesed up a long time ago. Again kind of hard to explain I was young and dumb. But just trying to get as much advice as possible as I start the process again

 

[xRiCeBoYx]

Yeah I talked to one today and told him somewhat what happened years ago and he's going to call me back tomorrow. He made it seem like it was no biggie but I guess I just don't want to feel embarrassed. It was just the initial verbal communication that i mesed up a long time ago. Again kind of hard to explain I was young and dumb. But just trying to get as much advice as possible as I start the process again

I get it. We all do stupid shit, especially when we're young and dumb. No need to feel embarrassed. You wanna serve, and I respect the hell out of that. I mean, wrong branch, but I won't hold that against you.

I haven't done recruiting duty, but I can almost assure you that the recruiter you talked to is gonna do his best to try and get you enlisted, so long as there's nothing truly disqualifying in your past. If you don't hear from him tomorrow, give him a call Thursday to follow up and see if they made any progress. It'll do one of two things, a) remind him in case he was swamped with other stuff and b) show that you're serious that you want to enlist. One of my old room mates was an active duty army recruiter and was able to pull some of my initial Navy recruitment stuff. Made everyone in his office go wide-eyed when they saw my ASVAB line scores. Definitely a lot of, "holy shit, are you serious with these [high] scores...?" filled the air when he guilt tripped me into coming into his office.

edit: lots of us still do stupid shit. let's be real.

 

[CVCTURBO]

I get it. We all do stupid shit, especially when we're young and dumb. No need to feel embarrassed. You wanna serve, and I respect the hell out of that. I mean, wrong branch, but I won't hold that against you.

I haven't done recruiting duty, but I can almost assure you that the recruiter you talked to is gonna do his best to try and get you enlisted, so long as there's nothing truly disqualifying in your past. If you don't hear from him tomorrow, give him a call Thursday to follow up and see if they made any progress. It'll do one of two things, a) remind him in case he was swamped with other stuff and b) show that you're serious that you want to enlist. One of my old room mates was an active duty army recruiter and was able to pull some of my initial Navy recruitment stuff. Made everyone in his office go wide-eyed when they saw my ASVAB line scores. Definitely a lot of, "holy shit, are you serious with these [high] scores...?" filled the air when he guilt tripped me into coming into his office.

edit: lots of us still do stupid shit. let's be real.

Haha I was expecting the wrong branch comment! A lot of my family has been in the Air Force and I was excited to see I still fall in the age range. I've got a family now so that'll be a little difficult but the end reward will be well worth it. Thanks man really appreciate the advice and thank you for your service aswell

 

[pcsavvy]

I was Air Force and CA Army National Guard so if there is nothing serious that shows up in your record you should have no issues. In fact, I joined the Army National Guard after the Air Force and the joke back then was the Army National Guard would accept anyone short of an ax murderer. Of course, that was awhile ago and times and policies change so I wish you good luck. If it what was said back then shows up somewhere, best thing be honest and apologize and say You are an older and wiser person at this time in your life.
My father is retired Marine Corp so I can relate about which branch is right or wrong.
Just remember, if that recruiter promises you anything get it in writing in your contract, oral promises are worth nothing as far as that goes, ie if you join you can graduate Basic as an E-2 or E-3 instead of an E-1 that is if you are going in as an enlisted vs officer.
Good luck....

 

[CVCTURBO]

I was Air Force and CA Army National Guard so if there is nothing serious that shows up in your record you should have no issues. In fact, I joined the Army National Guard after the Air Force and the joke back then was the Army National Guard would accept anyone short of an ax murderer. Of course, that was awhile ago and times and policies change so I wish you good luck. If it what was said back then shows up somewhere, best thing be honest and apologize and say You are an older and wiser person at this time in your life.
My father is retired Marine Corp so I can relate about which branch is right or wrong.
Just remember, if that recruiter promises you anything get it in writing in your contract, oral promises are worth nothing as far as that goes, ie if you join you can graduate Basic as an E-2 or E-3 instead of an E-1 that is if you are going in as an enlisted vs officer.
Good luck....

Yeah after talking to a few Airman it seems some military laws have changed since I tried 10yrs ago so I should be good. No criminal record or anything here. Called yesterday but my recruiter was out all day so hopefully hear from him today. Thanks for the advice and your service!

 

[charleswrivers]

17 years and counting in the Navy here. If you provided medical records and made it to MEPS, it is possible they have retained things... but I can’t say for sure. There was a great purge in the last 10 years where most of my record got transferred to an electronic format. I still have a paper record, but there very little in it anymore and most is kept.

If there was some disqualifying statement you made based on a job requiring something like a security clearance, I can’t say whether anything is retained, but I kind of doubt it. 9 years is a long time. People change. If you feel moved and want to do the job... I’d go back. The military needs good folks who give a damn and work hard and look after each other.

Fraudulent enlistment is punishable under the UCMJ so my, being a senior chief stance is be straight on your way in so you’ll never have to be something you’re not.

I had a fellow Sailor... a friend, who had enlisted without disclosing some mental health issues because he wanted so badly to get in. He had a falling out with a girl and was in a stressful time and, as he couldn’t take meds, he found himself in a bad place and had a manic episode while at work (and in a location/occupation this was *not* the time/place to have it happen). He didn’t end himself... but he got in a bad place and had to be hospitalized against his will and, as his LPO and friend I visited him in that shithole of a hospital until he could get out. He’s good now and went on to be successful in a business his dad was in because his folks made sure he had a soft place to fall, but I know it hurt him to end his navy time in such a bad way.

 

[CVCTURBO]

I never even made it to MEPS... Just a quick update as of now, my recruiter called me and I was honest with him. He said he'd look into it. He texted me like 15mins later and all he said was I was good to go and come back in next week.... So pretty sure everything is good. Idk if records didn't show or because of the new laws but I'm cleared! I also gained almost 10yrs of straight adult life so I know what responsibilities and hard ass work ethic is all about. I also gained alot of skills that I can bring into the military. So being older I feel I'm wiser than 20yr old me you know. Also I'm in shape and no medical issues (that I know of lol)

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense/2017/01/air-force-mellows-pot-tattoo-policy/

 

[xRiCeBoYx]

That's great news! If I may offer this piece of advice: if you, at any point, realize being a lifer in the military (stay in until you retire, that is), do yourself a favor. Get as much as you possibly can out of it, then get out. Get as many of the qualifications you can, take advantage of schooling opportunities, make use of all the benefits you have access to. I've had too many friends and shipmates realize it wasn't for them and did stupid shit to get out early. Just remind yourself that you committed to [insert contract here], and find a way to smile through the shit. Shit, if I had stayed in (some days I wish I did, some days I'm glad I didn't), I'd be at the same time of service as @charleswrivers . Makes me almost wonder if we were at RTC at the same time. lol

If you're in shape, you'll probably laugh at the PT requirements (and you're tested twice a year)

1.5mile run in 13:36 or faster
33 push-ups or more in 1 minute
42 sit-ups or more in 1 minute

That's the bare minimum passing. My AF buddy said there's a bit more than just getting the bare minimum, but I can't remember what he said about it. Basically, you can meet the bare minimum and still not pass or something like that

edit: further realization. We were highly likely at NNPTC (navy nuke school) at the same time

 

[charleswrivers]

That's great news! If I may offer this piece of advice: if you, at any point, realize being a lifer in the military (stay in until you retire, that is), do yourself a favor. Get as much as you possibly can out of it, then get out. Get as many of the qualifications you can, take advantage of schooling opportunities, make use of all the benefits you have access to. I've had too many friends and shipmates realize it wasn't for them and did stupid shit to get out early. Just remind yourself that you committed to [insert contract here], and find a way to smile through the shit. Shit, if I had stayed in (some days I wish I did, some days I'm glad I didn't), I'd be at the same time of service as @charleswrivers . Makes me almost wonder if we were at RTC at the same time. lol

If you're in shape, you'll probably laugh at the PT requirements (and you're tested twice a year)

1.5mile run in 13:36 or faster
33 push-ups or more in 1 minute
42 sit-ups or more in 1 minute

That's the bare minimum passing. My AF buddy said there's a bit more than just getting the bare minimum, but I can't remember what he said about it. Basically, you can meet the bare minimum and still not pass or something like that

Division 025, USS Taylor! I think that was Ship 3... it was close to the tunnel, but seemingly far from *everything* else. Grad and go right before Christmas in ‘02. That was a cold ass winter for a Florida-boy. I mostly keep the stories to myself because... well... I’m ‘old’ now, so far as my time in compared to most, but I had a lot of fun times at boot camp. I was on ship staff so I pretty much never was with the division. I’d bounce around the base with an interstation pass, always making it to where the division was heading but finding the division had already moved on... then having to go back to the ship to get a new pass signed. One time, a fella I was with, Jake Freed and I spent the whole damn day just walking around the base and thought we were going to get crushed as we were hanging out ‘sky larking’ at the CO/Admiral... whatever he was... big house on the far corner of the base way the hell away from where we were supposed to be. It was 17 years ago but I still have a lot of good memories about that couple of months. Bad ones too though. Now all that old stuff is gone for the most part. I still remember folks shitting themselves marching, guys who couldn’t swim but wouldn’t admit it jumping off the platform and sinking to the bottom to be fished out, doing service week and being Veg Prep and, after being so hungry, eating pans of chicken and handfuls of sheet cake in the back, making it rain... now it all seems like a good memory.

Actually... maybe it was all terrible.

 

[xRiCeBoYx]

Division 025, USS Taylor! I think that was Ship 3... it was close to the tunnel, but seemingly far from *everything* else. Grad and go right before Christmas in ‘02. That was a cold ass winter for a Florida-boy. I mostly keep the stories to myself because... well... I’m ‘old’ now, so far as my time in compared to most, but I had a lot of fun times at boot camp. I was on ship staff so I pretty much never was with the division. I’d bounce around the base with an interstation pass, always making it to where the division was heading but finding the division had already moved on... then having to go back to the ship to get a new pass signed. One time, a fella I was with, Jake Freed and I spent the whole damn day just walking around the base and thought we were going to get crushed as we were hanging out ‘sky larking’ at the CO/Admiral... whatever he was... big house on the far corner of the base way the hell away from where we were supposed to be. It was 17 years ago but I still have a lot of good memories about that couple of months. Bad ones too though. Now all that old stuff is gone for the most part. I still remember folks shitting themselves marching, guys who couldn’t swim but wouldn’t admit it jumping off the platform and sinking to the bottom to be fished out, doing service week and being Veg Prep and, after being so hungry, eating pans of chicken and handfuls of sheet cake in the back, making it rain... now it all seems like a good memory.

Actually... maybe it was all terrible.

I know we're prolly hijacking @CVCTURBO 's thread, but it's more insight as to what to expect since he's past the "ah shit, will I be able to get in" phase. Well, kinda. It'll be mostly Navy based RTC stuff.

I was division 073, one of the new ships (ship 5) at the very ass end of the base. I honestly don't even know what the hell my ship's name was, if we had one. you got there 11 months before I got there (Nov 03). Took a year of trying out college before I decided to enlist. They did away with service week by the time I got there. What they did for us since half of our division was out , was they combined our half of the division with the other half of our brother division and we did everything together. I was guidon for my division, and every time our RDCs said, "GUIDON, STEP IT OUT" since we were late to the chow hall, or firefighting, or whatever, you'd hear a collectiv groan from the rest of the division, because I knew how to drop my ass and elongate my steps. Fastest we marched across base, including the tunnel, was just about 8 minutes. Yeah, I made everyone sweat in sub-zero temps. You're not lying though. That winter was colder than shit, especially considering I'm a desert rat from Vegas.

The only crazy stuff I saw was one of our guys up and refused his IT punishment, the RDCs got him to yell, "YES I AM REFUSING TRAINING" then had a come to jesus meeting with him and he got his shit together and became one of the hardest working cats in our division. Complete 180 transformation, it was amazing. The day before we all shipped out to our A schools, dude got called back to medical and got medically disqualified. He came back yelling and crying. It was heartbreaking, and we got to see our RDCs go from the billy badass, no bullshit types they portrayed themselves as to caring and sensitive types you'd see consoling a friend. He had a lump on the back of his next he kept complaining about, and medical shrugged it off.

Oh, I definitely fell asleep marching the morning after battle stations. Almost led the division into the side of a snowbank. PFC marching alongside me woke me up and we could hear our RDCs giggling their asses off bc they were just gonna let it happen.

Also remember one time, went to church (like.. one of two times. lol), and a more senior recruit was leading us around, and we, for some reason that escapes me, were all kinda sneaking around after the service. Suddenly, dude quietly yells, "shit! get around that corner!" I peek around the corner, and the CMC was right there, and he was looking around like he heard something suspicious. I was still in P-days at the time, didn't even have a set of utilities issued yet.

It wasn't all terrible. Mentally and physically jarring, that's for damn sure. What I tell friends and younger coworkers that are thinking about joining the military, boot camp is meant to break you down and build you up, and true testament of whether you're able to adapt and overcome situations you've never been in before. If you can't do it quickly, you sure as hell better learn quick. People laugh when I say, in hindsight, it was the easiest time I had in the Navy. Three square meals a day, regular exercise, (fairly) regular sleep. Only downside is you got a group of dudes telling you when and how to shit. Do as your told, keep up, aim to exceed your best, and you're golden.

I never had shore duty (did my 6 and out) so after the year and a half of schooling, I was a surface sailor (not like you crazy ass sub-types. lol), but 2 dry docks, 2 deployments, and a shit ton of work-ups, we were out to sea at least 2/3 of the year. Five and dime watch rotations with a 0700-1400 workday, and you know how it goes. If you're good at your job, you get the honor and privilege of doing other people's jobs. Many, many 40-hour workdays while mixing in those five and dimes. My first deployment, we had a main feed pump (ours were steam driven and took 10 minutes to light off) that wouldn't maintain oil pressure. Me and a couple dudes spent a week straight hovering over that hot ass pump (heat stress monitoring average temp in our work area was a constant 135-145F). It took us a week of ripping shit apart and looking at technical drawings (with.. civilian [manufacturer] techs alongside us) only to find out whoever did the last maintenance on that pump forgot to install a damn oil orifice and lost it. Had to have the machine shop fab up a new one. Another event that made me work 40-hour workdays was when we had a steam leak in an out-of-plant space. Since I'm a smaller dude, and much more flexible than I really should be, and really technical, I got voluntold to go to the space and a) mop the shit up and b) locate the leak through all the damn lagging and see if there was a way we could repair or at the least shore up the leak. Honestly can't remember what we ended up doing. I think we just isolated it and sucked it up, probably cross connected something to make whatever affected component in service, and had the shipyard fix it when we came back.

 

[CVCTURBO]

It's cool guys I'm glad y'all can share stories and give me advice lol

 

[charleswrivers]

Haha I was expecting the wrong branch comment! A lot of my family has been in the Air Force and I was excited to see I still fall in the age range. I've got a family now so that'll be a little difficult but the end reward will be well worth it. Thanks man really appreciate the advice and thank you for your service aswell

I’ve had a few guys after I was a chief (E7) show up as a 3rd class (E4) out of school at the same age as me (early 30s). Good guys... all of them.

29 isn’t all that old... if it’s what moves you... go for it. I always encouraged my guys to go on and do something else after their tour if they neither like/love it. My wife and I had issues having kids and an asswhack of money in treatments got covered... I’m taking the last class for my BS degree right now on shore duty, and my tuition is covered... I deferred my GI bill to my kids so there’s 3 years of school that will cover most of it for 1 of them... and make around $100k/year. The first few years were lean, but as a E8 over 16 with all my special pays... its a comfortable living even with me being the sole income. My old lady is free to be active in our kids school and runs a local soccer program in the community since she doesn't have to have a job to make ends meet... and so when I have to go, our kids aren't effectively left w/a single working parent, which is important to us. I’ve lived in SC, NY (2 different times), GA (3 different times), VA and WA... so I wasn’t stuck in 1 spot. All of my kids have a different state on their birth certificate, come to think of it.

If you do 4, 5 or 6 (whatever your enlistment is) and out... you still have 30 good years to work and do something else if you choose. You’ll always have your service years to look back on with pride.

So far as having a family and being away, quantity is good... but it’s quality that matters most. Make whatever time you have great.

I think it’s a damn good life. When my time is done... it’ll defiantly be time, but a little part of me will miss it for the rest of my days.

 

[pcsavvy]

When I joined the AF, Basic Training was 6 weeks long and depending upon what time of year you went they shut down the water obstacles in the winter cause they did not want anyone getting sick. It got cold in winter in San Antonio but I hear AF Basic Training is 8 weeks long now. I am sure they don't baby recruits as much anymore. The Drill Instructors are there to break you down and build you back up to be a team player and to work well with others. As long as you follow the rules and get through it, the Drill Instructors are also there to help you if something beyond your control happens and you need help.
I joined when I was 17 and went active 9 months later after I turned 18. I ended up going to 3 bases in 3 years not counting Basic and Technical School, I was in for about 5 years. I went to Lowry AFB, CO for some months for Technical School, then AZ then South Korea then SC.
It was a battle for me at times since I was a woman in a man's field of work and I had to deal with some folks who thought I should not be there. I had to deal with immature guys, politically incorrect types, and some guys from the Vietnam war era who were a bit different lets say. But you learn how to deal and one thing I learned is I had to speak up and be as brash as the next guy. Yeah, so I learned some bad habits that took a few years to break after getting out of the Air Force but I also learned to stop being a wall flower and to work with all kinds of folks whether I wanted to or not.
I was bomb loader working on F-4's and F-16's when the F-16's were the new kids on the block. I learned a lot especially when I was stationed at Kunsan AB, South Korea for a one year remote tour.
Depending upon your service you can end up in one place for four years or move every year, it is all up to what the branch of service needs are. If you are married they do try not to move you so much but I would not count on that.
I am also a military brat, my dad is retired Marine and as a kid we moved at least every 3-4 years up and down the east coast and we were stationed at Nicosia, Cypress for a time.
It is challenging and a very different culture but it is at the same time rewarding and it is what you make it out to be. It can be the best time of your life or the worst or mediocre.
There are times I miss parts of the military.

By the way, when I was in AF Basic Training I learned to sleep in my pants, t-shirt and socks so when we got up to go to formation, all I had to do was put on my top shirt, boots and hat. The night before I made sure my top shirt was ready to wear for the following day and my boots were polished to nth degree. This way in my rush to get into formation in the morning I would not forget to put on my t-shirt or socks or forget to polish the boots. Because you will get demerits if you are not wearing your uniform in full and correctly. At the time I was there one of the mess halls were shut down so they had to limit your time in the mess hall. Once we were seated we only had 5 minutes to eat our food so I learned to eat very fast which to this day gets on some people's nerves though I do try to slow down. You also learn to eat stuff that are not the most appetizing, in Korea during war games we would have our lunches picked up in the morning, wait till you have french fries or fried chicken wrapped in wax paper. and by the time you eat it, it is cold and soggy and bit waxy. But they now have MRE's which can be better but not always.
For most part Air Force facilities are pretty nice but when I was stationed in Korea the dorm I lived in at the time was from the Vietnam war era and was somewhat primitive compared to the new dorms that were being built at that time.

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