Another AF newbie question

[rosiejerryrosie]

It was the 'signing your life away' that irked me.... hope that clarifies my thinking as well....(Just bet you didn't retire)

[steveinindy]

Nope, I did my time and got out. But the "signing your life away" is an accurate statement since you are effectively becoming government property and also because some people in the military (a minority of folks in the Air Force) are actually putting their lives on the line so you could be potentially signing papers that could put you in the position of getting killed. That's why I chose to phrase it the way I did.

[rosiejerryrosie]

Nope, I did my time and got out. But the "signing your life away" is an accurate statement since you are effectively becoming government property and also because some people in the military (a minority of folks in the Air Force) are actually putting their lives on the line so you could be potentially signing papers that could put you in the position of getting killed. That's why I chose to phrase it the way I did.

And you still maintain that it is "just a job"? The four years that you commit to are, in actuality, pretty inexpenxive when measured against the training you receive. (Wonder how much a C5 rents for, wet?)

[steveinindy]

I guess it goes to a quality of life issue. I don't see four years of military lifestyle being viewed by everyone as a fair trade for a skill that can be gained by other means (maybe not C5 PIC time, but you see my point right?). To each and to their own, which was the crux of my entire statement to begin with.

[Ernie]

Snip

Likewise, I question the motives and potentially the sanity of someone who claims to be doing it for entirely altruistic motives (love of country, etc). No, you're doing it because you like the way it makes you feel and the way people treat you because of what your job is.

I suggest you speak for yourself. That's a pretty broad generalization. I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Ernie

[Eric Page]

I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Amen, brother!

[steveinindy]

I suggest you speak for yourself. That's a pretty broad generalization. I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Ernie

There's a difference between blind allegiance to a political ideal and patriotism. I wore my country's uniform, did my little part and got out when the time came. There's nothing unpatriotic about that. There's a lot of guys walking around with shrapnel in their bodies who could have stayed in but decided not to. Would you call them unpatriotic for not deciding to stay in? If you dared to, a lot of them would have you picking your teeth up off the ground. We have one of the best military forces in the world because people can decide to join or not and to separate or not when their enlistment is up. Taking the negative choice for either does not make one unpatriotic. It simply means you're exercising your rights as an American.

I'm not suggesting the kid not go into the military. Far from it....I just want him to really think it through and consider the implications of it, all of them- good, bad and vaguely indifferent. You would think someone who lectures another on 'patriotism' would welcome someone suggesting that another use the rights guaranteed to us as citizens. Then again, the definition of 'patriotism' has been co-opted and corrupted in the past decade or so to simply mean being willing to be cannon fodder and to march in lock step without so much as a second thought.

[Ernie]

There's a difference between blind allegiance to a political ideal and patriotism. I wore my country's uniform, did my little part and got out when the time came. There's nothing unpatriotic about that. There's a lot of guys walking around with shrapnel in their bodies who could have stayed in but decided not to. Would you call them unpatriotic for not deciding to stay in? If you dared to, a lot of them would have you picking your teeth up off the ground. We have one of the best military forces in the world because people can decide to join or not and to separate or not when their enlistment is up. Taking the negative choice for either does not make one unpatriotic. It simply means you're exercising your rights as an American.

I'm not suggesting the kid not go into the military. Far from it....I just want him to really think it through and consider the implications of it, all of them- good, bad and vaguely indifferent. You would think someone who lectures another on 'patriotism' would welcome someone suggesting that another use the rights guaranteed to us as citizens. Then again, the definition of 'patriotism' has been co-opted and corrupted in the past decade or so to simply mean being willing to be cannon fodder and to march in lock step without so much as a second thought.

I question only the quote I indicated. You can parse your words anyway you want, but you seemed to indicate that patriotism (yes I know you didn't use that word but "altruistic motives" "love of country,etc" cover it for me) are cause to question motives or sanity. Add a sense of responsibility to those words and you pretty much cover my reason for joining. When I was in, the way people treated you for "doing your job" generally involved spitting on you. Not much incentive there was there? And I certainly don't and didn't imply that there was anything wrong with joining, serving, and leaving. I did exactly that.

Ernie

[steveinindy]

When I was in, the way people treated you for "doing your job" generally involved spitting on you. Not much incentive there was there? And I certainly don't and didn't imply that there was anything wrong with joining, serving, and leaving. I did exactly that.

Fair enough. No offense intended on my end either. By the way, I'm sorry folks spit on you for doing your job. I always make it a point to tell any Viet Nam era veterans I meet thank you because a lot of them never heard it when they came home.

[battplatt]

I will leave my opinions on the "why people serve" comments out of this, however, it seems no one has fully answered your question so:

The full list of medial requirements to be a pilot and/or navigator are listed here:
http://wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResou...8/Default.aspx

The requirements are the same for a fighter pilot and a heavy pilot (medically speaking of course...). Having glasses does not limit you from being a pilot provided your uncorrected vision is within the listed tolerances. There are even possibilities of having laser eye surgery done to help, but be careful, because if done incorrectly it can permanenty limit you from flying in the USAF.

As far as TPS, i an tell you that they prefer an engineering type background from the degree standpoint, additionally most people i know that end up there have been fighter type guys who have flown more than one aircraft in the USAF. This is tuff to do in today's environment within the USAF, but not impossible.

Do not let any comments here sway your decision to serve or not serve. If you want to fly B-52s for the USAF then good on you, go do it. You must follow your own path and not let comments from strangers sway you. Do what is right for you. Personally, joining the USAF and "signing my life away" for ten years has been a rewarding and interesting life experience. I wouldn't do anything else and dread the day i have to figure out what i will do after this...Yes there are civilian avenues to accomlish the same goals, however, realize that the training an aviatior recieves in the military is excellent and speaks volumes within the civil aviation industry if and when you pursue a job after the military.

I recognize that i say all these things from a biased position, so do your due diligence by researching every facet of this decision before you make it.