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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 7:16 pm
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Jeffo46, thanks for the input. It's cool to see how many retirees there are on this forum. Navy was my 2nd choice, and after the incident with the Marines, when I was waiting on the recruiter to get back from vacation, I almost applied to go with the Navy and be a Corpsman. The USAF has been extra strict lately and has not been accepting many people based on Body Fat Percentage, but the Navy still is. I was basically at my weight limit, and was sort of afraid of failing the USAF physical, but I knew that the Navy would just get my BFP if I was over weight.

ButchA, thanks for the story. Pretty incredible. It's a good thing you didn't just take the other option to go on the streets. I don't know how I'd act in that situation. My friend's parents just retired from the Coast Guard, and I met a rescue swimmer once. All pretty solid people.

T2Stratman, thanks for the info again. Still not entirely sure if I'm going to sell the car then. Gonna have to make that decision this week, because there's always the possibility that I won't be able to take it to my duty station, as you know. Bummed about the low chance of good waves, but I still might try. I've been wanting to learn since I was a little kid.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:33 pm
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mac67 wrote:
... One question that I have is whether or not I should do the 6 year and get the bonus ...

FWIW, I am an ex-Navy Officer (nuke subs). EOD are hard-core dudes. Good luck!!! ... With regards to your question above, what is the other choice without the bonus?

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 2:22 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
mac67 wrote:
... One question that I have is whether or not I should do the 6 year and get the bonus ...

FWIW, I am an ex-Navy Officer (nuke subs). EOD are hard-core dudes. Good luck!!! ... With regards to your question above, what is the other choice without the bonus?


Hey thanks. The other choice is to take the 4 year enlistment with no bonus. Since I have an Associate's degree, I would already get E-3, so I'll get E-3 whether I do the 4 or 6 year. Often, the USAF gives E-3 to anybody willing to do a 6 year contract. I'm pretty excited about EOD. I've been trying to learn all about it before I go.

So I got a call from the recruiter. I can't leave next week, and it might be a whole month until I can leave. I'll post an update when I know, if you all want. Apparently, they put all of the upcoming EOD jobs into "Open General" slots so that people who go to basic with the Open General classification can choose those jobs. So my recruiters tried to get me a spot, but they transferred them without telling us, I guess. Something like that. Anyway, I'm pretty bummed.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 4:15 pm
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Quote:
So I got a call from the recruiter. I can't leave next week, and it might be a whole month until I can leave. I'll post an update when I know, if you all want. Apparently, they put all of the upcoming EOD jobs into "Open General" slots so that people who go to basic with the Open General classification can choose those jobs. So my recruiters tried to get me a spot, but they transferred them without telling us, I guess. Something like that. Anyway, I'm pretty bummed.
[/quote]

Umm...Do NOT go Open General. Yes you may get to select EOD or you might not. The needs of the AF at that time will determine what you get...you could end up in Security Forces, Aircraft Maintenance, or Personnel. If EOD was open, they would give you a guaranteed job in it. You will be rolling the dice and may not end up with the job you want. Wait until you get a Guaranteed job of EOD.

First rule you must learn...Patience Grasshopper.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 10:42 pm
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T2Stratman wrote:
Do NOT go Open General. Yes you may get to select EOD or you might not

+1
All good advice from fellow veterans, if you take open general "that would be your only choice".
After completing basic you would be "needs of the Air Force" and that would be what you do for 4 years.

I was an Infantryman when I joined the Army and went in as an "Unassigned Airborne".
I didn't see an Airborne unit for 11 years after finishing Airborne school and by then wasn't even in the Infantry any longer. Just sayin...w/o a guaranteed placement into EOD school it is highly unlikely they would have slots open for new recruits, period. In the Army, selectees to the school are usually Sergeants and SPC/Promotable.
I have worked alongside many EOD Techs in my later years of service and it is by far one of the most difficult and demanding schools in the combined services.

The Air Force, I know very little about unless its packing cargo or scheduling aircraft for jumps. They do seem to have really nice locations around the globe and I would guess some not so nice.

Keep your car if you like it, its paid for and it runs....I would store it W/ family or friends until you know what your status is going to be. Talk to your insurance company and tell them what you want to do, they may save you some $$$. Once you know you can have it w/o restrictions, make arrangements to have it shipped to your location, on Uncle Sam along w/ the rest of your belongings...

I don't know your age or physical characteristics, so just do more than you think you can handle w/o hurting yourself. Run that extra mile(even if slower) extend your workouts by 30-45 minutes, the more aerobics the better. Set high standards for yourself and achieve them while your young.

FWIW, the Army and Navy draw most of the EOD Tech slots followed by the Corps and then the Air Force.
If you're already Depped, you're in the Air Force. Hope for the best and talk to your recruiter about other specialties. Avionics and others in the maintenance field are quite lucrative once you get out of the service.

If you make it to EOD Tech school, "stay in the moment" nothing is more important than what you do next...

Good Luck!!


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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:29 pm
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T2Stratman, sfceric64, thanks for the input. Don't worry, I'm not going in Open General. I had to do a PAST test already for EOD, so I'm guaranteed the job before going to basic. I wouldn't want to do Open General, though I've heard of some guys getting decent jobs; but it's also possible I would get a bad job. So no, I'm going in for EOD, not Open General.

I heard the school is the 2nd hardest in the military, but I'm up for it. Car's not paid off, so that's another consideration for sure. I've been swimming lately, and increasing my intensity. Trying to get that cardio in. That's one reason why I want to do EOD school, I want to do something that's physically and mentally challenging. And lately, the Air Force EOD field has ramped up their physical requirements, so it seems really like the ideal career field for me. Already in Air Force DEP, wouldn't have it any other way. I might try to become an officer and a pilot after a few years. We'll see. :)

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 1:24 am
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The good thing about the military is that it's always evolving.

I hadn't read much about service lately, so I did a little read about the AF dep, seems you could be in the program for up to a year before assignment. And specifically that's how the AF handles EOD school, so you are getting good data from your recruiter. Keep the faith and be patient.

Sounds like you got a good plan.

FWIW, I was a cheznef before I joined up...I was the oldest and only drinking age person in my basic, really busy during pass weekends.

Go to Mardi Gras if you can!!!


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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:48 am
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Sfceric64, I started in the DEP on August 25. Hoping it doesn't take a whole year, but I've heard of people staying in for almost as long. I've been holding out for a good job, though. The very first month, I got a text from my recruiter saying I could go in November if I wanted to do Security Forces. I declined, because I've heard it's often not much more than gate-duty, and a lot of people were telling me not to do it. I was told that I could have been drawn for a job last month (to leave February, I think; not sure), but since I was doing the PAST test, my recruiter decided to not assign me anything (thank the Lord I passed for EOD, I would have had to wait even longer). So that's where I'm at. I'm going to leave earlier than I could have, but not as early as I wanted, if that makes sense. I'm trying to be patient, but I feel like the kid who just wants to be a "grown up". I wanna get out there and go, you know?

I'm 23, so I might be in your shoes. I was told EOD guys go in a "Battlefield Airmen" flight, so I'd be in with the PJ, CCT, SOWT, SERE, and TACP guys as well (and I might have to do harder PT, haha). But that's good, I just want to do well, challenge myself, and get my work done. But that's also just hearsay, I don't really know how it will be. I'm trying to imagine it before I'm there, and all that.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:53 am
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I was 7½ years in CCT and I can personally attest that enhanced PT was an integral part of the daily training regimen when we weren't actually deployed.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:21 pm
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Retroverbial, that's pretty cool, how did you like CCT? I just met another one of them. I thought it would be a pretty cool career field. Obviously, I'm going into EOD instead of CCT, but I thought for a while about it.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:30 pm
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I enjoyed my time with the teams and through contacts I'd made during my many overseas ops, I was able to "leapfrog" into an assignment with an un-nameable federal agency headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It was a very rewarding and very satisfying four-year tour.

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 3:37 pm
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T2Stratman wrote:
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So I got a call from the recruiter. I can't leave next week, and it might be a whole month until I can leave. I'll post an update when I know, if you all want. Apparently, they put all of the upcoming EOD jobs into "Open General" slots so that people who go to basic with the Open General classification can choose those jobs. So my recruiters tried to get me a spot, but they transferred them without telling us, I guess. Something like that. Anyway, I'm pretty bummed.


When my son joined the AF I told him get a sealed deal so you know what you're into, and pick a field that you can use in RL. I was a contracter teaching surgery to airman during gulf 1 . I was not enlisted so he didn't listen to me, his scores were in the top 10 percentile and could have gotten all the school he wanted. He wanted air rescue ( I told him that was a hard road) He went in without a solid deal, relying on the recruiters "assurances". He ended up in aircraft maintenance, not what he wanted, but it worked out better to me. He's a U2 crew chief now and getting his degree.


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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 4:11 pm
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Eroot64 wrote:
He's a U2 crew chief now and getting his degree.


Is he stationed at Beale in California?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Going to Air Force BMT Soon
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 2:02 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Eroot64 wrote:
He's a U2 crew chief now and getting his degree.


Is he stationed at Beale in California?

Arjay

No, he says somewhere in Korea, he keeps the details very fuzzy for obvious reasons. But he is occasionally in Cal.


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