So, do you like it? Flying in the military? What about living on a boat?

[Spekkio]

I am not an aviator, but the fact that I never hear the following "conversation" ever again makes it all worth it:

*Gets on elevator at 8:45 am Monday morning with two other female workers*

30 seconds of awkward silence

Woman 1 to woman 2: *in over-happy, high on caffeine voice* HAPPY MONDAY! HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?
Me: *Thinks about the great sex I had with my girlfriend Saturday night, and how I want to stab myself for being in this place right now*
Woman 2: *fake, disenterested voice* Good, how was yours?
Woman 1: Good. It's so gorgeous out, isn't it?
Woman 2: Yea, I know... shame we have to be indoors today

*elevator opens*

Woman 1: Well, nice talking to you. See you around. Buh bye!

Note: This is not a knock against woman, as men in corporate America are equally castrated to talk about banal topics such as weather in elevators as well.

 

[ice]

I am not an aviator, but the fact that I never hear the following "conversation" ever again makes it all worth it:

*Gets on elevator at 8:45 am Monday morning with two other female workers*

30 seconds of awkward silence

Woman 1 to woman 2: *in over-happy, high on caffeine voice* HAPPY MONDAY! HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?
Me: *Thinks about the great sex I had with my girlfriend Saturday night, and how I want to stab myself for being in this place right now*
Woman 2: *fake, disenterested voice* Good, how was yours?
Woman 1: Good. It's so gorgeous out, isn't it?
Woman 2: Yea, I know... shame we have to be indoors today

*elevator opens*

Woman 1: Well, nice talking to you. See you around. Buh bye!

Note: This is not a knock against woman, as men in corporate America are equally castrated to talk about banal topics such as weather in elevators as well.

Very interesting, haha. But how does that pertain to the military?

 

[Spekkio]

When asked how my weekend was, I can freely talk about boning my girlfriend without repercussions in the form of sexual harassment suits or getting fired. I also don't have to listen to other people have these stupid conversations without getting punched in the throat. On the negative side, I work a lot more hours than the average civvy and there's no overtime pay.

I tried to take the most "everyday living" approach to answering your question. Take it or leave it.

 

[BACONATOR]

I concur about avoiding the obnoxious banality of "acceptable workplace talk" that makes me want to climb a tower with a high-powered rifle. Military is good times. Some days are a LOT shittier than the civilian world, but many of the days are WAAAY better too, so it's all worthwhile.

 

[C420sailor]

I go into "work" (I hate that term) and get paid to fly airplanes.

My friends go to work and sit in a cubicle for 8 or more hours, staring at a computer screen, writing TPS reports.

So yeah, it's pretty fucking awesome.

 

[Beans]

Sorry, what're we talking about? I think I blacked out for a day... must've been another kill order. That's the third this month!

Seriously, you (and perhaps your parents) ought to have a read at the oath of office for commissioned officers.

I, (state your full name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The antecedent of "same" shown above is the Constitution (also a good read), my friend, not any random person ranking above you telling you where to step next. Your true faith and allegiance is shown to the Constitution, not blindly to your chain of command. While we respect our chain of command, we aren't bound to execute unlawful orders. "A mindless order following killer, a malevolent heartless minister of death" we are most certainly not. Yes, we are sometimes asked to execute a lawful order that involves killing. It sucks that it has to happen, but that's warfare. Others here will have a better perspective than mine, which as of yet is still just academic.

The idea is that you are commissioned as an officer because the Commander in Chief [of the Military, not of the whole country, as is often misstated], through your commissioning source, trusts you for your judgement. We're not drones.

Oh yeah, and my job is awesome. This week I get to put on $10,000 goggles and fly around in a helicopter that weighs 10 tons. Think about that for a second. One minute I'm sitting on the ground in a semi in what appears to be pitch black darkness. The next minute I'm just floating there.

 

[BACONATOR]

Sorry, what're we talking about? I think I blacked out for a day... must've been another kill order. That's the third this month!

Seriously, you (and perhaps your parents) ought to have a read at the oath of office for commissioned officers.


The antecedent of "same" shown above is the Constitution (also a good read), my friend, not any random person ranking above you telling you where to step next. Your true faith and allegiance is shown to the Constitution, not blindly to your chain of command. While we respect our chain of command, we aren't bound to execute unlawful orders. "A mindless order following killer, a malevolent heartless minister of death" we are most certainly not. Yes, we are sometimes asked to execute a lawful order that involves killing. It sucks that it has to happen, but that's warfare. Others here will have a better perspective than mine, which as of yet is still just academic.

The idea is that you are commissioned as an officer because the Commander in Chief [of the Military, not of the whole country, as is often misstated], through your commissioning source, trusts you for your judgement. We're not drones.

Oh yeah, and my job is awesome. This week I get to put on $10,000 goggles and fly around in a helicopter that weighs 10 tons. Think about that for a second. One minute I'm sitting on the ground in a semi in what appears to be pitch black darkness. The next minute I'm just floating there.

They let YOU do that?

 

[xj220]

This isn't a normal 9 to 5 job as you've no doubt gathered by now. Sometimes I wish I had one, but in the end I know I made the right decision. Everyday is different and my office is a cockpit, not a cubicle. I make good money to live a good life doing a badass job. I'm a part of something that is full of tradition and history. There's times where I just want to say "fuck it all," but those are few and far in between. What are more common are days where I, a 24 year old, is at the controls of a 100k lb plus plane with a full tactical crew, cruising at 200 ft and 200 kts over the water rolling to 45 to hit a point so we can track a sub. Plus, the whole wearing a flight suit and leather jacket while pissing off/making fun of SWOs is a nice touch.

 

[SDNalgene]

Come on dude, you already know we like it. Consider this website for half a second. It's an unofficial message board for our career. So when we leave work, we go home and log onto a website about our jobs to talk with people we have never met about our job and occasionally our hobbies. You just don't really find that too often in other professions. I know my accountant buddies can't wait to logon to fuckmylife.com and while that arguably is the airwarriors of the corporate world I don't think it's quite the same thing. Everyone here loves being a part of naval aviation, otherwise we wouldn't waste our free time on a website devoted to it.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

yes.

I did the civilian job thing and got paid good money and got to travel. I can't believe I get paid to do what I do now, and I'm only in primary

 

[Short]

You should aspire to be a coldly professional minister of death; no need to make it personal with feelings of malevolence and all that.

 

[bunk22]

Discussed plenty of times. Try the search function, it's your friend. BTW, flying is great, desk jobs like mine in Korea, not so great. The end.

 

[ice]

Best route to become a pilot?

I want to become a pilot in the military, but I'm not quite sure how to get there. I could go through the Academy, ROTC, or OTS, right? Which route do you recommend? For those of you who went through USAFA or Annapolis, how was it? I've heard that they get the most pilot slots, but I've also heard its hard as hell and not fun at all. If it gets me a pilot slot, then I can deal with it. But if there is a simpler way then I'd rather go that route. Also, you get a Bachelor of science degree from the Academy, correct? A bachelor of science seems pretty useless to me. Even though I want to go to law school afterward, a Bachelor of science is probably the last undergrad degree I would want. Another reason to go ROTC.

I want to be a fighter pilot, but I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if I became a heavy or helo pilot. As long as I'm flying something.

And on a side note, should I be thinking about the AF or the Navy?

 

[Beans]

Oh boy, you're gonna get torn to shreds, in an internet sense, at least.

Anyway, you can search this site, which has been repeatedly answering this question for almost a decade, to fix your lack of knowledge. As for your very, very, ignorant attitude about, I don't know, the value of a BS degree (or SB, as my institution called it), well, you're just going to have to fix that on your own.

I can answer your last question. Air Force.

 

[E26]

And on a side note, should I be thinking about the AF or the Navy?

You do understand that this is primarily a Naval Aviation forum, right? Your answers may be slightly biased

A bachelor of science seems pretty useless to me.

Don't get one. Problem solved.

I can answer your last question. Air Force.

What he said.