I would have liked to have gone AF, and I tried, but there were a few things holding me back. My age (27), not prior flight experience, and a couple run-ins with the law back in 95 (disorderly conduct twice). But what was holding me back most of all was that 0 flight time. The AF basically told me that if I didn't have AT LEAST 40 hrs flight time that the board wouldn't even bother to look at my packet. Not to mention they had all their pilot quotas met till the end of 2004. Not willing to spend the time, effort, money to get a ppl just to have a chance at a spot a few years from now basically sent me packing.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Army or Navy Aviation Program?
- Thread starter akmoon
- Start date
- Status
This is also a very biased web site, if you want to here honest opinions from people who have flown AF and hear the argument from the other side then you will need to go to another web site as you most likely are only getting part of the story here.
I am pretty sure that either way you will see plenty of action no matter what service you fly for. Even the heavy's in the AF are seeing their share of the action. Tankers were flying over Iraq and Afghanistan at low alts and getting shot at during the first days of the wars. C17's routinely fly into hot spots around the world. During both wars; Iraq and Afghanistan I refueled a fair share of AF fighters and bombers, don't worry if blood and bullets is what you want you will get plenty no matter what service you fly for. A good friend of mine who works at Hurlbert Field FL; the Special Ops command for the AF said he has seen more memorial services in the past two years then in his entire career. More than once he has had to wash blood out of the back of AF MH-53's.
This is going on all around the military, in all the armed services people are fighting and dying, they all deserve our respect. To imply that the AF doesn't do their share during war is just plain ignorant
I am pretty sure that either way you will see plenty of action no matter what service you fly for. Even the heavy's in the AF are seeing their share of the action. Tankers were flying over Iraq and Afghanistan at low alts and getting shot at during the first days of the wars. C17's routinely fly into hot spots around the world. During both wars; Iraq and Afghanistan I refueled a fair share of AF fighters and bombers, don't worry if blood and bullets is what you want you will get plenty no matter what service you fly for. A good friend of mine who works at Hurlbert Field FL; the Special Ops command for the AF said he has seen more memorial services in the past two years then in his entire career. More than once he has had to wash blood out of the back of AF MH-53's.
This is going on all around the military, in all the armed services people are fighting and dying, they all deserve our respect. To imply that the AF doesn't do their share during war is just plain ignorant
This site is dedicated to Naval Aviation. I'm sure the webmaster welcomes all services to participate but you must consider your principle audience. You have come to the wrong place if you want someone to kiss AF arse. As for my own posts, I stand by them 100%. There is nothing biased or derogatroy in them. I do make fun on occasion as it is in the spirit of competition. Competition is good and there is plenty of it in the military, NAVAIR or otherwise. If you can't take a joke or even criticism, then you are in the wrong business. As to who sees the most action, and who sacrifices more, the AF is coming around. In my day they were pretty much like garrison soldiers, or cops in a donut shop. CV airwings routinely flies with live weapons. It isn't because there is a bombing range near by either. In the past few years the Air Farce has taken a lesson form the Navy and Marines and embraced Expeditionary and Provisional Airwings and retooled deployments. Within the limitations of land basing, they are getting to the fight. I slam the USAF alot. As an aviation experience NAVAIR kicks AF butt. You will never hear me slam individual airman from any military organization though. I respect anyone that serves their country. I just happen to have more respect for the unique sacrifice and training experienced by most sailors and naval aviators. That isn't biased. It is an opinion based on fair examination of the facts and personal experience.
I don't have any problems with joking or criticism and I'm not here to kiss AF "ars" but for people who don't have any experience with the military in anyway whatsoever your jokes sound like fact the way you present them. I just want to make it clear that everything said on this site about the AF has another side to it and people need to understand that.
I am all about the joking, I have to be, I am an AF guy joining the Navy, I hear it from both sides. I can also take criticism but when the criticism is inaccurate I will correct it, bit about the Navy or the Air Force. I am not here to say you are wrong I am just here to state my opinions as I see them just as I believe this forum allows.
Your opinions sounds biased because you are basing it off of your experiences and you are generalizing the whole service. I do admit there is a large population of the AF that does fit you generalization but there is also a large part the deserves your respect because they are away from there families fighting and dying just like you and your fellow sailors were and still are.
"In my day they were pretty much like garrison soldiers, or cops in a donut shop." I would love to comment on this just for the sake of argument but before I do please elaborate...
I am all about the joking, I have to be, I am an AF guy joining the Navy, I hear it from both sides. I can also take criticism but when the criticism is inaccurate I will correct it, bit about the Navy or the Air Force. I am not here to say you are wrong I am just here to state my opinions as I see them just as I believe this forum allows.
Your opinions sounds biased because you are basing it off of your experiences and you are generalizing the whole service. I do admit there is a large population of the AF that does fit you generalization but there is also a large part the deserves your respect because they are away from there families fighting and dying just like you and your fellow sailors were and still are.
"In my day they were pretty much like garrison soldiers, or cops in a donut shop." I would love to comment on this just for the sake of argument but before I do please elaborate...
46Driver
"It's a mother beautiful bridge, and it's gon
We are all on the same team here. And having spent time in Somalia, the two best things were when the C-5's brought in supplies and mail (this is back in the Jurassic pre-email time) and when you heard the AC-130's were on station to cover you in the event anything went wrong.
Ivgravy,
Give the guys on the site a little credit. The vast maajority know a joke when they see it. Many even know the character of my posts. For those that take a joke as fact, well, that is ok because it wouldn't do them any harm! As to facts, there are not two sides to every fact. It is a fact that until very recently most AF aviators in pointy nose jets would do their entire commitment flying in the dangerous hair raising environs of the SW deserts or Gulf Coast of the US. It is a fact that virtually every naval aviator deploys overseas for months, not weeks, at a time. Long before the war on terror naval aircraft launched from the decks of CVs with live weapons to defend the fleet and stick a finger in the eye of our adversaries. Read the last line of my previous post. You should realize I don't disrespect individuals for their sacrifice, especially those that get shot at. As stated above we are all on the same team. As to the "donut shop" comment. Until after the first Gulf War the fight almost had to happen on the door step of an air force base for the AF to become involved. It takes a zillion C-5s and C-17s or sealift the navy doesn't have to move a single F-16 squadron AND adequate support overseas. Of course we all know about basing and overflight rights having to be secured as well. There were a few squadrons during the cold war that were true trip wires and their contribution was enormous. But the war was going to happen on their door step, hence, "garrison soldiers". Look at the incredible build up to Desert Storm. It took months. It took months for OIF to build up. If Iraq had kept moving through Kuwait there was no one there but the USN. And no one was there in any meaningful strenth but the USN and USMC for weeks. Those are facts! In the past few years the USAF has started to deploy Expeditionary Air Wings. More self contained and made up of aircraft capable of the whole range of missions. They are basicely land based CVWs. Good for them. Some USAF wings now have greater reach and are more capable. Nothing changes my view though. The wannabe above asked about the relative hardships of the USAF and USN. The Navy is harder than the AF. We are proud of that sacrifice because it is necessary for a forward deployed military expecting to be first in the fight along with our Marines on the ground. You really must let go. If you are going Navy just turn away from the dark side completely. I bet you will be thinking differently two years into your first fleet tour. Welcome aboard zoomie!
Give the guys on the site a little credit. The vast maajority know a joke when they see it. Many even know the character of my posts. For those that take a joke as fact, well, that is ok because it wouldn't do them any harm! As to facts, there are not two sides to every fact. It is a fact that until very recently most AF aviators in pointy nose jets would do their entire commitment flying in the dangerous hair raising environs of the SW deserts or Gulf Coast of the US. It is a fact that virtually every naval aviator deploys overseas for months, not weeks, at a time. Long before the war on terror naval aircraft launched from the decks of CVs with live weapons to defend the fleet and stick a finger in the eye of our adversaries. Read the last line of my previous post. You should realize I don't disrespect individuals for their sacrifice, especially those that get shot at. As stated above we are all on the same team. As to the "donut shop" comment. Until after the first Gulf War the fight almost had to happen on the door step of an air force base for the AF to become involved. It takes a zillion C-5s and C-17s or sealift the navy doesn't have to move a single F-16 squadron AND adequate support overseas. Of course we all know about basing and overflight rights having to be secured as well. There were a few squadrons during the cold war that were true trip wires and their contribution was enormous. But the war was going to happen on their door step, hence, "garrison soldiers". Look at the incredible build up to Desert Storm. It took months. It took months for OIF to build up. If Iraq had kept moving through Kuwait there was no one there but the USN. And no one was there in any meaningful strenth but the USN and USMC for weeks. Those are facts! In the past few years the USAF has started to deploy Expeditionary Air Wings. More self contained and made up of aircraft capable of the whole range of missions. They are basicely land based CVWs. Good for them. Some USAF wings now have greater reach and are more capable. Nothing changes my view though. The wannabe above asked about the relative hardships of the USAF and USN. The Navy is harder than the AF. We are proud of that sacrifice because it is necessary for a forward deployed military expecting to be first in the fight along with our Marines on the ground. You really must let go. If you are going Navy just turn away from the dark side completely. I bet you will be thinking differently two years into your first fleet tour. Welcome aboard zoomie!
Hey Mer thanks a ton for replying - I've got a million questions to throw at you.
I haven't had the chance as of yet to speak to an actual WO so I'm really looking forward to picking your mind a bit.
I'll post my personal email and if it's alright with you, throw me a line and we'll go from there. akmoon50@hotmail.com
I haven't had the chance as of yet to speak to an actual WO so I'm really looking forward to picking your mind a bit.
I'll post my personal email and if it's alright with you, throw me a line and we'll go from there. akmoon50@hotmail.com
I didn't read every post so excuse me if I say the same thing. I'm a SNA just finishing API. My girlfriend is a WO up at Ft. Rucker (yuck...Ft Rucker that is). She is selecting next week. If all you want to do is fly and have hours. WO is the way to go. They fly so much that its not uncommon for a JO line officer to transfer to WO. As an army WO all you do is fly. You don't have as much "leadership" stuff at least when it comes to enlisted personel. The army pipeline is much more streamline than the navy's. I wouldn't say better (I've had this argument before). She entered warrent officer school in Jan and is now selecting. I got commissioned in December and just finishing API. One thing is certain if hours is what you want do the army route and volunteer for Korea. You'll get your hours. Whith the navy you get the obvious, fixed wing training and if you chose helo's you'll have that as well. Plus, if your into the leadership thing the Navy will give you that. Not for a while but eventually. Navy has way better duty stations also. If you have any specific questions throw em out I can get an answer.
- Status