I have a few questions about afa + obligations

<p>hey guys…
i was thinking about joining afa…i already have a nomination and most of my app is complete…im just training some more for the cfa. i had a few questions i was hoping that cadets or their parents could answer for me…</p>

<p>i’m basically wondering how the contact is w/the outside world.</p>

<p>the AFA is four years and they assign you a laptop. are you able to communicate with people back home? how long are the weekends? do they let you come home and visit your family ever? is there a winter/spring/some kind of break? how long is it?</p>

<p>and i have the same questions for when you’re on active duty (5 yrs)…can you communicate w/folks back home on active duty? do you get moved around a lot? how much? how hard is it to meet w/people back home while on active duty? how does active duty work, basically?</p>

<p>as for reserve/inactive duty (3 yrs)…
do they move you around a lot? how much? do they still train you? when do you get called for active duty? for how long?</p>

<p>any and all help is GREATLY appreciated. thanks a lot!</p>

<p>Yes, you can communicate with people mainly through e-mail. During BCT you will only be allowed to write letters and call your family on Doolie Day Out and as the academic year moves on you will probably get cell phone privileges back depending on your squad. Weekends are the regular two days with certain restrictions, with it being either a silver or blue weekend (I can never remember which is the restricted one). Your family can visit you on Doolie Day Out, Acceptance Day Parade, Parent's Weekend and various holidays. You will get time off for Thanksgiving(1 week), Christmas (2 weeks), and Spring Break (1 week). You will also get off the regular holidays such as Veterans Day, President's, etc. You will have to stay on campus for those ones. Don't know much about the other questions but good luck.</p>

<p>Current cadets and parents correct me if I'm wrong on any of this stuff.</p>

<p>thanks for your reply. i really appreciate it.</p>

<p>anybody that can answer the other qs?</p>

<p>Winter break this year was 3 weeks, usafa goes back on Sunday the 7th, the other two academies go on the 2nd. </p>

<p>Active duty you won't move around a whole lot. I'd say you would be at a base for a year or two at least, with maybe a couple temporary duties (TDY) in there. UNcynical would be the best to comment here.</p>

<p>I thought reserve you got to be out in the civilian world with a few weeks of training a year and a part time job in the AF still. I'm really not sure here too.</p>

<p>Doubt you would be called up to active duty in reserve AF by the nature of the wars today, the Army and Navy is a different story though. </p>

<p>You will have plenty of contact with the rest of the world, if you can't handle being a little cut-off, not the right career choice IMO.</p>

<p>Upon graduation you will begin your 5 year service commitment. You will a member of the regular air force. You will most likely attend an advanced school that will teach you the skills you need to perform in your AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code). If you want to be a pilot and are selected you will attend pilot training, during this process the Air Force will tailor your training for either fighter or heavy aircraft. When you complete that training you will report to your assigned base. Your assignment will usually last for 2-4 years, and in todays Air Force you will probably be deployed during some part of that assignment. You will meet and make friends with people that will become your extended family (your blue family), some of the best people you will meet in your lifetime. Your opportunity to travel will be determined by your career feild, but be sure you can see some extraordinary places. You will earn 30 days leave each year and can travel home using that time.</p>

<p>Reserve commitment:</p>

<p>The 3 year reserve commitment is served as an inactive reservist unless you choose a category A or category B active reserve service. As inactive you can live wherever you choose and do not have to drill (meet monthly). Your chances of activation will depend on your AFSC and Air Force needs, but as Hornetguy said probably not gonna happen. If you choose cat A/B you will train monthly and recieve a small check 300-600 dollars for a weekend. You will be required to preform annual training for 2 weeks and probably will be deployed at least once during you 3 year commitment.</p>

<p>one of the reaons why my father strongly discouraged/said "NO!" to me even considering to join any of the service academies was because, "i don't want to see you shipped of to Iraq". I always thought that would be bull esp. if I was to join the Air Force Academy because its not like im training for infantry. Am I right about my assumption that I would most likely not be sent to a very volatitle place right away when I start my 5 year service?</p>

<p>I would doubt you would be in danger. If you go to Iraq, it would probably be as a pilot shipping stuff in. You own't be running around in the streets. AF is the safer route.</p>

<p>Currently there are many AF folks deployed to the AORs. Security police forces are helping with prisons, the Civil Engineers are doing all types of projects within Iraq trying to rebuild and of course we have pilots flying everyday. As you know we lost a Luke pilot recently. The AEFs rotate in and out.</p>

<p>Currently I am asked to send a body to fill a slot sometimes they ask for a major who is an intel officer or a pilot or some other AFSC. Those who are on the staffs go all the time to support the AOR. Generally you aren't running around banging on doors but you do have a side arm. This is the military. </p>

<p>The normally day to day work life as you rise in rank the more hours you will work. Most folks work 7:15/30 to 5PM. Most people don't have to work the weekends, but many do. It all depends on your AFSC. It is a very normal life
you go to work you come home and you never have to worry about what suit to wear. When I have been stationed in places like Alaska and Spain my family have all come to visit me.</p>

<p>How often do you move as a (fighter) pilot? And what's it like to have a family?</p>

<p>yeah ditto...not the pilot thing...im looking towards CE or CS...but how's it like having a family?</p>

<p>Depends on the aircraft and mission. The Air Force likes to keep you with a unit for 2 to 4 years. Many people will be in the same squadron much longer, and some for shorter periods. You could also have a remote tour that will last 1 year. These are for locations that are a hardship because of climate, location, or other circumstances. As said before becuase of the Operational Tempo as a young Lt. you can expect to deploy during your first term in the Air Force.
As for Iraq remember if you choose to attend a Service Academy you are in the military. Your job will be to "kill people and break things" or support those who do, in service to your nation. This is a sobering reality and you should consider it when you make your choice.
My wife and I are both retired Air Force and enjoyed our time. We have two nephews in Iraq now 1 AF and 1 Army. We pray for their safety everyday, but know they are doing important work. No matter what your opinion about the war, know the job of the military is to defend the nation.</p>

<p>As a F-16 guy you move around more often then some others. For example if you are a BONE Driver you will live at the 2 bases there is less moving around. There are 10 or so 16 bases includung 2 Korea remote bases, you will spend at least one tour there. For those remotes your family will have the choice to move, many go live near grandma and grandpa while others stay put because their spouse has a career of their own.</p>

<p>Most SQs are family friendly, we would try to send guys home one week before their wife due dates while deployed, of course that was back in the stone ages. Navy wifes give birth without their spouse all the time. Your choice of mate will make or break your family life. If you have a wife who doesn't want to move away from her family you won't be married long (yes this happens often). People who marry brats do well because the understand the lingo PCS, TDY, AFSC are not foreign to them. Brats have lived the life understand the moving and deployments/remote tours/SOS.</p>

<p>hey is there a summer break? how long does it last?
i'm looking at the calendar for this year..
<a href="http://www.usafa.af.mil/cadetFocus/academic-cal-06-07.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usafa.af.mil/cadetFocus/academic-cal-06-07.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>isnt there like a 2 week break somewhere?</p>

<p>hey, what's the equivalent of an NFO (Naval Flight Officer) in the Air Force?</p>

<p>WSO (Weapons System Officer)</p>

<p>I dont know for a fact, but from what I've gathered a cadet will get a total of 3 weeks summer vacation. That is 1/3 of the total summer and is called on the calender a Period. The other two thirds(periods) will be spent doing things like SOAR (learning how to fly gliders) and Basic Jump instructions(not sure what the acronmyn is). After this time has elapsed the school year will be ready to begin again.</p>

<p>Yeah, it's 3 3 week leave periods. Normally it's 1 leave period, 1 period either being Cadre for 1/2 digs or doing Global Engagement plus Jump/Soaring/BCT Prep, and 1 period going to an Air Force Base somewhere in the world.</p>

<p>I typed this response 3 days ago in response to some of the original questions brought up in this thread, but I couldn't post it:</p>

<p>On the topic of active duty and pilot training...
If you get a UPT (undergraduate pilot training) slot, after you graduate, you may not go directly to your pilot training base. There are only a few bases that offer UPT and each one has set class start dates and class sizes. This means there may be upwards of a year between tossing your hat and starting UPT. For example, I graduated 31 May 06, and my UPT start date is not until 31 July 07. So what happens in the meantime? You go to a different base (usually) for what's called "casual" status, where you are a "casual lieutenant." This means you have a different job in the months leading up to UPT, usually unrelated to pilot training. These jobs can vary greatly depending on where you go, what unit you are assigned to, and how long you are there, among other things. I have an amazing job right now with awesome people. I work on command staff for an operations group, and I'm the only second lieutenant there. We process the performance reports as well as awards and decorations (just to name a few) for our 6 squadrons. I stay very busy but time goes by very quickly and I get to meet so many new people in my position. I am half a country away from my family, but I am able to take leave to go home whenever I want, assuming I have accumulated the necessary leave (and have money for the plane ticket! haha). I have a somewhat predictable work schedule now, Monday to Friday, with each day from 0730-1630 (4:30pm), but I usually end up staying until 1730 or 1800. In the time I'm not at work, I'm on my own. I have my own apartment off-base. Also of note is that if you live off-base (which is required for bachelor lieutenants at most places, except UPT), you get paid BAH (basic allowance for housing) each month. This varies by location, but you can usually get a decent place for the money you get and sometimes have money left over, which you can save or put toward other expenses.</p>

<p>Regarding service commitments... The day you graduate from USAFA, you owe the Air Force 5 years. However, there may be additional commitments depending on what field you choose. For instance, if you go to pilot training, you owe 10 years from the day you graduate from UPT. If you're wondering why there is the huge increase, just think of all the money, time, and effort spent on you during that training.</p>

<p>While I don't claim to be an expert about the operational Air Force, I do know a little about being a new lieutenant awaiting pilot training from current experience. ;)</p>

<p>UN,</p>

<p>Did you go to the USAFA?</p>