28 Y/O thinking about joining the military (air force or army)

[ray88c]

Edit : I just want to thank everyone who has shared their experience and advice. I was honestly thinking that I would receive a lot of negative feedback/no don’t do this which to my surprise, has not been the case. I cannot wait to start this new chapter in my life and see where this adventure takes me! Wish me luck while I take the Picat this week and start seeing what jobs I qualify for/want with the moral waiver !

Hello everyone,

I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.

At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.

I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks for any advice!

P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..

 

[hewhoshallnotbenamed]

@ray88c Thought about the Air Guard? I left a six figure sales job, the pay cut for sure sucks.

You can get a high paying job, take deployments as they are offered and your civilian jobs have to retain you.

But just like the reserves the Guard alone will not pay your bills and is a different pay at retirement.
Your state may have a benefit for college as well.

Some states have at home missions (full time) as well. But these are rare and usually a lot of people put in for openings. (I’m an AGR) which is same pay and benefits as active duty I just do it for the Guard. I don’t move, I’m not “Active duty”

But your state may have temp orders, people I work with will take these as a break from their civilian jobs and get military benefits and pay for a stretch then go back. Again full time I’m the reserves or Guard is not something to be relied on and or guaranteed

Also I thought I needed a moral waiver, I found out at MEPS I did not.

I too have a misdemeanor, just depends on what it is for.

And the Guard (Reserves maybe too idk) you can pick your job, from what’s available at your base. Unlike active who picks 10

 

[ray88c]

@hewhoshallnotbenamed What exactly is air guard ? Is it another option to active duty Air Force or is it a total different place? Also my biggest incentive for doing this would definitely be being able to live somewhere else and possibly going to school while in. Thank you for this input and reply by the way! That does sound pretty cool is it the same as reserve where it is 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer ?

 

[hewhoshallnotbenamed]

@ray88c Yeah it’s just the National Guard but Air Force. The “default” is one weekend a month 2 weeks in the summer. “National Guard” is Army Air National Guard is Airforce, but we fall on the Nation Guard umbrella.

Unfortunately you won’t move as you pick the state. Pretty sure every state has a unit, so if you were looking for jobs in other states. But you’ll be pretty committed to that state even if things don’t shake out which sucks.

My state offers $4,500 a semester to any Colorado State College.
Community or university. Wether you’re full time or not.
Full timers can use Federal Tuition assistance so you don’t see them using much of the state benefit
But this changes state to state.

 

[ray88c]

@hewhoshallnotbenamed Wow this is very interesting, I was hoping to do something in Korea or Japan or anywhere outside of the United States for that matter, can I ask what’s the difference between AD GI bill and air guard/reserve GI?

 

[hewhoshallnotbenamed]

@ray88c GI bill is the same, just takes longer to be 100% vested in it. I believe 2 years of active service gives you 100% GI bill.
There’s a Montgomery bill but even when they explained that at BMT I couldn’t track. Idk if it’s the same or different.

As an AGR I will get this faster than my counterparts who only do the weekends. But it will be rare if I end up in places like Japan or Korea. Sometimes they have temporary duty’s or unit trainings in those places. It nothing long term.

 

[saved1994]

@hewhoshallnotbenamed 3 years for 9/11

 

[ray88c]

@hewhoshallnotbenamed Wow ok thank you for explaining this, and twice . It is pretty late for me but now that I have some freedom /anxiety of what to do next is giving me fuel to stay awake. In terms of the temporary duty how long exactly do they give you or what’s a typical order if that’s a thing

 

[hewhoshallnotbenamed]

@ray88c In the Guard you can apply for MPA tours which can be back filling bases(active duty) for your job I haven’t seen many opportunities for ranks below E4/E5
TDY or temporary duty is a term when they send you places to backfill, training, anywhere where you’re not at home station. For temp orders we have people come out for 6 months and usually they can extend. One guy is going to school to be a doctor full time, but takes ordered when schools out. These orders pay military pay, your rank, housing and food allowances, and give healthcare while on them.

We have a full time mission in my state though so there is more opportunity for orders, not every state gets this benefit. And it can always change down the road.

There’s also a program in the reserves ( I am not all too familiar with) called IMA. I’ve heard people choose where they want to do their yearly time in the reserves. Instead of weekends and the summer deal they go work with an active duty unit of their choosing for 30 days and then they are good for the year. I don’t know much about that though.

 

[saved1994]

@ray88c Most states offer free tuition at state schools. After 3 years total of full time work, you would also qualify for the post 9/11 GI bill.

The Air Guard is the best kept secret in the military. Individual Healthcare costs are $60/month for medical and dental. Insanely cheap compared to civilian or even government plans.

 

[cmeikle]

@ray88c Go Coast Guard.

 

[clydgate]

@cmeikle Definitely Coast Guard. Same benefits as the other branches but different mission set. You’re also given E4 after you graduate A-school. We have some great bonuses right now as well. I’m a recruiter and we have AD members from other branches visit our office weekly trying to come over.

 

[tonyrules]

@cmeikle Quality of life
AF=CG>Army=Navy=Marine

Benefits and entitlement
All the same

YMMV depends on MOS/Rate (job) you do, but above is the general consensus on QoL.

 

[haqarshall]

@cmeikle Until they gripe when they don’t get paid because they are HD

 

[that1gurl77798]

@ray88c I didn’t serve in the Army or Air Force, but I did serve in the Marines. I can’t give you advice, but maybe I can share a bit of my perspective and that can help you decide.

Without a doubt joining the military was the best decision I ever made when I look back at my career. I’ve been pretty successful, and many of my initial opportunities were likely afforded to me because I was a veteran. The GI Bill also paid for college, although you need to consider that if you serve in the reserves you won’t get the full GI Bill.

While I loved my time in the military, being an E3 at 28 would have been super tough. When I was in Iraq we called a guy in my squad grandpa. He was 24 at the time… The level of immaturity of junior enlisted, and the degree to which you will be treated like a child by people who are younger than you but outrank you is going to be tough.

If it were me, I would see if I was eligible for a commissioning program to become an officer. When I was in the Marines (early 2000s), there was a program called MECEP, where you would basically enlist, serve on active duty for some time, then apply to have the Marines send you to college and pay you your full time active duty salary. You would commission and serve as an officer after you graduate. I imagine the Air Force and Army have similar programs although your conviction could be a challenge there. I don’t have a lot of regrets, but if I had to do it all over again I would have done this.

I would question everything any recruiter says to you. They are liars and have no incentives other than getting you to enlist. It’s hard to get real information, but I would do my best. Don’t get pressured to sign up at the will of the Air Force. Do what you can to select your jobs. I was a grunt but there are a lot of super interesting jobs out there and if you enlist undesignated you will almost certainly get one of the worst, most thankless jobs with little post-service skills.

 

[ray88c]

@that1gurl77798 I am not sure why I always said younger it would be a last resort, I feel like kicking myself now seeing not only the benefits but awesome experiences my friends have had in the military , one living in Germany for 3 years another in Italy, and another having all of his school paid for and not even having to work. But I to have come to these same thoughts , if at 24 he was a grandfather I wonder if that would make me a great grandfather ha! I’ve read that I won’t be the only one but I’m not sure exactly where that puts me and or if I would be in the same as them or if that’s just boot camp . I feel like mentally I could tough it out seeing as I had to grow up pretty fast due to my past circumstances and am focused on the end goal aka my future but still not sure if this is the way. I want out to be honest of my life, where I am and being trapped and think this would definitely be a way to get out of these circumstances and have stories to tell. As for the commission as an officer I thought that was only available to those who had bachelor degrees. I will ask if there is a way to do that on Monday when I speak with the recruiter again. She is having me take a picat test before an Asvab. As for the comments about the recruiter I learned that very quickly , at the military career center I went to, I wanted to get in with the Air Force but they didn’t answer my call so I then rang the army who let me in but, it was definitely a sign on the dotted line now and really trying to presssure me into doing everything. I told them I wanted to wait 2 months tops to study for the Asvab but they started all coming at me saying 2 months is to long it won’t matter it’s now or never who cares, where as the Air Force recruiter actually stayed and spoke with me for about 2 hours and really broke things down with me and had no problem with me saying I wasn’t instantly going to join.

 

[that1gurl77798]

@ray88c You are correct that an officer is only someone with a degree. But there are ways to get a degree while on active duty. Expect your recruiter to lie to you but it’s a good start.

It’s hard to say what being 28 in the military would be like. I always tell people that the military is choose your own adventure. If you’re mature, take it seriously, and take full advantage it can be great. If you are immature or not committed to succeeding it can be miserable. Being older could help you in a lot of ways.

You can’t go back in time. The military has infinite possibilities. 30 years from now you’ll be 58, still young to retire, and have a healthy pension for life. If I had to do it all over again I would. Hope that helps.

 

[ray88c]

@that1gurl77798 This was my exact thinking, the pay would be crap but the investment in myself would be free school and the ability to buy a house plus, the possibility of if I end up liking it or can “gut it out” I would still be young enough to retire before most of my peers. I was reading that many people even if they want to aren’t able to and or somehow are thwarted. Is that really a thing ?

 

[ray88c]

@kitty346 Would I get this same housing allowance being single with no dependents?

Edit: in terms of what I’d be used to making I guess is where I say it would be “crap” I was making around 3,990 dollars a month and enlisting I would only make 2,337 dollars a month. Where I was working had some of the best benefits so I only paid 20 dollars a month for health insurance and 2 dollars a month for dental. I would also still have to retain my rent where I am at which is pretty cheap since I don’t have anywhere or with anyone to put my things but luckily I only pay around 500 dollars a month for my apartment . The other only bill I would have to worry about would be my vehicle insurance which just rose to about 200 dollars Monthly. Total of 700 dollars a month which seems pretty steep with this pay

 

[kitty346]

@ray88c If you go active duty, you wouldn’t get the housing allowance in your pay, but you would get free housing. How long you stay in the dorms/barracks depends on the branch and location.

In that situation, I would break your lease and put your stuff on storage (after you sell anything that won’t fit in a dorm room). Once you get orders to your first duty station, the Military will pay for movers to go pick up your stuff or for you to move it yourself.

If you go reserves or Guard and keep your lease, you would get a housing allowance during training.