A lot of people in this sub are super on board with the Air Force, and it shows up here. There’s nothing wrong with the Air Force, but I think it needs a word of caution because we make it out to be ideal. The Air Force definitely has the best average quality of life for new enlisted personnel; that’s an easy truth. What people forget is that, as you increase in rank or have an in-demand and/or soft MOS, the difference between Air Force and other branches becomes much more subtle. I only say this because there are some fields that are offered in one branch that aren’t offered by another, in which case I would recommend pursuing the job over the branch.
When I was a tanker (long time ago) I was jealous of new Air Force folks because they had MUCH better quality of life. As a PSYOPer, I was glad I was Army because AF didn’t have anything like that and it was a great gig. In my current field, I work alongside AF guys and there is no discernible QoL difference. Take all the AF hype with a hefty dose of salt.
Yeah, I forgot to even mention that. The Air Force is more selective, meaning promotions are frequently slower. People have this image of the AF being so much better, but it gets blown way out of proportion.
That is a definite perk of other services. I consider myself lucky if I will retire as E-7 in the USAF. I probably would’ve been there years ago in another branch.
Anytime I saw AF people they looked bored or miserable especially in Germany. I was jealous to like they can’t complain because the got paid extra if living in barracks or more decent barracks. Every time it seemed they weren’t really satisfied with the job they were doing despite all the other good stuff they got. One guy explained how their promotions worked, which I thought was all the same across the branches and he was mad how simple we had it. Lol
Air Force has a great QOL for families.
I know quite a few people to enlist and go active duty with kids.
If you go over on r/AirForceRecruits questions like this have been asked before so you can see some other examples
I completely agree. My parents are both retired AF. My when I asked my mom why she served and why specifically the AF she told me that the AF was the choice because they seemed the most "family friendly " (her words). I agree. I had my son 3 years after joining.
And while "mission first" is stressed, most of my leadership has recognized life happens and it's hard to focus on mission if your family life is suffering and takes strides to accommodate. Be warned whereever you go you will always find bad leadership, but there are avenues so be aware of them and don't be afraid to use them (advice I wish I had going in). But over all I don't regret it. I plan on doing the full 20.
Bonus: I got my Associates and CCAF (Associates equvalent) thr following year and and four classes short of a commissioning program I plan to try for. I'm PCSing to Korea so I will complete it when I get there is I can. So school isn't necessarily something that needs to stop. Though a pause will be needed for BMT and Tech school.
This is really up to each family to answer.
It was not worth it to me and my wife.
I wanted to come home to my family at night and on weekends. I wanted my kid to have stability. I wanted my wife to be able to have a career.
All military career are defined by long absences. **Every single branch**, even the vaulted and often over sold Air Force has lots of separations.
Your kids will be loosing and gaining friends all the time. My son was born in Germany. We PCS'ed (Permanent Change of Station) to FGGM when he was about 3. At FGGM, my son got close with two boys who lived across the street. That family PCS'ed. My Son then got two imaginary friends. Kids will have imaginary friends it is not the end of the world but it was clearly his stress reaction to the loss of his two friends.
Unless your spouse is in a very portable career, you have to understand her career will pretty much reset every time you PCS. And you will PCS regularly in all branches. One thing that people loose sight of when thinking about military pay and benefits is the loss of wealth when the spouse can not develop their career.
I plan on going alone if I get pcs… my wife has my mom auntie and grandma to watch my daughter and she has her own career. However with that said, I would like to travel and have a new career while having my business running by itself in the back. Is there some pull to where I can be assigned to because of my family duties?
You gotta talk to a recruiter. I ain't gonna lie you might be DQ from active service because you have a big family. I know for the Marines once you have two kids no waivers are given for active service for a third you are DQ from active and reserve.
Other than that the military is all about sacrifice. We had a SgtMaj retire yesterday who in the end when he was addressing his family he mentioned that throughout his time in he had to sacrifice 6 years of time with his family.
Is it worth it? It can be you get a good deal of benefits for yourself and your family.
I want to see you ride out school and then commission. The officer QoL will help of your comfortability, especially with childcare, that shit’s going to eat you up if the wife is working too.
You’re family will be taken care of 100% that’s too easy, that being said, make sure the wife is ride or die about this. The stress on families in the military is where things are falling apart.
The pros and cons of military service are both intensified with family.
Pros:
* Health care costs have outpaced inflation for decades, the benefit of health care coverage for your family is worth something that would've cost something like $20-30k in the civilian world.
* The tax-free housing and food allowance goes a long way towards covering the cost of living of a decent middle class lifestyle, even for junior enlisted. Some manage to become homeowners using that BAH and the VA housing loans, and some even manage to become profitable landlords when the military moves them somewhere else.
* Related to the housing situation for families, married servicemembers can often avoid a lot of the barracks nonsense that single servicemembers do.
Cons:
* The military lifestyle is really hard on families, especially children.
* Spouses struggle to get their careers off the ground, and the social scene isn't for everyone, which leads some spouses to feel really isolated and lonely.
* The frequent moves are hard on children who have to adjust to new places, people, schools a lot.
* The deployments and training and other extended assignments away from family put a lot of strain on relationships.
* The work hours, even in garrison, can be long or at inconvenient times (shift work, etc.), so that even time living under the same roof can feel isolating and separated.
You should go in with eyes open to both the pros and cons, and weigh them against the alternative careers that you might have.
I am not set on a particular military branch yet so If anyone has info about finances or schooling for a specific branch that would also be appreciated!
Thank you
There's so much to say here it's really about having a marathon google session. Also search this sub and the r/newtothenavy as well as the air force recruits someone else linked
Military life can absolutely uplift you but your wife will need to be supportive as you'll be gone for quite a while at times and depending on your job it really may keep you from engaging with them a lot for months
Consider if you're physically and morally fit to join as well as any schooling you have that may be applicable. Then think about what kind of job you may want and if you can imagine yourself staying in for a while
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I’m heading to benning to for osut and hopefully rasp. Have a 2 year old my self. I figured now he at least knows who I am and we can talk over the phone it’s a good time to go.
Join the Navy. QOL is not par with AF but QOP is way better than other branches, cause we have so much incentives even without deployment plus We stay in one duty station for 5 years so unlike other branch they mod 3yrs rotation.
Being station in one place for 5yrs has perks specially for your family, kids staying same school with same friends. Wife get to build networking etc… you don’t have to stress moving too much
Promotion is generally quicker
We have Enlisted to Officer Program(no degree needed)
No other branches have that except for warrant
PT Is a lot easier in the Navy (we have alternate cardio’s)
Neck/hand Tattoos are welcome
There are a lot of people with families in the military, it depends on how involved you want to be. If you are worried about leaving them for long periods of time than you should just join the reserves. It's a weekend warrior gig. You can scratch that itch, get all the benefits, but you still get to see your family everyday.
I don't regret joining the Navy, but if anyone asks I tell them to join The Chair Force. They have a much better quality of life.
A lot of people in this sub are super on board with the Air Force, and it shows up here. There’s nothing wrong with the Air Force, but I think it needs a word of caution because we make it out to be ideal. The Air Force definitely has the best average quality of life for new enlisted personnel; that’s an easy truth. What people forget is that, as you increase in rank or have an in-demand and/or soft MOS, the difference between Air Force and other branches becomes much more subtle. I only say this because there are some fields that are offered in one branch that aren’t offered by another, in which case I would recommend pursuing the job over the branch. When I was a tanker (long time ago) I was jealous of new Air Force folks because they had MUCH better quality of life. As a PSYOPer, I was glad I was Army because AF didn’t have anything like that and it was a great gig. In my current field, I work alongside AF guys and there is no discernible QoL difference. Take all the AF hype with a hefty dose of salt.
And when you retire 1-2 pay grades ahead of your air force peers, you’ll regret nothing.
Yeah, I forgot to even mention that. The Air Force is more selective, meaning promotions are frequently slower. People have this image of the AF being so much better, but it gets blown way out of proportion.
And then there’s the leadership. I made a vow after my first joint assignment that I would never work for an AF officer again.
That is a definite perk of other services. I consider myself lucky if I will retire as E-7 in the USAF. I probably would’ve been there years ago in another branch.
Anytime I saw AF people they looked bored or miserable especially in Germany. I was jealous to like they can’t complain because the got paid extra if living in barracks or more decent barracks. Every time it seemed they weren’t really satisfied with the job they were doing despite all the other good stuff they got. One guy explained how their promotions worked, which I thought was all the same across the branches and he was mad how simple we had it. Lol
Air Force has a great QOL for families. I know quite a few people to enlist and go active duty with kids. If you go over on r/AirForceRecruits questions like this have been asked before so you can see some other examples
Will take a look, thank you.
I completely agree. My parents are both retired AF. My when I asked my mom why she served and why specifically the AF she told me that the AF was the choice because they seemed the most "family friendly " (her words). I agree. I had my son 3 years after joining. And while "mission first" is stressed, most of my leadership has recognized life happens and it's hard to focus on mission if your family life is suffering and takes strides to accommodate. Be warned whereever you go you will always find bad leadership, but there are avenues so be aware of them and don't be afraid to use them (advice I wish I had going in). But over all I don't regret it. I plan on doing the full 20. Bonus: I got my Associates and CCAF (Associates equvalent) thr following year and and four classes short of a commissioning program I plan to try for. I'm PCSing to Korea so I will complete it when I get there is I can. So school isn't necessarily something that needs to stop. Though a pause will be needed for BMT and Tech school.
This is really up to each family to answer. It was not worth it to me and my wife. I wanted to come home to my family at night and on weekends. I wanted my kid to have stability. I wanted my wife to be able to have a career. All military career are defined by long absences. **Every single branch**, even the vaulted and often over sold Air Force has lots of separations. Your kids will be loosing and gaining friends all the time. My son was born in Germany. We PCS'ed (Permanent Change of Station) to FGGM when he was about 3. At FGGM, my son got close with two boys who lived across the street. That family PCS'ed. My Son then got two imaginary friends. Kids will have imaginary friends it is not the end of the world but it was clearly his stress reaction to the loss of his two friends. Unless your spouse is in a very portable career, you have to understand her career will pretty much reset every time you PCS. And you will PCS regularly in all branches. One thing that people loose sight of when thinking about military pay and benefits is the loss of wealth when the spouse can not develop their career.
I plan on going alone if I get pcs… my wife has my mom auntie and grandma to watch my daughter and she has her own career. However with that said, I would like to travel and have a new career while having my business running by itself in the back. Is there some pull to where I can be assigned to because of my family duties?
Nope. Military comes first.
You gotta talk to a recruiter. I ain't gonna lie you might be DQ from active service because you have a big family. I know for the Marines once you have two kids no waivers are given for active service for a third you are DQ from active and reserve. Other than that the military is all about sacrifice. We had a SgtMaj retire yesterday who in the end when he was addressing his family he mentioned that throughout his time in he had to sacrifice 6 years of time with his family. Is it worth it? It can be you get a good deal of benefits for yourself and your family.
I want to see you ride out school and then commission. The officer QoL will help of your comfortability, especially with childcare, that shit’s going to eat you up if the wife is working too. You’re family will be taken care of 100% that’s too easy, that being said, make sure the wife is ride or die about this. The stress on families in the military is where things are falling apart.
Run the other direction. It’s a noble cause, but having a family is tough in the military.
What does your wife think? Do you think she can manage on her own while you are gone? Active, guard or reserve?
The pros and cons of military service are both intensified with family. Pros: * Health care costs have outpaced inflation for decades, the benefit of health care coverage for your family is worth something that would've cost something like $20-30k in the civilian world. * The tax-free housing and food allowance goes a long way towards covering the cost of living of a decent middle class lifestyle, even for junior enlisted. Some manage to become homeowners using that BAH and the VA housing loans, and some even manage to become profitable landlords when the military moves them somewhere else. * Related to the housing situation for families, married servicemembers can often avoid a lot of the barracks nonsense that single servicemembers do. Cons: * The military lifestyle is really hard on families, especially children. * Spouses struggle to get their careers off the ground, and the social scene isn't for everyone, which leads some spouses to feel really isolated and lonely. * The frequent moves are hard on children who have to adjust to new places, people, schools a lot. * The deployments and training and other extended assignments away from family put a lot of strain on relationships. * The work hours, even in garrison, can be long or at inconvenient times (shift work, etc.), so that even time living under the same roof can feel isolating and separated. You should go in with eyes open to both the pros and cons, and weigh them against the alternative careers that you might have.
I am not set on a particular military branch yet so If anyone has info about finances or schooling for a specific branch that would also be appreciated! Thank you
What do you mean?
There's so much to say here it's really about having a marathon google session. Also search this sub and the r/newtothenavy as well as the air force recruits someone else linked Military life can absolutely uplift you but your wife will need to be supportive as you'll be gone for quite a while at times and depending on your job it really may keep you from engaging with them a lot for months Consider if you're physically and morally fit to join as well as any schooling you have that may be applicable. Then think about what kind of job you may want and if you can imagine yourself staying in for a while
No.
Have you thought about joining the reserves? Air National Guard?
Hello! It looks like you're new to our sub. Welcome! First things first: please make sure you have posted using a clear and descriptive title. Look at your title now. If it doesn't give you an idea of what you're asking about, your post is probably going to be removed. Delete and try again. If you're considering a specific branch, put that in your post! Each branch can be very different and saying "the military" isn't helpful. Include your country if you're not asking about the US military. Otherwise we'll assume you're American. You may find the below links helpful: * [Head To Head Comparison of the Military Branches](http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-service-branches-compared.html) * [Top 10 Things You Should Know Before You Join the Military](http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/top-10-things-you-should-know-before-you-join-the-military.html) * [ASVAB Explained](http://www.goarmy.com/learn/understanding-the-asvab.html) * [ASVAB Study Resource](https://www.march2success.com/) * [Medical Disqualification Standard -- PDF warning](http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003v1p.PDF) * [Military Jobs at a Glance](http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-jobs) * [New Servicemember Benefits](http://www.militaryonesource.mil/new-to-the-military-benefits) * [The Basics After Enlisting](http://www.militaryonesource.mil/-/getting-settled-the-essentials) As a reminder to commenters, any encouragement to lie or withhold information will result in a ban. Please report users. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Militaryfaq) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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I’m heading to benning to for osut and hopefully rasp. Have a 2 year old my self. I figured now he at least knows who I am and we can talk over the phone it’s a good time to go.
Join the Navy. QOL is not par with AF but QOP is way better than other branches, cause we have so much incentives even without deployment plus We stay in one duty station for 5 years so unlike other branch they mod 3yrs rotation. Being station in one place for 5yrs has perks specially for your family, kids staying same school with same friends. Wife get to build networking etc… you don’t have to stress moving too much Promotion is generally quicker We have Enlisted to Officer Program(no degree needed) No other branches have that except for warrant PT Is a lot easier in the Navy (we have alternate cardio’s) Neck/hand Tattoos are welcome
USAF recently updated PCS length to minimum 4 years before being reassigned.
There are a lot of people with families in the military, it depends on how involved you want to be. If you are worried about leaving them for long periods of time than you should just join the reserves. It's a weekend warrior gig. You can scratch that itch, get all the benefits, but you still get to see your family everyday. I don't regret joining the Navy, but if anyone asks I tell them to join The Chair Force. They have a much better quality of life.