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Moderated by Deepika, EleanorSews
Posted on: 10/12/08 4:19 PM ET
My daughter's good friend has decided to join the Air Force. She is 20 and was going to try to go on to play softball for the last 2 years of college (after having played 2 years at a CC) and get some of it paid for. A college was looking at her but we think the coach "dropped the ball" about promoting her to the new college so that was out. Her dad is in home mortgage business so that's not too good. Her parent suggested she join the Air Force so she can get the benefits provided after. They say it is highly unlikely that she will be sent anywhere dangerous.
The friend is now pretty excited about going and I think she has my daughter thinking about it too
!
It just seems scary since I don't think you would get a guarantee to be kept out of harm's way.
Anyone have children in any of the services --especially daughters--and have some insight they could share?
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The friend is now pretty excited about going and I think she has my daughter thinking about it too
!It just seems scary since I don't think you would get a guarantee to be kept out of harm's way.
Anyone have children in any of the services --especially daughters--and have some insight they could share?
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Janome 6500P, Babylock Eclipse SX, Janome Coverpro 1000, Babylock BLCS, Juki 654 (2), Babylock Spirit, Juki TL2010q, Brother PE770
Posted on: 10/12/08 5:20 PM ET
My boyfriend of 6+ years is in the coast guard, and so I know a lot of his female collegues very well. The USCG is really small, and it's almost like family. Boy graduated from the Coast Guard Academy with a degree in electrical engineering, and they've since paid for his master's in EE as well. So, besides the fact that I'm rather biased here and of course think it's the best service branch- there are very few Coasties in the middle east relative to the service size. The Coast Guard Academy is the only one where you don't need a Senator to sponsor you to apply for admission. And, well, you get to run around saving lives when you graduate.
Posted on: 10/12/08 5:36 PM ET
This may seem like a dumb question, but once a person is out of one of the branches of service, do they get the VA Housing benefit still? I remember my parents and some of my friends using it but no one recently.
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Janome 6500P, Babylock Eclipse SX, Janome Coverpro 1000, Babylock BLCS, Juki 654 (2), Babylock Spirit, Juki TL2010q, Brother PE770
Posted on: 10/12/08 5:54 PM ET
In reply to Mrs.Moos
My youngest son is in the Air Force. He's a Mechanical Engineer and Graduate of Virginia Military Institute. He was more likely to get deployed while he was in the Va. Air National Guard(while in college). That might be another option for the girls. The Air National Guard paid for most of my son's college education. But like I said, there is more chance of them getting deployed. We got past that without him leaving the country. The Air Force is not so much about Ground Forces, so it's really going to depend on what the girls decide to go into(their job with the AF). The Air Force will pay for further education, in some cases. My son hopes to get his Masters, in a few years. Right now, he is at the Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, working as an Engineer on the C-130 planes. He has a wonderful little house off base, he bought on his own. The Air Force will keep him there for 4 years, three more to go:-) He's a 12 hour car ride from here...Not too far away for an occasional visit, and he's coming home for Thanksgiving
Posted on: 10/12/08 6:17 PM ET
Even if they tell her it's unlikely, they cannot guarantee that. Things change very quickly in this world. I have many friends and relatives who have made careers out of military service and all of them did well and liked it even though several have been deployed over the years. I deeply respect anyone who makes that choice to do it because it is not easy.
Posted on: 10/12/08 7:20 PM ET
Good friends of ours 22 year old son just joined the Air Force 2 weeks ago. He is currently waiting for placement. He knew that college was not for him and has been trying to find his way since high school and just can't seem to get it together. He too was told by several people to join the AF as it was highly unlikely that he would see real danger.
I say poppycock! There are no guarantees. Then again, I am a little bitter since my sons best friend came home from Iraq in a body bag a little over a year ago. He was a Marine and only 20 years old. Have you ever been to a military funeral. Quite impressive.
With that said, I know that our country has to be defended and I am more than grateful to the men and women that put their lives on the line for us. My sons friend felt a calling after 911. He knew what he was doing and wanted to be there. And his parents are very proud that he died for his country.
I say poppycock! There are no guarantees. Then again, I am a little bitter since my sons best friend came home from Iraq in a body bag a little over a year ago. He was a Marine and only 20 years old. Have you ever been to a military funeral. Quite impressive.
With that said, I know that our country has to be defended and I am more than grateful to the men and women that put their lives on the line for us. My sons friend felt a calling after 911. He knew what he was doing and wanted to be there. And his parents are very proud that he died for his country.
Posted on: 10/12/08 8:57 PM ET
I have a son in the Marine Corps. He had a lot of talent but didn't seem able to focus of any one goal. During the last years of his Dad's life (who died in '87 from cancer) he stayed really close to him, putting off the time when he would make a final decision about joining the service.
Long story short, he's made a very successful career out of it. This is his 19th year. I'm very proud of him for his dedication to his chosen path. It does require a positive outlook.
I would never encourage anyone to think that any branch of the service would make out-of-country deployment seem unlikely. I had three sons. The two in high-risk occupations, (Alaskan fisherman & Marine Corps), are today hale, hearty & healthy. The one who was a minister & counselor passed away at 43 of a heart attack.) Who knew?
Sometimes life can hand us a real shock out of the clear blue.
(In WWII the highest numbers of lives lost were suffered by the Air Force, not the Marines. Just a thought.)
It's very hard to encourage one of our children to follow a path that seems terribly dangerous. But, there's just no way to see around the corners & headoff disaster.
HTH, Pat
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Long story short, he's made a very successful career out of it. This is his 19th year. I'm very proud of him for his dedication to his chosen path. It does require a positive outlook.
I would never encourage anyone to think that any branch of the service would make out-of-country deployment seem unlikely. I had three sons. The two in high-risk occupations, (Alaskan fisherman & Marine Corps), are today hale, hearty & healthy. The one who was a minister & counselor passed away at 43 of a heart attack.) Who knew?
Sometimes life can hand us a real shock out of the clear blue.
(In WWII the highest numbers of lives lost were suffered by the Air Force, not the Marines. Just a thought.)
It's very hard to encourage one of our children to follow a path that seems terribly dangerous. But, there's just no way to see around the corners & headoff disaster.
HTH, Pat
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PVA (Pat) "A girl can't have too many scissors!"
If I don't have time to do it right, when will I have time to do it over?
If I don't have time to do it right, when will I have time to do it over?
Posted on: 10/17/08 1:23 PM ET
My son is a specialist in the Army. He's currently stationed at Taji, Iraq out of Schofield Barracks, HI. He joined in Jan '07 at age 19 and was sent to Iraq in Dec '07 (age 20). He's with a Stryker group as the grenadier, I believe. He's expecting some leave in the near future but he can't say over the internet and he's not much of a letter writer - although in basic he wrote lots! Not much else to do there I guess.
It's really strange to see some of his pictures (posted on his MySpace) of him with weapons of war - part of me still sees him as a little boy. It's also strange to think of bad things he may have seen and done. Maybe not 'bad' things, but you know what I mean. Most days, it doesn't bother me too much: it was his decision to join; he seems to be doing well; it's not Afghanistan (where it seems things are worse) and frankly, at his age, young men are as likely to be in auto accidents . . . or at least that's how I cope. I have 3 other children from Lexington KY to Coos Bay OR. It would make me crazy to worry about them all the time so I don't (or try not to) with Robert either.
Sorry this post ran so long. I started to type and it just kept coming.
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It's really strange to see some of his pictures (posted on his MySpace) of him with weapons of war - part of me still sees him as a little boy. It's also strange to think of bad things he may have seen and done. Maybe not 'bad' things, but you know what I mean. Most days, it doesn't bother me too much: it was his decision to join; he seems to be doing well; it's not Afghanistan (where it seems things are worse) and frankly, at his age, young men are as likely to be in auto accidents . . . or at least that's how I cope. I have 3 other children from Lexington KY to Coos Bay OR. It would make me crazy to worry about them all the time so I don't (or try not to) with Robert either.
Sorry this post ran so long. I started to type and it just kept coming.
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~Kathleen
Posted on: 10/17/08 1:56 PM ET
In reply to Mrs.Moos
Not to get off topic here, but there are other options.....if your daughters friend really doesn't want to join the service we have very affordable public colleges in CA. If she can live at home, paying for college with a part time job is very affordable.
My husband and I financed 2 public college educations with 2 credit cards....the biggest challenge was coming up with the first semester fees (paid about 3 months before the term started), we charged the fees, worked like crazy to pay it off in 3 months, then charged books and worked hard to pay that off in 3 months before it was time to charge the school fees again.
-- Edited on 10/17/08 1:59 PM --
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My husband and I financed 2 public college educations with 2 credit cards....the biggest challenge was coming up with the first semester fees (paid about 3 months before the term started), we charged the fees, worked like crazy to pay it off in 3 months, then charged books and worked hard to pay that off in 3 months before it was time to charge the school fees again.
-- Edited on 10/17/08 1:59 PM --
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2012 : starting stash 386, net additions 206, used 164, ending stash 428...I'm never going to get in front of this pile of fabric!
Posted on: 10/17/08 4:08 PM ET
In reply to Mrs.Moos
My husband is AD Air Force, and my dad is a retired Marine...the military life is per se "the only life" I know...though I guess from looking at it, I get the best of both worlds, military life and civi life.
Forgive me in advance if I start speaking in acronyms...it's one of the "new languages" that spouses learn
My husband enlisted in July 2001, after MBT he went to tech school - which is where they learn the job that they'll be doing. Tech school length depends upon what their MOS is. MBT is simply where they see if they "have what it takes". Even if you get accepted, it doesn't mean you'll actually make it, there have been many who have washed out - often medical, though sometimes continual failure.
In the time that my husband and I have been married (7 years, 10 months, 2 days) he has been gone for a total of 3 weeks - 2 separate TDY's...sure there have been some late hours when we were first married and they put my dh on the SP augmentee program but that was only for 3 months.
I would say the chance of deployment/remotes/tdy's all depend on the MOS - some fields do deploy more than other fields - but regardless of which field you have to understand that at any given moment you can be given orders to go anywhere.
Oh and coming from my dad - who is a retired Marine - he actually said that if he could do it over again, he would choose the Air Force (kinda shocked me...coming from my father who waited 6 months before finally giving dh permission to marry me
)
Forgive me in advance if I start speaking in acronyms...it's one of the "new languages" that spouses learn

My husband enlisted in July 2001, after MBT he went to tech school - which is where they learn the job that they'll be doing. Tech school length depends upon what their MOS is. MBT is simply where they see if they "have what it takes". Even if you get accepted, it doesn't mean you'll actually make it, there have been many who have washed out - often medical, though sometimes continual failure.
In the time that my husband and I have been married (7 years, 10 months, 2 days) he has been gone for a total of 3 weeks - 2 separate TDY's...sure there have been some late hours when we were first married and they put my dh on the SP augmentee program but that was only for 3 months.
I would say the chance of deployment/remotes/tdy's all depend on the MOS - some fields do deploy more than other fields - but regardless of which field you have to understand that at any given moment you can be given orders to go anywhere.
Oh and coming from my dad - who is a retired Marine - he actually said that if he could do it over again, he would choose the Air Force (kinda shocked me...coming from my father who waited 6 months before finally giving dh permission to marry me
)
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