I never thought I'd be saying this.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:37 pm

I go in to take the ASVAB on Wednesday. Scored a 91 on the EST, the recruiter's expecting between an 86 and a 99 for an AFQT. After that, I find out when I get to go to MEPS and do the job selection and all that jazz. I'm joining the Air Force, for those who are interested - the six year term so I get A1C coming out of tech school / after 4 months (whichever's sooner).

Oh, also: I'm now married to a wonderful woman. Schoolteacher, K-4 reading specialist. I just thought ya'll should know.

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:43 pm

Wow.

Congratulations Paft

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:17 pm

Congratulations! It sounds like you are getting your life together and focused on your future!

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:22 pm

Congrats!

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:17 pm

Ken wrote:Congratulations! It sounds like you are getting your life together and focused on your future!

Thank you.

I'm hoping to get my life in a good position from this move. I want to own my own business someday, and the military experience will be invaluable for that.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:25 pm

congrats Paft, good to see young people willing to serve our armed forces, kinda wish i did when i was young.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:04 pm

First of all congrats, I hope it works the way you want it to.

Second, forget anything logical you have ever learned, there will be no more of that. The military is a strange machine. Not everything will make sense most of the time, but if you can make it through those times you will be gold. I had a Master Chief tell me once in the Coast Guard, to be a successful sailor, you blend in, take care of your assignments quickly and stay on top of your qualifications. Rank will follow.

Best of luck to you.

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:06 pm

Lefty wrote:First of all congrats, I hope it works the way you want it to.

Second, forget anything logical you have ever learned, there will be no more of that. The military is a strange machine. Not everything will make sense most of the time, but if you can make it through those times you will be gold. I had a Master Chief tell me once in the Coast Guard, to be a successful sailor, you blend in, take care of your assignments quickly and stay on top of your qualifications. Rank will follow.

Best of luck to you.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:53 pm

Wouldn't trade my 20 in the service for anything. Wish you well.

A_old · Post by **A_old** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:26 am

Grats. My dad in law was in the Air Force for quite some time.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:10 am

Lefty wrote:First of all congrats, I hope it works the way you want it to.

Second, forget anything logical you have ever learned, there will be no more of that. The military is a strange machine. Not everything will make sense most of the time, but if you can make it through those times you will be gold. I had a Master Chief tell me once in the Coast Guard, to be a successful sailor, you blend in, take care of your assignments quickly and stay on top of your qualifications. Rank will follow.

Best of luck to you.

True story, You do not want to be known in the military unless your a hero, Other then that, do as your told when your told in the proper uniform at the right place with he right gear and you will be fine lol. Thanks for joining. Do you know what your looking at for a job? Pretty high score you should be able to do anything really proving clearance isn't an issue

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:14 am

Paft wrote:I go in to take the ASVAB on Wednesday. Scored a 91 on the EST, the recruiter's expecting between an 86 and a 99 for an AFQT. After that, I find out when I get to go to MEPS and do the job selection and all that jazz. I'm joining the Air Force, for those who are interested - the six year term so I get A1C coming out of tech school / after 4 months (whichever's sooner).

Oh, also: I'm now married to a wonderful woman. Schoolteacher, K-4 reading specialist. I just thought ya'll should know.

all great news !

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:59 am

morbidpete wrote:True story, You do not want to be known in the military unless your a hero, Other then that, do as your told when your told in the proper uniform at the right place with he right gear and you will be fine lol. Thanks for joining. Do you know what your looking at for a job? Pretty high score you should be able to do anything really proving clearance isn't an issue

Thank you for the advice.

I'm looking at something involving programming, cryptography, or IT security / administration. Something like 3D0X2, 3D0X3, 3D0X4... (Go here for descriptions) - I'm hoping that clearance isn't an issue. The only thing that might shoot me in the foot is the Chapter 7 on my record, and I've been informed that hurt my chances of joining more than it would my chances of getting a clearance.

I figure if I make it through basic, then I can keep my head down and do my job, study for the promotion tests and take college courses, and do just enough volunteering to keep my name in the minds of the people who make the decisions.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:02 am

Lefty wrote:First of all congrats, I hope it works the way you want it to.

Second, forget anything logical you have ever learned, there will be no more of that. The military is a strange machine. Not everything will make sense most of the time, but if you can make it through those times you will be gold. I had a Master Chief tell me once in the Coast Guard, to be a successful sailor, you blend in, take care of your assignments quickly and stay on top of your qualifications. Rank will follow.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you. I've heard that the military is its own kind of beast, and so I'm not planning on going in with any preconcieved ideas.

I'm hoping to either make it to SSgt (if I stay in for 6 years), or MSgt (if I stay in for 20), so any advice on how to make that happen is much appreciated.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:02 am

Dan wrote:all great news !

It really is. I couldn't be happier.

Roody · Post by **Roody** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:47 am

Congrats Paft. I must say man I am very impressed with you over these last couple of years in particular. Keep up the good work.

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:05 am

welcome to the military family, let us know how it goes.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:07 pm

I got a 98 on the ASVAB. (The AFQT score)

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:45 pm

any updates paft?

MadDoctor · Post by **MadDoctor** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:23 pm

Pics of wife?!?!?!!!???!?

OSULLY · Post by **OSULLY** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:57 pm

Congrats....That was one powerful post.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:14 pm

MadDoctor wrote:Pics of wife?!?!?!!!???!?

lol.

RoundEye · Post by **RoundEye** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:08 pm

I scored really high on the ASVAB, even higher on the FUBAR.

Looks like your compass stopped spinning and you’re heading in the right direction. Congratulations on both getting married and the career choice.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:31 am

Meggie wrote:any updates paft?

I've been communicating back and forth with the recruiter, but he's stalled waiting for new AF regulations on waivers to be settled. Because of my previous bankruptcy, I'd need to have a waiver - but they're getting tougher to get, and his supervisors haven't told him anything yet.

I'm getting a bit ticked, to be honest, but patience is a virtue, right?

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:31 am

RoundEye wrote:I scored really high on the ASVAB, even higher on the FUBAR.

Looks like your compass stopped spinning and you’re heading in the right direction. Congratulations on both getting married and the career choice.

Thank you.

Sarahnn · Post by **Sarahnn** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:52 pm

How's it going? Is there any more information on this to share? Go Air Force.

JawZ · Post by **JawZ** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:48 pm

Paft wrote:I've been communicating back and forth with the recruiter, but he's stalled waiting for new AF regulations on waivers to be settled. Because of my previous bankruptcy, I'd need to have a waiver - but they're getting tougher to get, and his supervisors haven't told him anything yet.

I'm getting a bit ticked, to be honest, but patience is a virtue, right?

Yeah right now for you, you are considered a security risk. If you can't get a security clearance, that will greatly limit the jobs you can get.

Paft · Post by **Paft** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:29 pm

JawZ wrote:Yeah right now for you, you are considered a security risk. If you can't get a security clearance, that will greatly limit the jobs you can get.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a clearance in the end. I mean, I'm married now - that should show stability. My credit's been clean since the bankruptcy (I know, that's a short history, but still). No criminal record aside from a couple traffic tickets.