I have 7 friends that the same thing happened to. Its an AF wide thing. They even gave us all the info to contact the IG, even an IG complaint form. They said if we didn't like it we could file an IG complaint, or file for an official change of military record. Either way, it didn't matter to them. There have been MANY IG complaints about this and NONE have done any good. It affected thousands of AF members. The blame keeps getting passed back and forth between DFAS and AFPC. Regardless, it was an AF Col. who signed the new AFI that did this. This has really caused a stir among the enlisted and officer corps. (Even more so than before) What do you wanna bet he'll get his star this year? I have the official email if you would like to read it, and have an official email addy to send it to.

 

Man, I just don't know what to make of that.

 

In all reality that is not worth it. You can make way more money outside of the service if you go to college than in the service. And you lose a lot of freedoms by joining. For example if I went in I believe I'd be a Captain or Major, not sure off hand, but thats because I have a masters degree. And I would still have loss of wages bigger than $20k in four years. The loan repayment is nice but still in the long run its just not worth it.

I'll give it this though, you do have job security out the the wahooo.

Oh and that sucks lastlaugh.

 

Once again, you will no doubt take this as a personal attack but what on earth are you basing your statements of fact on? Even if that's your opinion, you really make me wonder what your decision making process is.

Unless you're a doctor or a lawyer, you wouldn't be a CPT or MAJ. I don't care if you had 3 Masters' degrees and a certificate of completion from Ivy Tech.

 

ROFLMAO!!
The Air Force has people with degrees ranging from Harvard to MIT, and they all start out as a 2ndLT. Dude, 72% of the Air Force ENLISTED force has degrees, how does that make u an officer? I personally would much rather be enlisted than an officer any day. (And yes, I have a degree too; working on my second). I know better than to post those reasons on a public forum, but its my opinion. Also, if you were to come in as an officer, in a career field that is critically manned, you get a LOT of extra bonuses that are not widely published. My cousin, by marriage, gets something like 32k a YEAR in incentive pay for being a pediatrician. Check this site out:
http://www.navy.com/image/body/explo...e2005_rev1.pdf

It list some of the incentive pay officers get. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing the military on anyone. (Thats a big problem today.Too many people are in that don't want to be.) I once thought it was the greatest thing ever, but the higher rank i get, the more lies and political BS I see. However, I see so many people (not saying you are), get patted on their asses their whole life, their parents pay for them to party for 4 years at some college, so they can graduate with a degree in something they truly know very little about. Then they decide they want to have an opinion on people in the military that work 14hr shifts, deploy away from their family, friends, and whatever school/college they happen to be attending to go sit in a 130 degree desert and get shot at for months on end. Tell me this, do you think some 21-22 year old kid with a degree in ....say...electrical engineering, has the same level of knowlege as a 26 year old SSgt with the same degree? Before you answer that, keep in mind that the kid probably studied & took his tests in a well lit, quiet classroom and had a few hours to take it. The SSgt, on the other hand, has been working on his degree for probably a few years longer because of reasons mentioned above. He learned his profession while actually doing it, in situation far more stressfull than a "real world" environment. He finished this degree in between deployments, while dealing with not only his problems, but also any problems his troop may have had. All the while maintaining grooming standards for him and his troops, PT standards for him and his troops, and any kinds of professional military education that may have been required of him. And god forbid if he has a family! There is reason why so many people today are finding it hard to get a job when they graduate college, and why ex military are one of the most sought after group of workers in America! Just cause someone has a little piece of paper saying they attended a college doesn't give them the WORK ETHIC, or the knowlege to do the job. I honestly mean no offence to anyone at all by this. Just my opinion!

 

Yup. I'm going to go ahead and flame on this too. I don't know what kind of logic you are using but I promise you it is flawed. I have been in the Army since 2001 and I am now a 2LT. I was prior enlisted and I know I would make a far better CPT or MAJ than you could ever dream of. It sounds to me like you have no knowledge of leadership experience. What degree you have is little concern to the soldiers you command in combat or likewise. I have my degree in Economics but my soldiers could give two ****s if I had a PHD in Astrological Vector Field Bio-Chemistry. It doesn't do them any good. A degree is just a ticket every officer has to punch. Lastly, there is a reason you are not in the military that becomes very evident by your previous statement. I don't know about everyone else but I didn't join for the money. Could I be making twice what I make in the civilian world? Hell yeah I could. But I wouldn't get 1% of the satisfaction I do when I put the uniform on everyday.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself, sir! BTW, mustangs do make the best officers.

 

Bwahahahaha. You'd be another cherry officer under the 1SG and Platoon Sgt's thumb. This isn't starship troopers. lmfao.

And don't forget you can pay-off damn near all your student loan debt on top of that bonus. Unless you went to an Ivy League school and your loan debt is very high. Seems like a good deal for the motivated that put service first. Enlist for 3 years where you train for the first 6+++months.

Get some money in your pocket from the start and then get paid like a pimp in Iraq. Come back after 2 tours with all your loans paid, more wallpaper on your resume that symbolizes leadership and enough stories to tell your grandchildren till you take the dirt nap.

Seems like an awesome deal to a ton of recent college grads with no direction out of school. It was the norm when I was in. You couldn't shake a stick without hitting a Psychology, Criminal Justice or Engineer major.

 

Honestly, he'd fit right in! Another butterbar who thinks he knows everything. (No offence there LT) He'd be a General in no time!

 

No offense taken. I make decisions but rely on my NCOs experience. I give them the task and let them run with it.


About what Salty said getting the loans paid off, making a ton of money when your deployed, etc... nothing can compare to having the ability to say you contributed to something greater than yourself and that you gave back to your country. Then you can criticize what ever the hell you want and not be a HYPOCRITE.

 

Thats funny because guess what level of degree my mother has and guess her rank when she enlisted? Oh wait can it be she has her MASTERS in NURSING and she first entered the Army as a CPT? And thats because she left officer training early. She later went back after a year and is now a MAJ. So every single one of you saying I don't know what im talking about is FULL of it. But please go right ahead and try to tell me my mother didn't go into officer training RIGHT when she enlisted.

Oh and top of that no little 1SG had her under his thumb. Stop talking out your *** please. I love how since you guys where/are in the military you think you know EVERYTHING about it. And this time you all are completly wrong.

 

You are obviously wrong about what you stated about me being able to be a CPT or MAJ if I entered. But to say that you would be a better CPT or MAJ than me without even knowing me makes wonder what else you can magically find out without knowning someone. Hey I got it thats why you would be a better CPT or MAJ than me, since you could tell what the enemy would do magically without even knowning who the enemy is. Congrats, wish I had magical powers like that.

Haha, my only reasons for not joining the army are not just money. I just gave that as one of the major reasons why its not worth it. Also good for you if you get the satisfaction you do by being in the Army. But I can tell you right now I wouldn't so thats part of the reason why I didn't join. Does that make me a lesser person than you. No, it doesn't. In fact had I wanted to the easier route would of been for me to join. But good generalizations.

 

Sorry, but I disagree. Just because you served your country in the Army doesn't mean others who do not can't criticize what they want. Thats such an ignorant comment. Good for you, you served but how does that diminish what I or others contribute to the US? So wait only those that have taken part in the Army can say things are wrong? Then if you believe that you should never talk about politicians since you have never been one or worked in a Captial. Should I go on or do I have to break it down for you even more.

 

Read what I wrote in gpat's. Talk about a ignorant comment. Not everyone is a grunt you know.

And then you have the chance of dying, losing a limb, tortured, etc... Its not as peachy as you make it seem. And I have done the math if I make more money outside of the Army than in it EASILY.

Thats IF you live. And lets not mention that if you don't believe in this war and feel morally wrong about it. To top it all off while you are doing two tours of duty I will still make more money than a Physical Therapist doing two year of duty in Iraq. (Would they even send one over there?) Especially in the next year. But that is irrelivant. And I rather see my future grandchildren than be dead.

I doubt recent college grads with those three types of degree would be running to join the Army. Those are really highly sought after individuals. But your experience my vary from what I know.

Listen Im not saying joining the Army is bad or whatever. What I am saying is that financially its not worth it for most individuals with a Masters or above. Think of it this way, my friend when she gets out of med school will start out above $150 thousand dollars a year easily. (Im going WAY bellow what she could really make here.) Her loans will be paid off by the first year if she lives frugally. If not they will be fully paid off in two years. There is no way the Army could match her salary.

I will give the Army this and a reason I almost signed up once I graduated. You can save like a mad man if you so desire. But you give up A LOT to do this. So it wasn't worth it to me.

 

Unregistered, take a second and guess what the odds are of dying or even getting injured in Iraq are? I'll leave it that general, meaning you can include the disease-non battle injury and normal accidents like those that occur in the motor pool when a metal sliver flies into a mechanic's eye.