Comments on: Welcome to AFBMT

By: Derek

Derek — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:14:29 +0000

Wow yeah that will probably be a problem for you. Is it in collections now? It’s not that big of a problem to be that much in debt, but the fact that you stopped paying it is pretty bad. Tell your recruiter about it for sure. They’ll probably do an extra financial report and stuff on you to see if they can get you in, if they’ll even go that far. I had a bankruptcy a couple years before I came in and had to do some extra paperwork, but still got in.

Having that much debt and especially not paying it, can make it impossible for you to get a security clearance which will limit your job choices, if they’ll even let you in.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:10:54 +0000

Hey thanks for the info man. It certainly helped me out.
Theres another question I had that I forgot to ask. Back in 2010 I got in a very minor car accident. as in i scratched the other guys bumper. No major dameges, but at the time I had no car insurance. In fact I was on my way to pay my bill cause I had forgot about the payment. Long story short I was slapped with a 15,000.00 bill from an insurance company due to the there medical costs. The guy was like 85 yrs old. So i stoped paying them because I couldnt afford it anymore. Will that effect my chances cause of such a high debt?

By: Derek

Derek — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:18:38 +0000

Hi Chris, good questions.

How much does an airman make a month or annually?
Here is the current pay scale. You would be starting as an E-1, E-2 or E-3 depending on if you have any college credits, if you sign up for 4 or 6 years, etc. You also have to factor in Basic Allowance for Subsistence, Housing, and other bonuses, which you can read about on my pay and benefits pages.

Does it depend on the job?
No, everyone gets paid the same, according to the chart above. The only exceptions are flyers, they get a couple hundred extra a month, as do linguists (or anyone that can speak an additional language fluently). Some special duties like recruiter and Military Training Instructor also get a couple hundred extra, but the base pay is the same for everyone.

Is getting a home for my family on base hard to acquire after tech school?
Depends on the base, but as long as they have room you should have no problem getting one. Some bases just don’t have room though, so it depends. If you can’t live on base then you would be given Basic Allowance for Housing, which varies by area but is usually a thousand or so dollars a month, tax free.

How did you coupe with being away from your family for the first few months before your wife was able to accompany you?
It’s different for everyone, but it’s just something you have to get used to. Depending on your job, you may be away from family a lot. Definitely one of the big sacrifices you have to make.

If my wife is having a hard time taking care of the kids by herself is there a daycare on base that can help?
Yes, pretty much every base has a Child Development Center, which is a daycare. The rates are cheap and vary depending on your rank.

Does your allowance differ if you have a larger family?
Nope, it’s the same whether you have one dependent or six.

When do you start getting paid? before or after basic?
Usually a couple weeks into BMT, you will start getting paid. Just depends on what day you go and when all the paperwork goes through. You get paid on the 1st and 15th of every month.

Does the Air Force take care of you after you serve your 4 years?
You qualify as a veteran so you get all of the veteran benefits such as loans and other things. You will also have your GI Bill that you can use to go to school if you want. And you can go to a VA hospital for treatment (not your family). There are lots of programs to help you get a civilian job if you get out as well. Other than that though you don’t get a lot. You have to do the full 20 years and retire in order to get the really good benefits. You don’t get a lot after just serving 4 years.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:07:43 +0000

hey man hows it going.
I had a few questions about enlisting. Im 21 yrs old and I have a little girl and another on the way. Im in a corner right now and my options for school arent to good cause im too busy working to go to school. Im tired of dead end jobs because its all I do from dusk till dawn. I had looked up some information online and spoke to some recruiters here locally on requirements prior to entering. Ive lost the weight they told me to. So here are my questions,
How much does an airman make a month or annually? Does it depend on the job?
Is getting a home for my family on base hard to acquire after tech school?
How did you coupe with being away from your family for the first few months before your wife was able to accompany you?
If my wife is having a hard time taking care of the kids by herself is there a daycare on base that can help?
Does your allowance differ if you have a larger family?
When do you start getting paid? before or after basic?
Does the sir force take care of you after you serve your 4 years? Any honest info will help thank you.

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:15:15 +0000

The house shouldn’t be an issue, lots of military people buy houses and then rent them out when they move. Depending on how much school debt you have, as well as any other debt, could be a factor though. If the AF doesn’t think you can pay your bills on an Airman’s salary, they won’t let you in. A recruiter should be able to let you know if any of that will be an issue. I wouldn’t imagine it would be, but they can let you know for sure.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:45:07 +0000

MY husbadn and I bought a house three years ago when we first got married, VERY cheap for our area 80K, and he is now wanting to pursue enlisting, we are trying to decide weather or not to rent it out (through agency) or sell it if he is able to enlist. Also I have college loans from before we were married will both of these things count against him to enlist?

By: Derek

Derek — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:27:01 +0000

You can find out more about that here: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/l/bladvrank.htm

I’m not very familiar with JROTC myself, so I can’t really tell you more than what is on that page.

By: marion

marion — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:55:31 +0000

how does the ranking system works at BMT if i was in JROTC and graduated as Battalion Commander? what will my rank be at graduation?

By: Derek

Derek — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:04:02 +0000

Well if you want to enlist in the reserves you’d just talk to an AF recruiter and see if you meet the requirements, then go to BMT, Tech School, then start your job and continue school. Just be aware that it will affect your schooling, since you would have to go to two months of BMT, plus however long your tech school is, plus at least 2 weeks a year and a weekend a month in the reserves, possibly being deployed, etc. Most medical jobs are hard to get, and with the reserves they’d have to offer that job at your local reserve unit and have a slot available for you to take. Would probably be pretty rare that that would happen for a job like that, but a recruiter can tell you more.

By: Quentin

Quentin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:54:08 +0000

I am 19, my second year in College and I was thinking about joining the AF Reserve while I finish out my last two years then maybe my Masters. Since I’ll be 4 years on the reserves anyway, right ? Also I want to do histopathology in the Airfroce for my job, Im a Biology Major. How will this happen is what I’m really asking.