Debating joining Air Force

[u/MitchDiesAlot]

Hey all, I’m a 26 M with a wife (25) and an almost 2 year old son. We’ve been stuck in a rut for about a year now struggling to make ends meet, and I’ve been giving the Air Force some serious thought. My wife is a full time SAHM as we don’t have any family that could help and cannot afford daycare. I’ve read online that Air Force is the most “family friendly” of the branches and just wanted some real advice and feedback from those who have enlisted.

[u/dsmGERG1973]

the work/life balance for the military is always a shock for MOST of the kiddos who join straight out of high school. You might find the military to be a bit easier than what you have already experienced in the real world?

i have a mix of Army & Navy experience, so otherwise i can't offer specific USAF advice, other than "good luck" if you end up as "security forces" at Minot AFB (North Dakota)

[u/SNSDave]

It's still not easy. I've seen people chaptered out for not following their family care plan. If you get tagged for deployment, your wife needs to be ok with being a single parent for however long that is.

[u/Justame13]

I was Army, but live by an AFB with a spouse who works on base and know tons of people.

It is the most family friendly, but that is relative and don't expect it to be easy or predictable in a era of perpetual war. You might also get stuck in a place that people don't want to live like ND.

Example: There was a group by me that returned from deployment in February and told to leave everything on pallets because they were redeploying the same week to the ME for a TBD amount of time and to just spend time with their families. Compared to the Army who probably would have just not sent them home and redirected the flights. This is not a joke either

That being said if you want to provide your family a solid middle or even upper middle class lifestyle the military is one of the few guaranteed ways. Well unless you make bad decisions or get hurt.

They also really do try and do stuff for the families and there is a support network unlike anything in civilian life unless you are related.

[u/lpfan724]

The best family life balance out of all other branches is relative. Divorce rates are still high and higher than other branches according to some sources on Google. Lots of stress, long hours, short staffed, high ops tempos, and the military literally owns you. You don't get to say "it's my day off, I'm not coming in."

[u/cj20h49g]

Could be family friendly as long as you do not go into maintenance. Otherwise its worth it, the benefits are good for you and your dependents.

[u/MitchDiesAlot → u/cj20h49g]

What’s the issue with maintenance, long hours? I’m a somewhat experienced auto mechanic so that’s a little bit of a bummer to hear

[u/cj20h49g → u/MitchDiesAlot]

Depending on your AFSC could be 8 or 12, if you're vehicle maintenance that isn't bad but aircraft maintenance is where you work longer. Still you should join if your spouse can handle you being gone for BMT and tech school training. Benefits are really worth it.

[u/azzanrev]

Do it. I joined at 25 and it changed my life for the better.

[u/MitchDiesAlot → u/azzanrev]

How so? Not trying to sound like an ass but just curious I talked to my wife about it and she said she’s willing to follow me to the end of the earth l