Do you have any stories of young men signing up with you only to have their mothers come in later to yell at you for taking their sons away from them?
How long is the “I changed my mind” period? I doubt it’s the “once you signed on the dotted line your ass is ours” type thing.
And question 1B: do you feel those arguments are strong enough to justify it?
/slight hijack
I’d settled on enlisting in the Army (higher rank going in by far) and my recruiter set up my appointments for physical, testing etc.
In the car on the way there (a three hour drive), he says to me with all seriousness:
The doctor will want to know if you are a virgin.
:eek:
Even at 17, I knew better than that. IIRC, I just said something like, “I’ll be sure to answer the doctor’s questions.”
/slight hijack off
Great questions! In order:
Air Force recruiting school last seven weeks. The curriculum starts with qualifications, goes on to public speaking, and is liberally sprinkled throughout with an intense sales program called “Professional Selling Skills.”
I am not sure of the exact route to work on Air Force One, but it is conceivable to be working there as a Senior Airman, who have typically been in the Air Force 3-5 years.
When someone is DQ, I explain why, tell them about any waivers that may be available, and then politely dismiss them after asking if they have any friends that might want to join.
The worst response so far was when a young man threatened to kick my a$$. After I told him to he could try (I explained that age and wisdom overcome youth and vigor), he backed down. It was pretty tense for a while, I thought I was going to have to call the police to get him out of my office.
My favorite war movie is anything with John Wayne. Doesn’t matter which one, so long as the Duke is in it.
The approach is really the same for each. Sometimes I use the “You aren’t tough enough for MY Air Force” line on the guys. Men want to ask a load of questions before joining, but the women usually wait until after they have sworn in to ask questions so I try to cover the usual questions before females join.
All the frikkin’ time! I tell them that Top Gun was Navy, then explain that the Air Force won’t give a recent high school grad responsibility for multi-million dollar aircraft. That typically brings them back down to earth.
Yes, I do have kids (3 in fact). I will suggest the Air Force to two of them, but the third isn’t a good candidate. I’m not going to push them, but if they want to I’ll make sure they are taken care of.
Yes, I know what percentage wash out. So far, 0% have washed out. I prepare my applicants pretty well before they get there.
Really, I don’t see the need for a draft. I don’t think it will ever happen again. There are a lot of steps the military, especially the AF, has at their disposal before a draft is needed. It would only hurt the military, as far as I can see. *See note
Yes, recruiting is a good thing for promotions for three reasons:
I don’t have exact stats, but I would venture to say about 30% come from military families. It is a blessing and a curse. If an applicant’s family member was in the Army/Navy/Marines it is a blessing. Their parents generally drag them into my office by their ears and tell them if they want to join, THIS is the place to do it. The applicants are then wowed by the Air Force, and live happily ever after. Not so with Air Force families. They are the hardest to deal with. They think they know everything and expect me to make exceptions for their kids (get them “good” jobs, leave sooner). This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but that is generally how it goes.
*This is not the official position of the Air Force, YMMV, etc.
Oh yes. I think it is my favorite recruiting story. I helped a young man (26 y/o) join the Air Force. He was still at home with his parents, and that was his biggest motivator: he wanted a place of his own where he could bring girls. After he joined and left, his mother called me and asked for an appointment. I gave her a time, wondering what this woman wanted (she didn’t say, and I didn’t make the connection between her and him). When the appointed day and time arrived, a large, hairy man opened the door and sat down opposite my desk, followed closely by an older woman. He didn’t say a word, but she wouldn’t even let me introduce myself before ranting about how I had stolen her “baby boy” and sent him off to be killed in the war. I just sat back and listened. Gorilla man sat there and glared at me the whole time. After about fifteen minutes, she proceeded to tell me that I owed her a son and if I couldn’t provide one would have to come over and do his chores myself (the young man had never told her he was joining, she didn’t even know where he went until he called her from Basic Military Training). Trying not to laugh (gorilla man was still there, you see), I explained that I would not be able to do either, but if she would tell me who her son was maybe I could help figure something out. She told me his name and even showed me his high school graduation photo to help me remember. After seeing who it was, I told her that yes, the AF had taken her little boy, but would give her a man to be proud of. She looked surprised, then asked a million questions about the AF. All the while, gorilla man is glaring at me, saying nothing. After answering her questions and giving her lots of Air Force stuff (stickers, key chains, and the like) she said that she had to go. I asked who gorilla man was, and she told me that it was her nephew who came along to help her out if I got rough. I laughed, and thanked her. Gorilla man NEVER said a word. Three weeks later, he came in and told me that after listening to me talk to his aunt, HE wanted to join. I made sure he told his entire family before I let him join.
That period lasts until the second swearing in ceremony (on the day someone leaves for BMT). The actual calendar time varies from person to person.
Thanks for your quick responses. Very, very interesting stuff.
Have you ever gotten someone who didn’t qualify for AF but which you thought could qualify for another service?
That happens all the time. I have friends in the other service recruiting offices and refer applicants to them (usually the Army).