I know each unit is different but I was wondering if they do the year thing like the ground guys do.
I’m trying to talk my wife into letting me fly for the Army and that’s one of her main concerns.
Just as a suggestion, I would talk to an Army Recruiter in person to first determine if you are qualified to join, and also to find out if there are Aircraft positions available.
Good luck,
SSG § Schwartz
Are recruiters actually trustworthy sources of information?
I suppose the OP could trust Wikipedia. Or google search, or trust someone who knows someone, who once met a guy in a bar who said he flew Blackhawks in Somalia.
SSG § Schwartz
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I’m not sure what your point is – that other sources of information may not be accurate?
Maybe I should rephrase my question: Are recruiters bound by any obligation to tell you the truth (to the best of their knowledge) or can they say whatever they want to get you to sign up?
Yes, that is pretty much my job. I tell people what ever I want, and there are no repercussions for lying. If fact, the person that enlists the most dissatisfied Soldier is given an automatic promotion.
Ok, short angry rant over. Yes, we are bound by regulations. Even if we were not, every time a Recruiter lies to an applicant, it is on the 6 o’clock news. Generally, at least for the Recruiters I work with, if we don’t know, we say we don’t know, and then try to find out the answer.
My response to the OP, was that if he is not even qualified to fly for the Army, he should know that before he worries about how long he will be deployed for, or even if he will be deployed.
Finally, if you don’t trust a Recruiter, good luck joining the Army to begin with, as you can’t just walk into an Army base and say, “I’m here to fly something.”
SSG § Schwartz
US Army Recruiting
Oh please, the question “are Army recruiters trustworthy?” is a completely legitimate one. I believe you when you say you and those you work with are honest, I have met some recruiters that really do seem to be straightforward and honest. But that is not universal, frankly I have a hard time believing it is the norm.
Most of the Army recruiters I have interacted with will not tell you a straight up lie, but they will stretch, bend, and contort the truth to get it as close to what the applicant wants to hear. Maybe things are a lot better now than they were when I enlisted, but IME it is always wise to have as many facts at your disposal as possible before walking into a recruiting station.
To Rand: Have you considered the Air Force? I think they only do six month deployments.
It was an honest question asked without sarcasm. Was the snark and misdirected anger really necessary?
There are legitimate concerns: What kind of regulations? What sort of repercussions would a recruiter face for dishonesty when not exposed by the media? How could a civilian report them? How do you deal with the conflict of interest inherent in the situation (recruitment numbers vs truths that may not be so pretty)? Etc.
I’m asking because I’d like to be informed, not because I’m trying to insult your profession. I hope you’ll use the opportunity to set the record straight.
I’ve actually been out of the Air Force for a little over two years now. I did two trips to Iraq while I was enlisted. The only issue I have with Air Force is the closest ROTC unit is about two hours away in LA and I wouldn’t look forward to that drive every week.