I found out what job I'm going to be doing in the Air Force...

and I’m going to be an aerial gunner. I just hope to God I made the right decision. It was my third choice. No matter what, though, my parents are going to flip.

Are there any dopers who have done that job to share their experiances? I know what the job entails, but I would like a personal look into it.

Aerial gunner?

They eliminated the gunner position in B-52s years ago. The only other airframes I can think of that might need a gunner are the AC-130 or the MH-53. Are you going straight into a Special Ops squadron?

(I’ve been off active duty for 3 years and I’m starting to feel out of touch).

I’m going to be working the gun in helicopters.

Sweet!

Welcome to the 2% Club. :slight_smile:

Good luck then!

You’re going to have a lot of fun and do some very interesting things!

Meaning 2% of Air Force staff who actually get to work in an aircraft? Something along those lines anyways?

As to the OP, sounds exciting! I’m sure it beats the hell out of sitting in a cube baking your eyes in a monitors warm glow, like I’m doing.

That’s it, Anonymous Coward. Approximately 2% give or take of all enlisted personnel are aviators. The percentage increases with officers.

It’s really a privilege, if you ask me. My mother-in-law keeps trying to get me to transfer to Texas so I can work for her, and I won’t do it because I’d have to give up flying and start riding a desk, or I’d have to change career fields to Loadmaster or the like, which takes meout of any action for about a year. Not something I want to do.

I’m really looking forward to it. My dad is really angry though…eh. I ship out on Sept 7th. That’s eight days after my eighteenth birthday and the day before my mother’s.

I’m hoping to have some experiances that other’s can never say they had. Many people can relive tales about college, but not many can tell their grandchildren about what I’m going to do. I’m willing to take the good with the bad.

On behalf of myself and Bluesman, welcome to our Air Force! FTR, my Mom was pretty incensed when I joined, too, at age 18. She got over it, though, and I’m glad I didn’t let her influence my decision, because it turned out to be one of the top five best decisions I ever made. And one of those other four was the decision to re-join the AF less than a year ago.

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy your time in the Air Force as much as I did. I went in a few days after my 17th birthday, and never regretted it.

Oh yeah, I was an aircraft mechanic. Flew a little in the line of duty, did some helicopter time while serving on crash crews, but that was about it for flying. Still, working on the flight line was cool enough.

Good luck!

Good luck, I sincerly hope you enjoy your time in service as much as I did. I also hope you do not experience the horror of combat like I did. It seems romantic until you get there. I wish you well. I would like to point out that it is unlikely that you will have any experiences that millions who have gone before you have not had.

Also while I did my time as an Army paratrooper I have many family members who were and are USAF. I suggest you nail down what your recruiter has told you. I was under the impression that gunner positions were assigned at Squadron or unit level not as a particular MOS, and that there were relatively few helocopters in the USAF with gun positions, aside from PJ outfits which as a recruit you do not qualify. I could be wrong it is just a suggestion.

Mostly I just want to say have fun, stay safe, and thank you for serving our country.

Good for you! I wish we could swap places!

Take all the education and adventure they can throw at you. See the world. Serve your fellowman.

Congratulations!