ArtofWar

I want to explain myself/explain how it was supposed to be taken. But point taken. I will edit it.

I'm happy to see more responses and some defending me haha. I think forums mixed with the AF Pilot culture makes problems like this inevitable. I forget who I am dealing with and you all forget who you are dealing with. I'll leave it as short as that so I can continue STFU'ing. Thanks for all the new responses all, especially Darth. It's good to hear all types of stories and it's interesting that everyone seems happy no matter what happens as long as they are flying. And I will always try to remember that I may not be making little sacrificesin the AF, I might lose my life. I forgot that I have a slight case of scoliosis (22 degrees at top section, 20 degrees on bottom). Will that be a problem? I hear most people have some condition that should have deemed them unfit for the army but the meds overlook it. But that is just she say, he say. And I imagine if I reach pilot status that they wouldn't do something like that if I have to get reexamined and I wouldn't be accepted to flight school.

I have not slandered ANYONE who has given me advice...I don't know why some of you are thinking that. I defended myself when a couple people called me out for being a ###### and such without even giving me any advice or trying to understand where I am coming from; I have been nothing but respectful to everyone else. Thanks for your advice. Let me reiterate so this doesn't happen again. The only people I think/have said are douchebags are the people who come in here with nothing to say but slander. When that happened I chose to defend myself. But now I will simply ignore it. I have given my full respect to anyone who has offered any slither of advice.

That's what I have been thinking honestly...just be a little impulsive and just do it instead of think about the consequences that this decision may or may not even have. And yes I will definitely be ruining the Air Force according to you all so get out while you can. Thanks a lot for this. Seems like a great idea. It seems like you have a lot of great advice too. You have an interesting story as well, it's good to hear that you are loving life right now, hope it continues to only get better. You live up to your username man, I love Scrubs and all and loved the post. The good advice has definitely outweighed any douchebaggery. I am used to it on the internet being a forumite but I honestly just didn't expect that here. But honestly, I'd probably find this hilarious if I was on the other side too (the responses towards my apparent ######-ness. that is although I would never involve myself in making 'em). Nonetheless, I can tell everyone here is very knowledgeable whether or not they want to help me out. I could tell as soon as Herc came out after his initial post to lay his knowledge down. And even then, there have been very few that have been absolute dicks, some just blunt or just reading what I am saying wrong too and perhaps I read the douchebaggery as just that when they are trying to give blunt advice. I've learned a lot from a good amount of these posts. Thanks to everyone who wrote out their experiences if I didn't formally respond to it.

Alright, I am sorry. I felt the need to defend myself. I cannot win though so I will just have to ignore those few who I have shown me the disrespect- that I did in fact reciprocate. But, I have shown the rest of the guys who have answered great respect. I appreciate all of your time answering and all of your time served (whether or not you were respectful towards me, the "FNG") along with the wisdom some of you have shared and finally all of the sacrifices you have made. I guess since this is my only question some of you are getting the wrong idea. As I said before, I had more questions but they were answered; it's not as though it was perfect family with the typical 2.5 kids with the soccer mom mini van and all that crap- or I am not going to join. It was just the only answer that the people in the Army etc. (along with the AF ROTC recruiter) couldn't really give me a reliable answer about based on their knowledge. Sure family is important and I wanted to emphasize how important it is to me and get a general idea to see how realistic my ideas would hold up. Some of it is perhaps a tad bit unrealistic but I will get there when I get there if I even get there. There were questions I had for every step of the way. This was just one of them. Yes, I do look towards the future, but I am not neglecting the present, the post just is about one facet of the future. I like to plan things out, that is just who I am, I don't think that part of my personality could affect how I take flying and the lifestyle associated with it. It sounds like I might reach an ideal situation...but if not it sounds like you guys have made your families work for the most part and that sounds pretty great to me considering I'd be living out my dream. This was written in haste so the last part may be a little redundant.

Ahaha. I expected better out of pilots is all, but I guess douchebags are everywhere. You being one yourself.Takes one to know one I guess. I could have asked my ROTC detachment this, but the recruiter I talked to did not seem knowledgeable about pilot life from the questions that I did happen to ask him. So why would I bother asking him when I could actually ask some pilots? Fortunately, I have gotten a lot of in-depth responses. No thanks to you, cleeding bunt. Thanks. I elaborated what I meant on normal in my latter post. It sounds like there really isn't a normal for AF pilots but every pilot and their families learn to cope with the trials presented by the life. That in itself is good to hear. As long as it makes you all happy for the most part, it is good to hear. Also, thanks for the chart to flesh things out. Puts things in perspective. IDEALLY, what normal life would be for me: "I would hope "normal" would be getting to spend several nights a week with my family when I am not deployed and would hope deployment meant only 3-4 months of the year (if I was continually deploying for half a decade or more). That way I could still see my child grow up, keep my wife happy and keep my kid in the same area so he/she could experience a somewhat typical childhood." And yeah it sounds like things are changing a lot thanks to cuts and technology... Good advice...I definitely have a tendency to look much too far in the future. I still have time to think about this decision and I'll see how I feel about my reqs about family...from the answers I have read I feel like none of you regret your decision to become apart of the AF and manage to find a way to find a family and have your fun. So I don't think I want to turn down such a great opportunity for something so far down the line in the future. It is good to also get a reply from a CE officer. Haha...ice cold. It's not that I think I will be getting a pilot slot. It is just in the case that with the hard work I put in, and hopefully lady luck on my side, that if I do get a pilot slot, I want to know in advance that I won't have any regrets for putting in all that work. It sounds as though everyone absolutely loves the life and would trade it for nothing. Enough so that I am crazy for even thinking about family down the line... I am sure to even get to pilot training will be hard. No denying that. Yeah, a lot of great advice from everyone really. Thanks all! And I would rather slap him in the face like the rest of the internet warriors. I am just sorry I came off as "sensitive" for him. I just was surprised to see any here. Thought it'd be a bunch of pilots just shooting the shit after retirement but it seems a lot more diverse here than I imagined. Well after this post...I am considering devoting my life to tracking you down and kicking you in the ######. Thank you all again for the mostly awesome answers. I guess even Crew Dawg & Herc are just trying to say that I am crazy for even thinking about giving up my dream of becoming an AFP because of family matters.

I had made this thread on a military forum and was directed here. I had more questions then...that were intimate but were answered there. Probably should have changed the title but didn't think about it and felt that asking about how your family life is was intimate enough. Also didn't expect to get patronized by some others for it... Thank you! This is what I was looking for. It sounds as though it is possible to make it happen with some hardships but still realistic... I would hope "normal" would be getting to spend several nights a week with my family when I am not deployed and would hope deployment meant only 3-4 months of the year (if I was continually deploying for half a decade or more). That way I could still see my child grow up, keep my wife happy and keep my kid in the same area so he/she could experience a somewhat typical childhood. It is true though that I don't know what choices I will have to make but I am hoping I can gauge them better if I decide to go to the pilot path from hearing from a multitude of experienced AF pilots. I feel like it is definitely a life I could live though. I have never wanted to be a 9-5 guy and there doesn't seem to be a more viable option than becoming an AF pilot. Hopefully, in such a venerated position I can really make an impact somewhere, somehow and make something of myself. As long as they can stay in one place. I of course wouldn't expect such, but I would hope to see them enough so I can watch my child grow up and keep my wife happy.

Hey all, hopefully this is the right section to be asking these questions. My thread didn't really seem to fit any so I figured this would be the best place. So I am very interested in joining the Air Force. I am going to be a sophomore (at college) this coming fall, so I am late to the party (I'll be joining ROTC). I am a Civ. Engineer with a 3.5 GPA. I would love to become a pilot. But there are a couple things that are scaring me. I am a single guy and I want a family in the future. I assume I will have time to find a girl at some point early in my career...but will I be able to start a family and have them in an ideal situation? Let's say by the age of 35, will I be able to have a child and keep them in one place? I am willing to sacrifice anything to fly except a normal family life. (If I can achieve a normal family life by the age of ~35 though...I can manage.) Of course this all depends on if I can even get a pilot slot. But hopefully with a lot of effort and hard work I can achieve my dreams and if not, I will be content with a life in the Air Force as a Civil Engineering Officer. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my questions. More importantly though, thank you for serving our country.