Boom Operator Q&A

[lilbigman]

Where you go will be very dependent on if you enjoy what you do. You could go to Kadena and only worry about Boom/Drogue refueling. You could go to McConnell and learn R/T, SOAR, MPRS, ROBE, etc. Or you could go to Fairchild and not deploy to the Deid.

How hard is it to get Kadena after retraining into boom? My family has been there since March of last year due to my deployment. Just curious

Edited March 24, 2010 by lilbigman

[Guest Crew Report]

Luck of the draw. I do know Kadena needs TSgt/MSgt's right now. Don't know if it's an IB thing or just a rank thing.

[lilbigman]

Luck of the draw. I do know Kadena needs TSgt/MSgt's right now. Don't know if it's an IB thing or just a rank thing.

Wow. How can I get luck like that then? What does IB mean? Slow on the uptake here. Also, did some calculating and the "one month prior to BBOC for orders" date puts me at May, which is when I start class. So, just wondering if I will be getting orders prior to my leaving.

[Guest Crew Report]

Wow. How can I get luck like that then? What does IB mean? Slow on the uptake here. Also, did some calculating and the "one month prior to BBOC for orders" date puts me at May, which is when I start class. So, just wondering if I will be getting orders prior to my leaving.

IB = Instructor Boom Operator

I had orders before I retrained, but like I said this is back in 2006. Your mileage may vary. Do have retainability for an assignment?

[lilbigman]

IB = Instructor Boom Operator

I had orders before I retrained, but like I said this is back in 2006. Your mileage may vary. Do have retainability for an assignment?

Yeah, I have enough retainability but I will check again tmrw. MPF here is......a little slow.

[Stitch]

THREAD BUMP:

After coming up with nothing after searching I have a question for your enlisted booms/LMs/FEs/ect... Had a young guy ask me about joining the AF but wanted to know if he can enlist with a "guaranteed" job as an enlisted aircrew member. He doesn’t really care what he gets as long as its boom, LM, FE heck even gunner for that matter. (Not to bash on the E-dudes in the back of AWACS, E-8s etc... this kid just wants a specific career track.) He also understands that to get a flying job you have to be medically, physically, ASVAB score, etc… qualified to even be considered to one of those positions.

He wanted to ask someone whose been there done that prior to talking with a recruiter. He knows SOME recruiters will promise a young kid with a GED who don’t know squat an F-22 pilot slot just to make their quota. So our young hero wants some facts prior to waling into a recruiters office. I'm retired and when I did the delayed enlistment option back in the dark ages (Aug 1980) and you could pick your job before you even left for basic. Is such a deal still available? Or are new kids subject to the mercy of the AFSC assignment shoes?

Any help would be awesome,

Thanks,

Stitch

[AWACSEng]

He *should* be able to enlist with a guaranteed AFSC, but may have to sit in delayed entry for a while waiting on the slot. As far as I know, the only way he could be an FE right off the street is to go the helo route. I am a fixed wing FE and was a retrainee. There have been some changes in the policies regarding qualifications for the FE career field, so maybe one of the helo guys here will chime in. As far as the other AFSCs go, they can be obtained right off the street, but I'll defer specifics to those that are in those jobs. Also, it's been a while since I've gone through the aircrew training process, so I may not be much more help, but feel free to PM with any other questions!

[Guest Crew Report]

Other than FE he can enlisted in the other 1A (Career Enlisted Aviator) careerfields. If he decides that he doesn't like being a Boom, Load, Gunner, etc he can retrain into FE (if there are slots available) down the road since he'll be in a "feeder" AFSC to retrain into FE. To be a Boom at least he has to pass the depth perception test. Don't know about other 1A careerfields.

[uhhello]

All FE's are one big happy family now. Only way a non prior gets into FE school is to have a pilot ticket. The recruiter probably won't even talk to him if he mentions wanting only one job. The ball is definitely in the AF's court these days.

[JarheadBoom]

Had a young guy ask me about joining the AF but wanted to know if he can enlist with a "guaranteed" job as an enlisted aircrew member.

Guard or Reserve seem to be the best bets on getting the exact job you want out of Big Blue... but I've heard a nasty rumor that the ANG has stopped hiring "off the street" for the rest of the FY.

[Guest Crew Report]

Guard or Reserve seem to be the best bets on getting the exact job you want out of Big Blue...

Until your unit is BRAC'd.

[Guest]

Until your unit is BRAC'd.

Roger that.

[JarheadBoom]

Until your unit is BRAC'd.

That's the trade-off you must be willing to accept, if you decide to go Guard/Reserve, to get the exact flying job you want. This ain't Burger King...

People who are seriously considering making a career of the Guard or Reserve would be wise to keep that possibility in the back of their minds.

[lilbigman]

Anyone have any updated information on base housing at McConnell AFB, KS? I will report in 21 January and am trying to get an idea on any details staying on base. Am qualified for a 4 bdrm

[Guest grindblaster]

Gonna revive this thread real quick...

I'm enlisting with the 126th Air Refueling Wing on the 30th, I'm trying to decide what AFSC would be best for my part-time commitment that would benefit me the most when I apply for UPT slots with a fighter or CSAR unit. I hear that the boom op is great because I spend time in the air, and go through some of the same training that pilots must go through. But I'm also going to be returning back to school after basic training and tech school for aviation (At SIU Carbondale) so I can get some flight time under my belt, but I hear that boom-op training is about a year long, and there are some pre-reqs required. I want to get school started and over with so I can finally pursue my dream of flying in the military. So I'm trying to gauge how long I'll be at training before I can return to college.

Guest_Boom answered most of my questions. But could he, or someone else fill me in on the pre-reqs? I heard there are some pre-reqs required to be a boom-op, and I want to learn as much as I can before I make the decision. And the entire training process is what, about a year long? And would I be able to bring my girlfriend with? Or will I be stationed on a base(s)

Oh, and does anyone know when the AF will be replacing the -135s with the new Boeing KC-46? Would I be training on the new airframe? Or the -135's and -10s?

Thanks

Edited September 21, 2011 by grindblaster

[Guest]

I was under the impression you were looking for ANG money for school but intended to go active duty as a pilot once you were done with college. Is that correct?

If so, I would suggest a job with the shortest training possible so you can concentrate on getting college done ASAFP since that is what really stands between you and pilot training.

I really can't see how being a boom operator will help much with UPT. The USAF takes guys off the street whose last job was cleaning the slurpee machine at 7-11 and turns them into F-22 pilots. No shit.

[Guest grindblaster]

I was under the impression you were looking for ANG money for school but intended to go active duty as a pilot once you were done with college. Is that correct?

If so, I would suggest a job with the shortest training possible so you can concentrate on getting college done ASAFP since that is what really stands between you and pilot training.

I really can't see how being a boom operator will help much with UPT. The USAF takes guys off the street whose last job was cleaning the slurpee machine at 7-11 and turns them into F-22 pilots. No shit.

That's correct, I'm just hearing a bunch of different things from different people in the service. Thanks for reassuring me though, I wasn't feeling leaving for a year on top of basic and then return back to school for 4 years. I suppose I'll keep considering different AFSC's.

Oh, I'm signing up on the 30th of this month as well. Thanks for your help previously.

[Champ Kind]

Oh, I'm signing up on the 30th of this month as well. Thanks for your help previously.

Don't do it.

[Learjetter]

Don't do it.

Agreed... Get the degree, have fun being a college kid, work two jobs on the side, do ROTC, and go to UPT. The degree is step 1, not enlisting. Technique only, but a proven one.

[Guest grindblaster]

I'm already 20k in debt from my first attempt at college. the ILANG pays tuition 100%. It's my only option I can see. Also, the possibility of me being able to move 6 hours south to a city I've never been in before, find not one, but two jobs to pay for four years of college, housing, food, and transportation, all while trying to get straight A's in an aviation program, is very slim, considering this economy. But, since you are suggesting, I'll reconsider.

I graduated with honors from my last college, and got laughed at by every company I applied to. The school I'm going to has AFROTC (SIU Carbondale) , but I haven't looked into it because I had my sights locked on the guard route.

Why do you two suggest otherwise? I hear prior enlisted is a good way of getting the UPT slot?

Do you really suggest abandoning enlisting and trying to get into AFROTC?

My plan has changed about ten times in the past week due to suggestions on here. Hope you guys are all speaking from experience.

[ThreeHoler]

Ok, so I had to use the ######ing search to piece together your whole story...

Since you currently have some sort of seemingly worthless Associate of Arts degree...have you looked into a 2 year Bachelor's program rather than spending four more years trying to finish college?

On another note...despite what the world is telling people, higher education is not always the right thing for a person...just sayin' that one assumed failed attempt at college ($20k debt) and an AA degree from nowhere...and you're going back for more? I just don't get the impression that pursuing the pilot thing is the right choice...

[Guest grindblaster]

Ok, so I had to use the ######ing search to piece together your whole story...

Since you currently have some sort of seemingly worthless Associate of Arts degree...have you looked into a 2 year Bachelor's program rather than spending four more years trying to finish college?

On another note...despite what the world is telling people, higher education is not always the right thing for a person...just sayin' that one assumed failed attempt at college ($20k debt) and an AA degree from nowhere...and you're going back for more? I just don't get the impression that pursuing the pilot thing is the right choice...

Money is the common denominator here, my parents are tapped from my first two years. I need to fly, the aviation degree seems obvious, and I need a bachelors to be an officer. What are you trying to imply?

Graduating with honors isn't a failed attempt. The economy has the recording arts and game design industry on lockdown, no one is hiring. I can't even get a job at Whole Foods. I can bet everyone on here who went through college buried themselves in debt at one point or another.

What do you advise, then?

[ThreeHoler]

I'm already 20k in debt from my first attempt at college.

...

I graduated with honors from my last college, and got laughed at by every company I applied to.

Your word choice indicates at least two separate experiences.

If you're dead set on getting a Bachelor's degree, then you need to focus on getting a useful degree. If you get a specialty (worthless) degree just to check the box for Big Blue, you're going to be laughed at by even more companies if you don't get picked up by the AF...especially since we're heading for lots of belt-tightening due to the current economic situation.

[Guest grindblaster]

Your word choice indicates at least two separate experiences.

If you're dead set on getting a Bachelor's degree, then you need to focus on getting a useful degree. If you get a specialty (worthless) degree just to check the box for Big Blue, you're going to be laughed at by even more companies if you don't get picked up by the AF...especially since we're heading for lots of belt-tightening due to the current economic situation.

I've only been to one college so far, and received an AAS. Sorry, I must have worded that incorrectly.

I'm dead set on flying in the military, and doing whatever I have to do to do that. My prior college experience was just to pursue my musical hobby, and I excelled there, meaning I can excel at whatever I put my heart, mind, and soul into.

How is an aviation degree worthless? Unless you were referring to my AAS in recording arts.

Edited September 22, 2011 by grindblaster

[Cougar Driver]

My prior college experience was just to pursue my musical hobby, and I excelled there, meaning I can excel at whatever I put my heart, mind, and soul into.

I think you're wasting your time with enlisting. Skip the Guard recruiter and go find a Guard squadron. Tell the Commander there that you'll excel at UPT and you should have no trouble getting a AMS slot.

Seriously, don't enlist. Do ROTC, if you really do excel, you'll get your pilot slot. If you don't, you wouldn't have made it to OTS from being enlisted anyway, and you'll still have a degree and a job as a Finance Officer. You can get an ROTC scholarship to pay for tuition. When you commission, you can get a $25,000 low interest loan to pay off your debts. If you enlist, you won't be able to concentrate on a degree, and you'll have a helluva time getting an OTS slot. There was a guy in my IFS class who bragged about his 900+ hours as a boomie. He washed out.

(edit to add real advice)

Edited September 22, 2011 by MT Aviator