No. There is nothing wrong with you. People who make fun of the Air Force are just jealous or plain ignorant about what we do in the Air Force.

First off: there are terms that I "hate" to see used and thrown about. I don’t know how the term "chair force" got started unless ignorant people think that all we do is sit around on swivel chairs all day!

Or Air Farce? Is there any other Air Force in the world better than ours? Sure the Army, Navy, and Marines have their own smaller versions of an air force. But, those are close support requirements within their service. And, I do respect the Navy pilots who must fly off and back on to carrier decks. That, is a skill that is most envious by even our own Air Force pilots!

But, you can also make fun with name calling about the Army and Marines calling them "grunts" and "dog faces" etc. How about calling the Navy "swab jockeys?" Does every sailor have a mop and bucket and swab the decks of their ships? I don’t think so.

But the WORST degrading term that I detest is when children of all our military forces refer to themselves as "Army Brats" "Air Force Brats" "Navy Brats" "Marine Brats" etc.

STOP THIS CHILDREN OF MINE!

Military dependent children do not behave like "brats." For the most part they were better behaved in public schools than the local civilian population surrounding the military base the military children’s parents served at. My own two sons would never fit the description of being an unruly "brat." Today, they are grown men of ages 40 and 33 and they are employed in their jobs and careers and have fine families of their own. They are not now nor were they ever "Brats."

Now: For you to decide is this: EACH service has its own philosophy. You have to mesh with one of them to decide if you are compatible with that service. Then, that will be the service you are most likely to join and support and help remain the best of the world.

IF you like ships and want to sail on them "all" the time; say 4 – 6 months out of a year, then join the Navy.

If you are an out-of-doors type person and like a more rugged lifestyle then join the Army.

If you wish to support the Air Force’s mission to "Fly – Fight – and Win" then join the Air Force. But remember this: you will NOT be hanging around airplanes all day long. Only about 5% of our 450,000 members every get a job that is directly associated with an airplane. The rest of us support those planes from behind the scenes on our bases. A plane doesn’t just fly all by itself. If the Supply Man doesn’t bring you the parts your plane sits on the ground. And, the rest of the AF jobs all are like that.

If you are a single man, as fit as Superman in your strength and resolve, if you only want to move about the world being the first in combat and the last to leave, if you are focused on a combat mission that only knows one outcome: TO WIN and never retreat; then join the Marines. Our Marines command the highest respect of all the services. To be a Marine is to be a Marine forever. And, even I, could not qualify for this honor.

Don’t forget the Coast Guard. It is difficult to get into the Coast Guard because they have much fewer numbers of personnel. But, if you want to be out on a boat every day rescuing people in distress or interdicting drug smugglers, terrorists, and illegals, then, maybe the Coast Guard is for you.

Air Force "Intelligence" jobs require that you be able to obtain a Top Secret military clearance. Not everybody can get this. The investigators, F.B.I. and other "agencies" will come and talk with your school teachers, principals, neighbors down the street, bosses you had at work, your own family and relatives, the police agencies, the Courts, your banks and financial affairs and many other groups that we can only guess at. And, only then, if your background is squeaky clean will we take a chance on you for such a clearance. After training you will work in rooms that have locks on the doors and can only be entered by talking to someone on the telephone by the door or if you have a combination code to enter. You can never talk with anybody about your work – not even your wife or your family or best friend or your dog!

Because what you know, if you compromise your "intelligence" could bring "GRAVE DAMAGE" to the United States and all our citizens.

NOW – is this something to make fun of by being in the Air Force?

I don’t think so.

Go visit all the recruiters and learn about the 5 branches of the service.

But, remember this about them all:

"The NEEDS of the Service come before the WANTS of the Individual."

You may "want" a certain job but the service will give you the job "it wants" you to have.

Best wishes,

Larry Smith
Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret.)
First Sergeant

Flying is fun. go fly,son, like an elephant.

(just thought i’d tell you this so that you remember that when you are in the company of combat arms, you don’t get any illusions)