17 Ds is graduating next year and interested in the Air Force....

[J'swife]

Hey went and talked to a recruiter today and I have no clue what I need to be prepared for. (I did not go) When should he plan to take the ASVAB if he graduates mid May? What am I going to need besides a transcript? Anything?  He's talking Military Police, so we'll see, I know they can try and get you do to other things.  Any advice in this would be great.  Thanks,

 

[Pen]

My Ds has is possibly also interested in military so I will be following this. 

Meanwhile gives you a bump up m

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, J'swife said:

Hey went and talked to a recruiter today and I have no clue what I need to be prepared for. (I did not go) When should he plan to take the ASVAB if he graduates mid May? What am I going to need besides a transcript? Anything?  He's talking Military Police, so we'll see, I know they can try and get you do to other things.  Any advice in this would be great.  Thanks,

 

 

OP the bolded is for you and for your DS.   They can MAKE you do what they need done.

[EmseB]

32 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 

OP the bolded is for you and for your DS.   They can MAKE you do what they need done.

It depends on the terms of your enlistment contract. You can go in with a guaranteed job, meaning you're signing up as a certain AFSC (job code) or you can go in as Open General (you'll get your AFSC during basic training and it will be the AF's choice and not your own).

He needs to have everything, everything in writing. Recruiters cannot promise anything that isn't in the contract. The contract states what job he will have, any bonuses he will get, what the terms are, etc. If he wants a guaranteed job as an MP, then he needs a contract that says that is what he's enlisting as. Know that all contracts are for 8 years. So if he enlists with 4 years of active duty, there will be 4 years after that where he is in the Inactive Ready Reserve, meaning he can (but likely will not be) called back to serve in case of a war or something. IRR is not the same thing as the regular reserves where you have to drill and such, it just means they can bring you back if they need to.

The recruiter will set him up for the ASVAB. If he's 17 upon entering, you and your son's father will have to sign a permission slip. He will have a medical evaluation at a place called MEPs. This will determine if he's physically able to serve. If not, he may be able to apply for a waiver or get a doctor to clear him, but that can be difficult.

He will be able to sign up for delayed entry (DEP) where he signs up to go to basic training after graduation, but is cleared medically/ASVAB/etc. while still in high school.

Edited August 6, 2018 by EmseB

[EmseB]

This is the best article I've seen on the job selection process.

 

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-opportunities-in-the-air-force-3344507

I am not sure what the situation is now as opposed to when I went in, but the recruiter will be able to tell your son if the MP career field is hurting for people or not.

[Chris in VA]

Dd's bf is an airman. When he went to basic, I wanted to educate myself a bit but not pepper her with questions (just out of curiosity, and in hopes of supporting HER). So I found Kyle Gott on youtube. He is an airman who has vlogged for several years. He has a channel all about the airforce. He covers what basic is like, and answers a lot of questions. He's a little wordy, but very personable. He does not get into a lot of specifics, but has a lot of good advice. He is about to get out this fall after 6 years--his perspective is that of someone who joined, wanting to get into a specific field, but was denied that field due to color-blindness. (He also has a sweet channel with his young wife, called Gott Love--they are very genuine and fun to watch.)

[J'swife]

Thanks everyone.  When would you recommend going ahead and getting things rolling by taking the ASVAB?

[Katy]

3 hours ago, J'swife said:

Thanks everyone.  When would you recommend going ahead and getting things rolling by taking the ASVAB?

 

Have him ask his recruiter, but he can do it anytime.  DO get an ASVAB test prep book or two from the library and help him go through the practice tests, and pull out the old multiplication flash cards to do daily review with between now and then - a surprising amount of the math portions of that test are helped with having the multiplication facts at the front of his brain.

[G5052]

You've gotten great advice here on signing up.

Also study what MP's actually do. It has hazardous aspects (domestic calls, guarding equipment and personnel in military hot spots, riots, etc.), but there's a lot of variety in what they do. Some services call them "multiple-purposes" because of all the ways they can serve. One day you might have gate duty, and the next day you may be providing security at a major event. You have to be very weapons-savvy with a lot of physical capability; every MP has to be prepared to shoot-to-kill, so he has to be aware of that. MP's work 24/7, 365 days a year, so there may be shift work.

If he might want a civilian law enforcement job down the road, it's a good way to get experience and credentials. Most local and state law enforcement agencies won't hire you until you are 21, so going into the military is a way to get started in that field when you are younger. 

[EmseB]

5 hours ago, J'swife said:

Thanks everyone.  When would you recommend going ahead and getting things rolling by taking the ASVAB?

The recruiter will do all the scheduling of this kind of stuff with your son. My perspective is that there really is no "getting things rolling" aside from your son going to the recruiter and asking to take it.

If the recruiter has more people trying to enlist than he needs, then it may require some persistence on your son's part to get scheduled, but that is good practice for being in the military and working with the government. ?