I joined the Army on a Ranger contract, at the end of Infantry school , I was ELS'ed under medical conditions for scoliosis. I have to wait 'till November to reenlist into any branch now. I was just looking at my options, and was thinking about the Air Force, but I'd want some sort of a combat job or a likely job to be deployed. Something that applies to law enforcement even if direct security forces isn't it. I know that for the Army I could leave MEPS with exactly what I wanted on my contract , but am not so sure with the other branches. My ASVAB score was only 64 and my PT is 300, or "310" extended scale.

There are a few careers in the AF that have high deployment rates.

Security Forces is one of the major combat oriented/highly deployed AFSCs, and can have law enforcement as well.

Combat Controller, EOD, Pararescue, Tactical Air Command and Control are a few others that are gears towards combat and/or have high deployment rates.

I know there are more than just this, but the above for sure have high deployment rates due to their skills. They also have long tech school lengths.

I'm not sure about the minimum ASVAB scores for all of them, but you should be fine with a 64.

What's the status of your scoliosis?

Dukester101 - I'll look into that, thank you.


Ferguson - Currently it's a 15 degree Thoracic curve. So it didn't even meet Army standards to get me kicked out, it had to be 22 degrees which is why they ELS'ed me instead of an EPTS. It was a big mixup with the.. "medical specialists" at the clinic on Benning I went to. I'm in excellent physical shape and am doing physical therapy, they gave me a reentry code of I think 3 on my DD-214 stating I just needed a medical waiver recommendation from my family doctor and I'm set.

quote:

Originally posted by Sprinter922:
Dukester101 - I'll look into that, thank you.


Ferguson - Currently it's a 15 degree Thoracic curve. So it didn't even meet Army standards to get me kicked out, it had to be 22 degrees which is why they ELS'ed me instead of an EPTS. It was a big mixup with the.. "medical specialists" at the clinic on Benning I went to. I'm in excellent physical shape and am doing physical therapy, they gave me a reentry code of I think 3 on my DD-214 stating I just needed a medical waiver recommendation from my family doctor and I'm set.

Have you spoken with a recruiter about whether or not your condition meets current enlistment standards? Also, are you sure you want to go through the rigorous training that is involved in combat schools with a condition such as that? I'm not trying to discourage you if that's what you really want to do, but a lot of people that are in very good shape and don't have scoliosis can't handle the rigors of it.

At any rate, Dukester pretty much covered the list of jobs that deploy a lot. Other jobs that deploy a lot off the top of my head are Security Forces and Vehicle Operations. I wouldn't necessary consider those combat jobs though; at least not in the same class as PJ/CCT/TACP.

Ferguson - Yes, as soon as I got back I spoke with my Army recruiters and they said all I need is a regular medical waiver for my back. That's just cause of the reentry code they put on my forms though. It doesn't really hurt that bad I can strengthen it, and I know of people in things like Rangers with worse curves. It's really, REALLY what I want to do. I just don't know how definitively you can sign up for something like Security Forces or PJ / CCT / TACP.. Those are what I'd want to do. And for the Army I could get Ranger's directly on my contract. Thanks again.

Pararescue, Combat Control, and TACP are all critically manned career fields and the chances of you being able to get one of those on your contract is probably close to 100%. You need to speak with an Air Force recruiter about enlisting if that is the path you want to take. An Army recruiter won't be able to tell you much about whether or not the Air Force is going to allow you in. You may end up requiring a waiver, so if that is what you want to do I recommend starting the process ASAP.

If I'm not mistaken, a 64 will qualify you to do any of the above jobs. You may or may not be able to book Security Forces if you wish. Be warned, however, that a lot of people dislike that career field. While it is highly deployable, it is not necessarily very combat-oriented. At least not like PJ, CCT, and TACP are. I don't know how the Army PT scores work or anything like that, but to get a contract for any of those jobs you will be required to pass a version of the PAST. Google "PAST test" and I'm sure you can find some information on the requirements.

You sound motivated and that's good. Continue working out. PJ, CCT, and TACP pipelines are among the hardest of any armed forces training program. PJ and CCT are something like two years long each. I think TACP is shorter, but I couldn't tell you for sure. Good luck.

Ferguson - I've always been into medical and was a firefighter / EMT prior to entering all this so Pararescue is my main priority. I did lots of research on the position, and as far as the "PAST test" goes I meet all the requirements to pass it right now with the exception of the swimming because I don't know how far those lengths are in person, but I swim a lot and handle water just fine. I briefly spoke with the Air Force recruiter today but he can't see me for awhile because he's the only one in Northern California and has lots of "appointments". You mentioned being able to "get a contract" for these jobs, does that mean you're guaranteed to go to the training for these jobs as long as you pass all their tests when you get in / get there?

quote:

Originally posted by Sprinter922:
Ferguson - I've always been into medical and was a firefighter / EMT prior to entering all this so Pararescue is my main priority. I did lots of research on the position, and as far as the "PAST test" goes I meet all the requirements to pass it right now with the exception of the swimming because I don't know how far those lengths are in person, but I swim a lot and handle water just fine. I briefly spoke with the Air Force recruiter today but he can't see me for awhile because he's the only one in Northern California and has lots of "appointments". You mentioned being able to "get a contract" for these jobs, does that mean you're guaranteed to go to the training for these jobs as long as you pass all their tests when you get in / get there?

The way the Air Force enlistment process works is you go to MEPS and get your physical and all of that fun. Once you are done, you will speak with a job counselor. You will be required to list a certain number of jobs that you want (it varies by MEPS) as well as an aptitude area (General, Mechanical, Electronic, Administrative). The Air Force guarantees it will give you a contract for either one of the jobs you listed or the aptitude you listed. When I say "get a contract" for a specific job, that means the Air Force guarantees that as long as you hold up your end of the bargain (basically graduating BMT), they will guarantee you the opportunity to enter training as that career.

In shorter words, if you ship with a PJ contract, you will at least have the chance to enter PJ training. Obviously you can be removed from training at any time and if you quit your contract is void and the Air Force can choose what job they want you to go into, but you will get to at least enter training.

Also, swimming is an enormous part of PJ tech school from what I have read and those I have spoken with about it. A former PJ was working with a couple of recruits while I was home on RAP and they would come in after their workouts and tell us about the stuff he had them doing in the pool. All I can say is you need to become a fish. Swim all of the time. Become at home in the pool. People make it all the time, but it ain't easy. Like I have said before you seem very determined so that should serve you very well.

How long is "a while"? I find it hard to believe he is the only recruiter in all of Northern California. Go to www.airforce.com and use the Recruiter Locator at the bottom right of the page. I'm sure he is very busy, but it sounds like he blew you off a little bit.

Thanks again for the reply. Well that makes sense I suppose, I just didn't want to go through all that then get put on some air base washing toilets "just because".
As far as swimming goes, that sounds pretty tough but I think I can make it, I've waited quite some time for this and the Army situation was a massive disappointment but I'm ready to move forward.
As far as "awhile" goes, I don't know really. I searched all over and couldn't find any other AF recruiters around here, the next closest ones are in cities a couple hours away from me. I don't see how he could be "so busy" as to not just take some time to tell me my options though, so I think you're right as far as the blowing me off part goes.
All-in-all I'm pretty encouraged about this and am looking forward to progress.
Another question , I read that you needed a 1111 or or what not on the physical test, I got that on my last one but I THINK my vision may have dropped to below 20/20 since then by a tiny bit, at MEPS and Fort Benning I passed the vision tests with 20 / 20 but it was starting to get foggy, would needing a minor level of eye correction , i.e. glasses DQ me from a 1111?

Glasses do not DQ a 1 on eyesight, I've got 20/200 in both eyes(corr. 20/20) and I got a 1. Maximum waiver for PJ is 20/70 in the good eye, 20/100 in the bad one.

THANK YOU!