Thanks to my awful eyesight, I have to give up on the possibility of being a pilot in the military, but I told myself that if it came to that outcome, that I would pursue another job in the military.

My local guard unit has posted an opening for boom operator and I'm going to give them a call, but before I do I thought I'd ask a few questions of you guys.

What other duties/responsibilities does the boomer have besides his main job function? The ANG website gives a very dry and tedious description.

And while I'm at it, let me throw an officer vs. enlisted question/thought at you guys....

I have a 4 year degree (aviation management degree, I know, don't say it...), but I've had several guys currently in the military (enlisted) on separate occasions express a general resentment/ball busting towards guys who enlist with a college degree....in other words, I get the 'why would you enlist if you could be an officer?' rap. Is there any merit to that? I don't know, I want to be in an airplane and do a service for my country. That *should* be enough.

 

That might be the case for active duty army grunts, but it's very common for guard/reserve enlisted to have a degree. Many started out enlisted before/during school, got their degree, and stayed enlisted out of personal preference. Others have a degree and a career and decide to enlist later in life. Nothing wrong with that at all, just make sure you understand what both tracks entail before you decide.

Late in your career, the officer payscale is much, much better...especially if you get mobilized for an extended period. If you have a high end civilian job/career and get mobed as an enlisted it could be a financial hardship depending on your rank.

 

I am a lowly enlisted maintainer and I can tell you that I have worked with several enlisted folks with degrees. I roomed with a guy that had a degree in physics and he came in as an A1C and worked at PMEL. All of the people I know with degrees aren't treated differently because they earned their diploma's. If anything, they may be asked if they plan to pursue a commision.

Boomers also do loadmaster and FE duties. Well on the 135's I know they did/do. I don't know about the KC-10's tho.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

Are you a candidate for PRK surgery? Would that solve your problem?

There are officer jobs besides pilots that are rated and have wings: navigators, battlespace managers, etc.). So you can still fly and be an officer too.

Here's the question you need to ask yourself. What are your long term goals? Are you willing to give up 20-30% income potential by joining the enlisted ranks just so you can be on an airplane?

To be honest and fair, if I had to enlist, KC-10 Boomer would be my first choice. In my opinion, it's the best job out there. But if your eyes are a problem, you may have issues getting into the boom operator career field.

 

baseops.net forums has several boomers on there, a few are guys I know who would be happy to talk boom specific lifestyle

 

Exactly who they were, actually. (And one enlisted AF guy)

Good to know. Thanks.

I'll find that out. I'm 20/300 in each eye (near sighted) and still correctable to 20/20 with contacts at the moment.

Related question: Would it better to have PRK done before approaching a guard unit and or do I need to be picked up by a unit first and get them to be okay with me still needing PRK before going to training?

I have two long-term goals: 1) Be paid a livable wage to be a pilot, civilian or military.
2) Serve in the military.

I've considered taking an enlisted position in aviation and then pursuing on officer's commission. I'm still young enough for that (26).

 

Have you thought about intel? That opens doors to the CIA and such.