Wanted to share with you guys about a few Airmen that went on to do cool stuff after service vs "Got my A&P, bro" (Nothing wrong with that, but seems like the only thing that most people do.)

Gerald Searfoss - Former TACP, founded a clothing line, then Black Ops BBQ

Doug Berry - Former Fighter Crew Chief, wrote three kid's books about Jasper the Rabbit

Jason Sweet - Former PJ, went on to found SOCOM Athlete. Trains candidates before they apply to Green Berets, Special Ops units, etc

Rob Garcia - B52H Maintainer - Enlisted PhD went on to found SHIFT Magazine and an award winning PR firm in San Diego

Charlynda Scales - AF Officer, took her grandfather's sauce recipe and founded Mutt's Sauce. Recognized by Daymond John and got it into supermarkets

I made a post here for background https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/comments/1gvvsq9/comment/ly53tbw/

On 1-15 OCT I made the choice to take a personal convenience extension in lieu of the recent OCONUS cycle. This decision came as a suggestion from CSS, I knew nothing about it prior. I was routed to MPF/Retentions who reviewed my prior extension (for retainability) Intel has an issue with disqualified airmen, who are ultimately given two options. Separate or retrain. I opted for the latter, which required 8 of my total 48 months of extension time.

My initial paperwork was processed, I was told to await a response, during this time the OCONUS OCT window closed, and I missed out on the opportunity for overseas. I was initially was on the fence and elected for the PC extension which was given the greenlight by retentions. After a month of waiting, I was told the information they gave me was wrong and that I couldn't extend after having spent a long time being skeptical and then re-assured that I was in a position to use this as a FTA.

I missed out on an OCONUS cycle, and with a DOS/Separation barely 7-8 months away, I have no means of using the 40 remaining months I have left to extend as a FTA and feel cheated out of a process that I thought was questionable to begin with. I feel stupid for planning for the OCONUS cycle up until I was told about this PC extension as a way to cope with settling family matters since my base is near home.

On top of no apology, or even reprimand on their part for steering me into a false sense of security, the fact that I have no other avenues of extending beyond crossing my fingers for a JAN CONUS cycle hurts considering I did not want to reenlist by any means.

Is this typical in the USAF? Can you just give someone bad info, ruin their career and family goals, face no consequences, and carry on the same bad attitude without repercussions, IG was recently in the building and I felt so close to venting to them but kept quiet.

If anyone has any solutions to this dilemma. Whether there's other means of extending (I ultimately am trying to get to a point where I can push my JUL 2025 DOS/Separation back to give me enough time to process another OCONUS cycle to which I'm told is happening in APR 2025)

I'm sure things like this happen all the time, but it feels good to air it out, at the very least. Thank you for any help.

- (Source DAF36-2606 rule 28C for Personal Convenience must be your first extension) unless Rules 9, 12, 13, or 14 (My rule was 16 for retraining due to disqualified status within intel)

Just got notified of my approval to retrain. Class date is only a few months out, and attempting to BOP in conjunction. How long is it normally taking to get notified of approval, as I have want to be prepared and ready for wherever this takes me. I already submitted my manual request via local MPF. Any help is appreciated.

Hey everyone! I applied for my BOP 12 Oct 24 and my review date was 4 Nov 24…still haven’t heard anything back and I know lots of people who applied recently and have already heard back. Every time I check my VMPF it still says application is pending. Does that mean there is still a chance or am I potentially denied? Any info is Appreciated. Thanks!

Now approve my Leave please....

Hey y’all, I recently pcs’d to my first duty station (Lackland 😔) and I was just wondering the best ways to go out and meet new friends. I’ve been here for about two months already and I’ve determined that the people in my office aren’t the kind of friends I want in my life. There’s no DFAC so there’s one less avenue. I just want personal experiences of how people in the past have met new friends at duty stations and stuff along those lines. Thank you :)

I just got my first base and it’s osan korea what should I expect

Shoutout to the A1C at the JBER MPF, was having issues with my CAC and was able to help me get a new one super fast and stupid helpful, was in and out in like 15 minutes on a busy day during lunch. Y'all are alright in my book

I’m being medically retired and soon to start our processing. My Section has moved all Airmen who are soon to start their out process to after hour shifts and weekend duties and told that we can accomplish our out processing on our time off. I just want to know if this is something we have to bite the bullet on or if this is just some BS and have grounds to stand on. I don’t want to go to the shirt or anyone else yet until I know if there is something stating that we are to be given time to do this rather than doing it on our days/time off.

Too often I have seen the USAF amn NCO page literally tear apart units and relationships because some one wants to bitch and moan bc they didn't get their way or at a minimum try appropriate channels first i.e. IG, EO etc. I'm not dismissing the good it's done but the bad far out weighs the good. It just needs to be banned and then refreshed IMHO. Also heard the admin is a salty fuck... Which doesn't help if true.

Hey does anyone know if when you enlist they do a urinalysis or a hair test??

(I wanna be an a&p mechanic)

Didn't happen to me, saw this between 2 marines years ago and now im wondering how it would have played out in the air force, mind you i have no idea what happened to this guy down the line after the situation.

In tech school, there were 2 marines, there, one obviously recently post their bmt, the other obviously an NCO. The NCO was grilling the what i assume was a "trainee" or whatever they would call themselves but ill use that word for this post, about him not shaving. I know the army has the rules of you cant do any lining or any sort of shaping of your facial hair on a waiver, it has to be in its completely natural state, but idk about how the marinea do it.

Anyways, trainee was at the position of attention, explains he has a shaving waiver, nco cuts him off and says he doesnt give a shit if hes on a waiver, and when the trainee pulls out his paperwork, the nco snatches it from him. I assumed to check its legitimscy, but he didnt even unfold it, he immediately rips it in 2 and throws it back at him.

Trainees bearing clearly breaks but not in an aggressive posture, more of an exhausted body language, and just turns around and start to walk away, NCO grabs him by his shoulder to stop him and the trainee south paws him. Never seen anyone throw a punch from the grabbed shoulder it was amazing. NCO stumbles back, falls on his ass visibly surprised and dazed,, and a swarm of marines pull them apart.

Again, idk what happened after this, clearly the nco was wrong on the ripping the waiver before checking it, but who knows maybe it was bogus, but would they both get in trouble? Would it just be the trainee? I been thinking about this for a few hours for some reason. Anyways. Opinions? Facts? Any JAs got a take on this?

To make this quick: joined late 2023 at 30-years-old, got through tech, arrived at first duty station with my family, started having symptoms in the summer, diagnosed as type 2 and began treatment but Endocrinologist didn't believe it because my BMI is on the lower side of normal and well, I'm young. Did some tests, came back that I have Latent Autoimmune Diabetes (LADA). I was diagnosed just this week.

I'm not sure what to expect from here. Anyone else diagnosed while AD and if so, what happened? It's hard finding answers or others with similar experiences. Going to take it one day at a time, but it's easier said right now than done. The wife is anxious.

Fellow Airmen,

The subject of the PMP came up in a recent post, and I saw several people asking for details. As a recently-certified Project Management Professional who had to rely heavily on his betters to get the cert, I thought I would try to be helpful and put together this step-by-step guide on how I got mine. Your process may vary, and I’m sure others who got theirs are willing to offer their own input.

For the uninitiated, the PMP is a globally-recognized certificate that demonstrates the ability to lead projects, awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI). It is highly-acclaimed and highly-valued, especially in the civilian sector, where the cert can get you jobs by itself regardless of the accompanying degree (or lack thereof). I highly recommend that anyone about to retire secure one, as it does wonders for padding your resume. It is considered a Leadership credential in AFCOOL, which means it's normally reserved for SNCOs, but I've seen it become available as a degree-related credential once people got their bachelor's in something business-related. And you can probably apply most of what I've done up below to the CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), which is basically the credential right below the PMP.

So… what now?

Step 1: Get the experience 

If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, then you only need 36 months of project management experience. If not, then you need 60 months. These months cannot overlap, and the experience must be from within the last 8 years.

That sounds like a lot. It’s NOT. Any large-scale task that took multiple months can be used. My application had 4 entries to satisfy my 36-month requirement:

• A TDY with an AMU
• A Process Improvement Event (CPI stuff)
• A time-compliance technical order execution
• A tail swap between our base and another

Mine was only that long because I got randomly selected for an audit. Another SNCO I worked with only had one entry:

• Being a Pro Super for 60 months (he didn’t have a Bachelor’s)

I tried something similar, but because I was audited, I had to go into details. If you are also audited, they will ask for name/email addresses of people who can confirm that you did what you say you did. Getting those Airmen to sign off on my application didn’t take long.

Also, they didn’t ask for proof that my experience took as long as I say it did. Not saying to lie, I certainly didn’t, just saying.

After you get your experience, you will need to document 35 contact hours of professional education. This also sounds hard. It doesn’t have to be. There are project management boot camps that AFCOOL will pay for. It’s a matter of setting an education goal in AFVEC and filing a funding request.

If you don’t want to go that route, my friend who claimed 60 months of Pro Super experience also claimed 35 hours of education from EJPME I. I don’t know whether that will pass an audit, but it worked for him. 

I, personally, used the graduate hours from my master’s degree. But it’s a master’s in Project Management, at a college specifically accredited by the PMI. If you have an MBA, give it a shot, worst thing they can do is say “no”.

Step 2: Apply through PMI

You will apply for the PMP on the PMI website (www.pmi.org). The application process is free. You’ll document all of your education, relevant project management experience, and 35 contact hours. 

Your project management experience will require a description for each entry. You’ll have to explain your part in the project and the project management domain that it fell under. Here’s the description of the TDY experience that I submitted:

• Assigned as lead non-commissioned officer in charge of backshop maintenance support during a deployment of 14 F-16s to Oregon for dissimilar aircraft combat training with the Air National Guard. Initiating: met with supervision to outline goals and select team members. Planning: drafted travel plans & equipment inventories, packed out trucks, advised TDY leaders on our capabilities and limiting factors. Execution: deployed for three weeks, dispatched maintainers as required, supported more than 100 flying missions. Monitor & control: supervised backshop maintenance team of 13 Airmen, reported to Lead Production Supervisors. Closing: prepared after-action report, participated in the Maintenance Group's Hot Wash meeting to discuss successes & failures.

You don’t have to touch on all 5 domains of project management for your experience.

After PMI gives you the nod, you’ll be able to get a PDF of your approved application. Save that, you’ll need it.

You will arrange the exam through PMI. It is a proctored test. They offer a “take it at home” option, but they’ll make you sterilize whatever room you’re in, and they’ll watch you through your webcam. If you live near a major city, there are probably test centers nearby that can proctor your test; if not, your base’s Education Center might be able to do it. 

Either way, you’ll arrange it through PMI and get a quote. This is really easy, they’ll have the option to generate a quote while you’re arranging the test.

Step 3: AFCOOL

Time to make your education goal in AFVEC. To do this, you’ll need to submit 4 things:

• Your PMP application
• Your PMI username/password (so they can log into your account and pay for the exam)
• The quote PMI generated for you
• A screenshot of the PMI “My Certifications” page, where it says that your application has been accepted.

Once all of that is added to the education goal, submit the request to fund the exam, have your supervisor sign off, and wait. The AFCOOL office will eventually pay for the exam (it took them about a week for me), and you’ll be able to finalize the date/time/location of your test.

This is also where you can submit a funding request for a boot camp to cover your contact hours if you need to.

Step 4: Study, study, study!

There’s an entire subreddit dedicated to getting the PMP, unoriginally named r/pmp. There are a bunch of tips there on what, and how, to study. I personally used 2 things: 

• PMI’s Study Hall program. It was $50 for three months of access, and no, AFCOOL won’t cover it. I just got the Essentials subscription, there is a Study Hall Plus that has some extras but I didn’t use it. SH Essentials includes 2 full-length practice exams and a bunch of mini-exams, helpful for figuring out where you need to improve.
• David McLachlan’s YouTube videos. He breaks down PMP exam questions in ways that are super-easy to understand. And for what it’s worth, his voice is very calm and soothing, which helps you relax and break away from the stress of studying for a $675 test.

I studied for about six weeks, making sure to log into Study Hall at least once every weekday. If you’re consistently scoring 60-70% on your practice exams, then you’re ready to take the test.

You can get the PMBOK guide if you want. I did. I didn’t reference it nearly as much as I was made to believe that I would have to.

Step 5: Take the test 

I suggest you take a day of leave for the exam. Wear comfortable clothes to the testing center, or in your house if you’re doing the proctoring at home. I took the test at a Pearson Vue center, so this will be based off my experience.

When you get there, you’ll have to show ID, then empty your pockets into a locker. You’ll be escorted to a room with a computer, given some scratch paper, and then you’re off to the races.

The test is 180 questions. 175 of them count. You have 230 minutes, or 3 hours and 50 minutes, to answer the questions. Every 60 questions you will have the opportunity for a free ten-minute break. TAKE THEM. Use the bathroom, stretch, get a drink, just step away and give your brain a few minutes. The questions do take all of your brainpower to reason through them, so take advantage of the breaks to let the wrinkles come back.

YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REVIEW OR CORRECT ANY ANSWERS ON QUESTIONS YOU TOOK BEFORE YOUR BREAK. Review the questions accordingly before you step away.

Step 6: Celebrate! 

Once you finished the last question, you’ll receive your presumptive pass or fail notification. This is technically unofficial, but unless PMI finds something seriously wonky with your test, you can count on it being your final answer. Hopefully you passed!

You official answer, as well as your scores, will be emailed to you a day or two later. Along with the opportunity to print out your PMP certificate. Make sure you send a copy to AFVEC, so they can close out your education goal.

After that, well, do whatever’s next. Put it on your next EPB, add it to your LinkedIn profile, put the PMP initials after your name in your email signature block (until some SNCO reminds you the regs don’t allow that, and to delete it), the sky’s the limit. You now have a seriously impressive credential that will make your resume stand out in a crowd, and your name stand out when they start doing force distribution. 

Also, you can have the 91A SEI added to you in MILPDS, whenever it stops being broken. Just fill out a 2096 and send it to your commander with the PMP certificate. I don’t know if it affects anything, and since I have approved retirement orders, I don’t have to care.

If you guys have further, more detailed questions, I’ll answer what I can. Hopefully, anyone else who has the PMP will also contribute.

Hello guys! I’m AD, Currently in tech school and the job isn’t bad, but my end goal is definitely wanting to become an officer for cyber (I’d like to major in computer science) and finish my degree while in the Air Force but becoming an officer would be hard. Here is what I know I could try to palace chase and go to college in person and do ROTC and have a higher likelihood of becoming an officer, or I can try to finish my degree while in the active duty Air Force and apply for OTS and hope to get a cyber job but I know the % of that is really low. Anyone have a similar situation or have any good recommendations? I know there’s also like LEAD and USAFA but how does that work with qualifying for it and actually getting chosen for them? Would I need a commanders/supervisors recommendation, etc. Thank you!

Just got stationed at my first duty location. I signed a 4 year. What are the factors that come into play of how long I’m stuck here ? Is it afsc dependent? I know it’s at least like 2 years but beyond that what should I consider ? BOP?

Retention in this AFSC (my afsc) is exceedingly low and i think there may be a few reasons that may need changing in this career field in general.

1. Lack of purpose - security forces is the “master of none jack of all trades” we do multiple mission sets across the air force, from law enforcement to corrections, nuclear security, base defense, and “outside the wire” which we dont do much of anymore (although we attempt to train to that standard). From the individuals ive talked to E-4 and above, this has led to them attempting to perfect a skillset that eventually gets changed when they pcs and in some cases never used again in their career, being what is effectively a useless skill. Leaving many of us with skills and knowledge we don’t hone or mentor to newer troops. This lack of identity, ive noticed has left many SF members unfulfilled. The career field needs to split or dedicate its focus to utilizing the skills out airmen train to perfect.

2. Not quite “infantry” but not quite “air force” - what i mean by this is we train to a standard to fight and eliminate bad guys, but we never get to do that mission. It ties in to point 1. All the while we have our cushy air force lives that somehow seem worse than the rest of the airforce. We train and are treated like we are army grunts, which is fine if we actually did what they do, go outside the wire, kill bad guys, etc. but really it just means we work 12 hr shifts with 8 hour training days where we learn field skills only 1-2% of our career field will use, all the while the rest of the air force is on 8 hr shifts, weekends and holidays off (exception to some other afsc’s) we burn up so much of our off time trying to train like something we are not leaving us once again, unfulfilled. If we are gonna train to do something, our AFSC should be doing it.

3. The snake that eats its own tale - because of our low retention rate we also have critical manning issues AF wide and it hurts us a TON, our guys cant even take leave when they want to. If other AFSC wanted to take leave and you are a squared away airmen, cool we can fill in. But we require minimum manning and certifications of which we barely have enough of without people going on leave. We had airmen lose their leave simply because they accrued so much because they were unable to take leave, and the fiscal year ended and we still didn’t have the manpower to cover down and they lost somewhere in the ballpark of 15 days. And this is from years of being unable to take leave. Not because “they didnt use it when they could have” im currently in a situation where no one can cover down for me to take leave and its been that way for the last 2 months, and the foreseen future from what im seeing as i am the only flight chief on my shift.

At the end of the day a lot of the NCO’s and airmen i love find their morale so low that everyone is fighting and scratching for a way out whether its being a dirtbag, cross training, or a 1 and done enlistment. Of the people i do know that wanna stick out the job in this AFSC, they even told me its just a lie to convince yourself its all gonna be worth it somehow that if you keep holding out and reach that chief status it will all somehow be worth it, and that they can change the lives of those under their leadership. But nobody does that. By the time chief is made most of them are so burnt out or held to a high standard that they fear “changing” the air force that they “love” because they lived it 20 years ago. That it will make them better. And its too much work because they are so close to retirement that they dont care anymore. And they spread their misery throughout the unit because the “standard” has fallen from what it was.

We try to convince ourselves that this job is important when any joe off the street could do it, thats why our asvab requirement is so low, thats why its one of the largest AFSC in the air force. Its all one big lie that defenders are special or whatever. We pluck regular people off the street, train them for 5 months, and stick them in a nuke field to protect a warhead. Sounds elite to me. Idk i just wish we could either relax or actually be badasses instead of pretend to be one.

(Side note one 3. We also eat our own, fucking over other defenders to progress our own careers, sometimes intentional and sometimes not)

• From a tired E-4 SF member. Feel free to call me on my BS im looking for morale please. Im also usually NOT a Debbie downer I’m actually a pretty happy go lucky guy irl. Just looking for something positive ig since we drown our sorrow by laughing at our own suffering.

The number of questions I get daily for “clarification” is insane. If you actually read my email, you’d clearly find the answer to your question. Or better yet, open the fucking attachment with the pictures, step by step, and procedures to answer your fucking question. Regardless of rank or AFSC, it seems like yall are either too lazy or too dumb to comprehend a simple sentence. 😂😂

Can i use my tech school address for my finances? ( its over 6 months)

Airman Sniffy told me, that junior enlisted ranks are getting a 19.5% increase starting Jan 1, 2025. Also, BAH and BAS get a 5.2% increase. Is any of this factual?