A day in the life of an Air Force..............Soldier?:S

[sgt_mandal]

(If theres already one of these my apologies in advance.)

Hello, I was thinking of joining the regular forces when I became old enough. Specifically I wanted to join a trade in the air force, but I don't know what's out there. If you don't mind, could you state what you trade is and basically what you do on a day to day basis? I realize it sounds very interrogatory, but I always wanted to know what a day in the life of a serviceman was like. And just as a side note, this doesn't pertain strictly to the air force personnel, anyone who wants to enlighten me on this topic is most welcome.

 

[sgt_mandal]

Darn I just read a post similar to mine but alas, not the same my question still stands

 

[Inch]

32A Pilot.  I'm in for the 08:00 weather briefing.  Then I check my email and the flying schedule, if I'm scheduled for a flight I do all the pre-flight prep and briefing then go fly the mission. Debrief afterwards and do any paperwork that needs to be done, check the schedule for the next day, and head for home.  If I'm not scheduled for a flight and there's nothing else to do, I go home, to the gym or hit the golf course.  Keep in mind that we do night flying as well and sometimes your day won't start till late in the afternoon and it'll end sometime at 02:00 or so, depending on when it gets dark.  "Flexibility is the key to air power", there's limits to our duty day though, at least 8hrs uninterrupted rest and 1 hr off for every hr at work, ie. 12hr day = 12 hrs before reporting for duty the next day.  The crunchies will tell you all about how they work for 72hrs straight, that's not our bag. I think it's a fair deal considering the price of a helo or plane let alone the passengers and crew on board.  All in all, I love everyday I go to work but there's good days and not so good days just like any job.

 

[mdh]

Hello Inch,

Congratulations on flying the Sea King! Just wondering what your view of the Air Nav trade is these days. I was considering it as a component transfer to the reg force.

 

[Inch]

Thanks mdh. I think that the Air Nav trade is starting to head the way of the dinosaur, with the exception of maritime helicopters (MH).  I think they're a vital part of an MH crew, when we're hunting subs, they're the guys doing all the work and they're good at what they do.  As far as ANav career options, MH is the only way you'll get into the rotary community as Griffons and Cormorants don't have Navs on board.  The rest of the Nav jobs lie with the ceased wing community on Hercs, Auroras and the Buffalos.  Though in the new C-130J, there isn't even a position for a nav in the cockpit, but don't fret, we won't be getting J model Hercs anytime soon.  Personally, I'd go MH, you're deployed overseas with a ship, but you do port visits in kick ass locales like Holland, Italy, Crete, you name it.  You don't spend 10 hrs flying search patterns over the ocean like the Aurora guys do, plus you get Sea Duty Allowance as soon as you're qualified on the Sea King (a cool $254 a month + $254 for Aircrew Allowance on top of your regular Capt pay). Hope this helps, good luck!

Inch

 

[Bert]

In the Air Force ATIS MOC, the start of the day may depend alot on the unit and tasking.  My unit, I start at 07:30 and the day
goes to 16:00.  Between that time, ATIS techs support the technical operations (communications, airfield ILS systems, radar,
telephone, computer, and network systems) of the base or location.  Given the operational nature of the unit, the tech may
be tasked for deployment to a location to repair or support equipment, perform airfield sentry duties, or act as a duty NCO
and be on-call in case any equipment goes down.  Times of work may not be standard.  Three times a week our unit goes for PT and get paid to play floor hockey.  WOOHOO!

 

[Dorod]

I'm an AVS Tech, MOC 526, in a SAR Sqn. We work shift in SAR as we cover 24 7. The average day shift starts at 7am, come in get a coffee and check the night hand over book from the night shift. At 7:30 we pull the stand by and any training aircraft out of the hangar. The rest of the day we spend working on snags and doing servicing functions, ie parks, starts and refuelling. Between 2:45pm and 3pm, we do a hand over to the night shift. Night shift does all the last A checks of the day and the B checks on the stand by and back up planes. Night shift also continues with snags until 10:30pm. They are also responsible for looking after any aircraft night flying.

 

[Sheerin]

Hey, Inch, out of curosity, were you a DEO?

And if I may, what was your major in University and (kinda personal) but what were your marks like?  Thanks

 

[Inch]

I was a Community College Entry Plan for Pilot (CCEP), which is now closed. I went to Sault College and took Aviation (Flight) Technology. As for my marks, 3.5 GPA first year and D for Diploma for the last 2 years. 

I wouldn't worry about what you major in, I work with guys that are Aerospace engineers, History majors, English majors, one of my buddies has his Masters in International Relations with his BA in Political Science.  Marks on the other hand, the only time they're really important is if you're competing with someone else for a spot.

Cheers,

 

[Sheerin]

Now I think the only thing that could keep out is the physical. 

and i think my biggest problem would be vision.  when they say uncorrected, I'm asusming that means corrected by glasses and no, say, Laser eye treatment?

 

[Inch]

When they say uncorrected, they mean 20/20 with no corrective means at all, this includes laser treatment or glasses. If you wear glasses or have had laser surgury, forget about it. Sorry.

 

[Sheerin]

really?  Damn, there goes that childhood dream (no sarcasm...)
How many people have perfect vision these days?

 

[Inch]

Everyone I work with has perfect vision 

Once you get your Pilot Wings you're allowed to wear corrective lenses, until then, only what god gave you provided it's 20/20. Sorry man. I'm not sure the reasoning for that, but I guess they figure if you don't need glasses by the time you're 20 you won't need them for a while.  Some guys have glasses for reading, but most don't wear them at all.  When I say most I mean out of 24 pilots on my Sqn, I've seen maybe 2 guys wearing them. Look into it anyway, things are changing constantly but don't get your hopes up. There's tons of other awesome jobs in the Air Force that I'm sure you'd love, it beats sitting in a cubicle all day.

Cheers

 

[Sheerin]

yeah, i'll defintely look for updates on it... stupid genes!  Now why exactly did I have to get astigmatism? lol 

Thanks, Inch...