Joining a Branch of the Armed Forces

The armed forces are the government sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body.

I have been affiliated with every branch of the armed forces in some way my entire life. My father was in the Navy and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He retired lieutenant commander with 26 years of service. My step-father was a Marine and retired a Colonel with 28 years of service. My husband is active duty Air Force and my brother is active duty Army.

When you decide you want to serve your country by joining the military, there are several things to consider about which branch to join. It may be that you want to join a certain branch because a relative was in or a friend. Or maybe one branch has something more to offer you then another. Here are some facts about each branch to help you determine which to join.

Air Force

I must admit I am partial because my husband is in the Air Force. Just to forewarn you that I am a little biased.

The United States Air Force or USAF is considered the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces. The Air Force was a part of the Army (then Army-Air Force) until September 18, 1947 when it became its own branch.

Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT) is 6 ½ weeks long and takes place at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. By October 2007, BMT will be 8 weeks long. After you have completed BMT you will move on to your Technical School for which ever job you qualified for and selected. Tech school lengths and locations can vary.

The Air Force is only offering sign up bonuses for a small selection of jobs as they are going through Reduction-in-Force (RIF) at this time. This is going to cut down the number of trainees they take in and also cutting some active duty members out. You need to achieve a certain score on your Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) to be excepted into the Air Force.