Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 7/13/2009

Question
Hello. Thank you in advance for your time.
I am an enlisted Public Affairs Specialist currently in Afghanistan. I have 2 years of college remaining, and was planning to complete the Green-to-Gold program after returning from this deployment. I love the military, however I am here for my job, which is essentially journalism and public relations. I do not want to switch jobs, and the officer fields in the Army do not allow PAO classification until 4 years have been served in another branch. Even then, the functional area is not guaranteed. The Air Force, on the other hand, has PAO available to newly commissioned officers. I realize that I can not switch from active duty Army to Air Force during my initial enlistment. My question: is there any way to complete my degree as a full-time student other than Green-to-Gold, or through that program, without committing specifically to the Army? Does the Air Force have a similar program? Or, can I enroll in Air Force ROTC, and take night classes, while I am still in the Army? Essentially, I need to switch to Air Force to remain in my career field and pursue a commission. How do I do this?
Thank you!!

Answer
Andrya,
Yes, the Air Force has many options that you need to investigate.  They're too lengthy to go into detail here, so I recommend you go to   http://www.airforce.com/contact-us/live-chat/  where you can chat live with an AF recruiter.  There he/she can ask you specific questions and know how best to help you become a PAO.
Thanks for serving,
Colonel H