Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 9/4/2009

Question
Can you tell me come October 2009, the new fiscal year what percentage of prior service the Air Force is taking and what jobs would be available(i.e. business, health care, etc...)

Answer
Laura,
I'm assuming you've had a break in Service, meaning you've been out for awhile and have decided to rejoin.

Because you are "reenlisting" and not "enlisting" you do not have to start all over again, boot camp, etc.  Depending upon how long you've been out, you may have to attend a 10-day Air Force familiarization course at Lackland AFB.  Your rank is determined by an Air Force Liaison Counselor at the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).  Usually the AF will only reduce you in rank by one grade, no lower than E-3.  Once a month, the command reviews all applications and makes their decisions, so it will take a month before you know anything.

They may or may not put you in your old job, it depends upon how many people they have in that career field, and also if YOU even WANT to do the same job again.  If you stay in the same career field you won't have to go to technical school over again unless you've been out for more than 5 years.  If you want to enter another career field of course you'll have to be trained in it.  If the AF won't let you reenlist in your old career field because it's overmanned, you can increase your chances if you're willing to convert to an undermanned rating.  Only an AF recruiter can tell you what's currently undermanned.

When prior-service folks re-join it's the same as an active-duty airman reenlisting, so it's not counted as a "new" enlistment.  So the recruiter doesn't get any credit ($$$) for recruiting you.  So don't expect the recruiter to drop everything to get a copy of your records, etc."
You might have to shop around awhile to find a recruiter who is willing to work with you.

The percentage is only about 1%, so you want to be first in line on 1 October.

Thanks for wanting to serve again.
Colonel H