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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Re-enlisting
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Question
I was honorably discharged from the air force in Nov 05. I moved back home to Michigan, the only job I was able to find was a terrible factory position. I want back in the military, How do I go about doing that.
Hi Russell,
Your chances of getting back into the Air Force, as a prior service enlistee are about the same as getting struck by lightening, unless you are already trained/qualified for one of the extremely hard-to-fill AFSCs, such as Pararescue, Combat Controller, or Linguist.
Probably not what you wanted to hear, but the fact of the matter is that the Air Force is currently undergoing a "down-sizing," i.e., they are reducing their active duty force size by about 40,000 airmen over the next 8 years, and therefore are not accepting many prior service enlistees.
The Navy is also down-sizing, although not to the extent of the Air Force, and may consider a prior service enlistee, if they have a job that directly translates to a Navy rating (job), without having to send the applicant through job training (for example, if one was an admin specialist in the Air Force, they could probably enlist as a Yeoman in the Navy).
The Army and the Marine Corps are the two active duty services which are currently accepting the most prior service enlistees. This is especially true of the Army.
You'll need to visit a recruiter's office to apply (just like you did the first time you joined).
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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