Expert: Rod Powers - 2/2/2006

Question
I AM 22 YEARS OLD AND I AM REALLY THINKING ABOUT GOING TO THE AIR FORCE... I HAVE TAKEN MY ASVAB AND HAVE PASSED... MY RECRUITER SEEMS TO BE VERY NICE SHE HELPED ME IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE AND SHE EVEN GOT APPROVED FOR A WAIVER, WHICH I NEEDED BECAUSE I HAD A "THEFT BY RECEIVING CHARGE WHEN I WAS 17 AND WAS PLACED UNDER THE "FIRST OFFENDERS ACT"... BUT NOW I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW DO YOU THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA IF I'M A SINGLE DAD WITH A 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO GO... I FEEL IN MY BONES THAT EVERYTHING WOULD BE RIGHT... THE BENEFITS SEEM GREAT FOR HER, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHEN BEING DEPLOYED WOULD YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TO BE GONE AND IF YOU THINK ME SIGNING MY CONTRACT WOULD BE A GREAT MOVE... I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME KIND OF DIRECTION, THANK YOU...

Answer
Hi Justin,

Have you told your recruiter about your single parent status?  If you have any kind of custody agreement, at all, I'm afraid you are not eligible to enlist in any of the branches of the U.S. Military.  In order to be eligible to join, you would have to completely and legally relinquish custody, and you would have to sign a statement which states that you would not regain custody during your first enlistment period, and -- if you do so -- you would be subject to a fraudulent enlistment discharge.

From the Air Force Recruiting Regulation (AFRSI 36-2001), paragraph 2.15.1 (page 40):

"2.15.1. An unmarried applicant who has physical or legal custody of a family member incapable of selfcare is classified as a single-member sponsor by the Air Force. Because of this sponsor responsibility, the applicant does not have the flexibility required to perform worldwide duty, short notice TDY, remote tours, and varied duty hours. Therefore, an applicant falling into this category is ineligible for enlistment unless permanent physical and legal custody has been transferred by court order. NOTE: When permanent physical and legal custody has been transferred by court order, a waiver may be requested."

Paragraph 4.23.3 (page 88 states):

"4.23.3. Advise applicants that, if they regain custody during their term of enlistment, they will be in violation of the stated intent of their enlistment contract. They may be subject to involuntary separation for fraudulent entry unless they can show cause, such as the death or incapacity of the other parent or custodian or a change in their marital status from single to married."

Note:  You will also be required to sign AFRS IMT 1328, stating that you understand this requirement.

You can read the regulation online at: http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/afreg/blaetc36-2002.htm

If your recruiter has encouraged you to lie about your custody status, that's not a good idea.  For details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/falsestatements.htm

Now that I got the other stuff out of the way, in answer to your question:

Deployment rate, in large part, depends on your AFSC (job) and assignment (where you are stationed).  For example, Security Forces and any aicrew job deploy a lot.  An SF member can expect to deploy about 8 months out of every 18 months.  The same is pretty much true for aircrew.  Most deployments are between 4 months and 6 months long.  Other AFSCs deploy about 4 to 6 months in a two year period.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my military information website at:  http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com