I am switching from Army to Air Force ROTC (As an AS250). What advice or tips would you give me?

Cadet PVT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:21:55 -0400

I've decided that I'd prefer to commission into the Air Force as opposed to the Army, and as such, have switched branches. I'll be starting in the fall as an AS250. What do I need to know to get myself up to speed?

Some specific questions I have are as follows: How do you address NCOs (I.e. call them all Sergeant aside from E8+, or full rank for all of them)? What are other courtesy differences between the Air Force and Army? What should I expect in class/at lab? What can I do to try and earn an FT slot as an AS250? What else should I know going in?

Response by LTC Stephan Porter made Mar 30 at 2020 3:37 PM

LTC Stephan Porter — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:37:13 -0400

I think at this time, just listen to the instructors and ask them those questions!

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Mar 30 at 2020 4:00 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:00:57 -0400

First I'd like to say "good choice"!
Addressing enlisted personnel:
Airman (E-1) through Airman First Class (E-4): Airman
Staff Sergeant (E-5) through Senior Master Sergeant (E-8): Sergeant
Chief Master Sergeant (E-9): Chief
If an NCO has a diamond above the five stripes of his or her rank, they are a First Sergeant and can be addressed as "First Sergeant" and may be called "First Shirt" or "Shirt" in a casual environment.

Use of first names: you may use the first name of people the same rank as you, especially in an informal setting. You should never use the first name of a person senior in rank to you. You may use only their rank as long as it's done with respect. It's okay to tell your supervisor that "the Captain said" without specifying "Captain Smith said." You may use the first name of personnel junior in rank to you in an informal setting, but never when issuing instructions, orders, or discipline. Other courtesies are about the same as the Army ROTC. Officers are "Sir" or Mama", stand when a senior officer enters the room (senior cadet or enlisted may call room to attention), etc.

Your professor probably will provide a class syllabus with learning objectives on the first day of class. The fundamental curriculum is similar to Army ROTC, Service history, organization, functions, leadership techniques, operation planning, how to wear the uniform, etc. The uniforms are different. More so if you're allowed/required to wear the service uniform. AF Service uniform is somewhat plainer than its Army counterpart.

Getting a "FT slot" I assume means a flight training slot. Main considerations are scores on the AFOQT and passing a flight physical. Other factors may be performance in ROTC classes and your professor's perception of your potential as an aviator.

Going in you should listen to your Cadet leaders and professors. Ask questions if you don't understand, be respectful, and avoid "the Army taught it this way. . ." Find a friend who can help you with stuff you don't understand right off like where to put the "bling" on the Air Force uniform. (I had to do this during AFROTC Summer Training for my room mate. He was from Texas A&M and had never seen an Air Force uniform. They only wore the school's uniform. He showed me how to square away the room and I taught him how to set up his Air Force uniform.)

Good Luck!

Response by Cpl Charles Trump made Mar 30 at 2020 5:05 PM

Cpl Charles Trump — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:05:51 -0400

Go to Marine Corps OCS!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 30 at 2020 5:22 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:22:43 -0400

I tried to do that. My Army ROTC instructor talked me out of it. I have a great time in my Army Reserve and National Guard career however I think I'm not a Ground Pounder type and I think the Air Force would have been a better choice for me.

Response by Lt Col John Steele made Mar 31 at 2020 8:18 AM

Lt Col John Steele — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 08:18:11 -0400

My best advice to you is to listen to those around you and seek the mentorship of an outstanding senior NCO. Your highest priority must always be to your academic classes and getting top grades without ignoring your responsibilities as a cadet. Listen to your instructors and follow their advice.

Response by Lt Col Robert Canfield made Mar 31 at 2020 4:11 PM

Lt Col Robert Canfield — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:11:51 -0400

Here a few a web sites on rank structure that may be helpful. NOTE: the AF does not have warrant officer and specialist ranks like the Army does. ALSO: the occupational specialty badges look totally different, but many of them do have counterparts to the Army MOS branches (i.e. aeronautical ratings, civil engineers, comm/signal, Security Forces/MP, munitions etc).

The heritage is also different USAF heritage only goes back to the early 20th century when it was part of the Army signal corps. It was established as a separate service 1947. The Army heritage goes back to the American revolution. You will need to learn about guys like Doolittle, Dohet, Vandenberg, LeMay, Rickenbacker, Mitchell, Bong ...just to name a few. I recommend you visit the AF museum at Wright Patterson AFB OH, or the WWII aviation museum in Colorado Springs.

https://www.military-ranks.org/air-force
https://militarylife.com/resources/pay-rank-charts/rank-charts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badges_of_the_United_States_Air_Force

Here is a good book for your coffee table.
https://www.amazon.com/Force-Lauter-Levins-Military-History/dp/ [login to see]

United States Air Force Ranks In Order

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2020 9:22 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:22:56 -0400

I would not get too hung up over things like that. You will catch on those details in class and lead lab. I did the same thing, I went from an MS1 at a military school to an AS200 at a traditional university. The big thing that you will get used to is some of the Air Force D&C is slightly different, specifically how AFROTC does it. Granted I went through 20 years ago and an commissioned in 03. I doubt the USAF reinvented the wheel too much, other than I did talk to someone who was a ROTC instructor about 4 years ago. The big thing to do is to absorb everything they tell you to be successful at camp. That is all that matters. Best advice for someone coming from a different service ROTC is to not fight the system. If you do everything they tell you to do before going to FT, you will be successful. At the end of the day that is all that matters.

Field training is nothing more than a big mind fuck. They try to throw a bunch of unreasonable tasks on a real short time table to get things done, knowing that you will fail at something. They want to assess how you manage your time. You find out in camp there is no such thing as free time ever. If there is so called free time, in reality that's time you should be doing things to get caught up in something deficient. A lot if it is also to see your overall attitude to see how you deal with moving forward after they tell you you screwed something up. Its all part of the game. For example you could make you make your bed perfect but it will get dinged in an inspection. You can have your closet perfectly aligned but they found a small lent ball on a shirt. You could have hats and shoes flush with the shelf, but they will take the ruler and slide at an angle so the hats get moved. If your stuff is perfect but your bunk mate's stuff is all trash than you get in trouble for taking care of yourself and not being a team player. They want to see the team aspect. They would rather see you be 80% because you helped another guy be 80%, versus you are 100% but the other is a bag of trash.

Teamwork and attitude is the number one thing they look at in camp. You have to have some reasonable proficiency in some personal things, like obviously you are being assessed individually on how well you can drill the flight and your official PFT. The rest is all attitude on how you take being messed with for four weeks. Who are the cadets, mumbling under their breath, F this sht, this is BS? Trust me people will start getting irritated. Probably the worst week in camp is week 3. The first week actually starts off pretty mellow for the most part, plus you are fresh and everyone is energetic. They keep gradually ramping up the heat. You get less and less rest and more fatigued. Maxwell, will be just like mine was at Lackland 20 years ago. It gets fairly old after the second week because you are hot, sweaty and tired. You go from doing PT than an inspection than more PT and two hours of briefings in an auditorium. They find the most boring speakers on stuff like information and computer security where a guy is just droning on and on and on. It keeps and going and going, but after the 3rd week you start energized again, because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, at least in my day, it seemed like they started to gradually ramp down, as they pretty much got what they wanted by then. Once you make it to the 4th week, you are pretty much on the home stretch, you would almost have to go out of your way at that point or have some significant injury to wash out. When I wen't through it seemed like everyone who washed out or SIE'd did it somewhere between the 1st and 2nd week.

Moral of the story is to do what you need to do to front load in the home unit and prep as much as you can before you get there. The more you prep now, the easier it will be when you get there.

Response by Lt Col Leslie Bryant made Aug 29 at 2021 11:40 PM

Lt Col Leslie Bryant — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 23:40:50 -0400

I attended two years of Army ROTC and two years of AF ROTC and like you chose the AF over the Army. I think it’s the best decision I ever made and I spent 28 years in the AF working in Nursing, Law Enforcement, Forensics and Intelligence! My Army ROTC time paid off when I attended US Army Command and General Staff College and the Joint Officer Course, Joint Officer School, Norfolk, VA and went onto 5 Joint Assignments with the Army. Learning US Army history, traditions, career fields will definitely help in transitioning to the AF. In AS 200 concentrate on learning your AF history, traditions and learning to March and call out instructions for leading an element around a marching pad. You need to be asking AS 300 cadets tips for passing Summer Camp. If your university doesn’t have a mini camp teaching you how to make your bed, inspect your and other cadets uniforms, shoes, how to place your uniform properly in a clothing drawer, ask them to run one. Know when you go onto an AF base you need to stay in a uniform group; do not gaggle as in one person walking behind another or fathered ir four people across; do not walk or cut across grass, always stay on a walk way. While in a group, be sure someone is insuring you stay uniformly in line both vertical and across and are all on the same foot while marching. Break your boots in as soon as you get them so you don’t get blisters. Be sure you pay attention to physical fitness maxing your push-up, sit-ups and run! Start getting in shape at the beginning of the semester and take your physical fitness exams seriously. You should call all your NCOs by their rank and last name. And once you graduate and go to your first unit, you should introduce yourself to your top NCO and ask them to mentor your into becoming a great officer to your men and women. This may sound old fashioned and it may be passé but the smartest person in your unit is not your officer boss but your NCO who likely has more time and experience in the service.