Is it possible to serve in multiple branches of the military ?

That's awesome! Thank you for answering. I'm interested in continuing my education, I had no idea they had college courses on base. I thought I'd have to find a local college to take them at. I'm going to look into that asap :)

Idk, I saw the exact opposite, but maybe you're right about the appeal process, and possibly AFSC dependent? Especially if they're critically manned? The prior USMC in my tech school was an E5, but came in the AF as a SrA. The Army guys I knew went USAF Reserves, so they came in a rank lower, but promoted right away.

CWO2 S R - this hasn't been the case so far in my experience, however that could be due to the fact that i'm in a critically manned career field. i've never met anyone who's crossed into the air force and accepted a lower rank. the air force has had tons of prior service programs that place much needed NCOs into critically manned career fields. i've known two NCOs who crossed over from the corps as Corporals and were given the rank of SSgt after attending ALS due to the difference in rank structure.

CWO2 S R - 1W0X1, Weather. In these cases, E-5 was given due to the difference in rank structure between the corps and the air force (which can vary based upon the current needs of the air force). Typically speaking though, it's not really in the Air Force's culture to make NCOs into junior enlisted under normal circumstances. I also currently work with an E-6 who was an E-5 at the time of transfer and came into the air force as an E-5, so it really does depend on a case to case basis what rank you'll be allowed to carry. It also depends on how long you've been in said ranks whether you'll maintain them or not. Also, all the people I've seen transfer prior rank have been on at least 4 years of consecutive active duty service. I can't imagine a junior enlisted member would maintain rank going from any branch into the air force though, nor have I ever heard of one doing so. Hell I've seen Airmen lose rank going from AF reserve into AD. To add one final layer to that, it is also highly circumstantial how you carried yourself during your time in another branch and how the approving official (typically a recruiting commander) views your record of service.

CWO2 S R - here's a brief article on the topic from 2015: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/05/19/air-force-boosting-numbers-through-extensions-prior-service.html

I would also expect these programs to increase in scope over the next few years with the republicans running the show in washington. I personally can wait to be working with more NCO's from other branches. They've provided some unique insight to how we do business in Air Force Weather.