Air Force Cadet

[Tim Brennan]

This is a slightly serious subject, so not sure if this is right place to talk about this, but I feel the FOG community may have some valuable advice.

A friend has a 14 year old son who is very keen on joining the Air Force. This has created a conflict in the family basically because other relatives really don't want to see him go to war.

I haven't been involved in the armed forces myself but can appreciate that the sense of structure and purpose can be very rewarding.

I'd be interested to hear any comments about how this conflict might be resolved.

 

[rljatl]

Do you know if he will be a pilot or in a support role?  My guess is that pilot's have limited risk in today's world and a support person probably does not have much risk at all.

My nephew is a Navy pilot.  We have not been too worried.  Things were winding down, although they may be winding back up now?  If you're going to be in the armed services, better to be in the air force or navy than a ground troop, I would think.

One of my nephew's most rewarding experiences to date was delivering food and supplies to the Japanese after the tsunami hit them.

Edited to add:  Oh, I see now that he is only 14.  Hopefully, by the time he is actually serving in the air force, the world will be at peace. 

 

[semenza]

I would just like to suggest that this topic stay on track with realistic conflict resolution info and ideas for the OP, and not become a war / anti-war (or similar ) debate.

Seth

 

[tjbnwi]

A neighbors son survived 3 tours of duty as an intelligence officer on an AWACS plane in the middle east. About 6 months after he came home he died in a single vehicle motorcycle accident.

Things can go wrong anywhere at any time.

Tom

 

[teocaf]

the solution is "wait and see".  14 year olds have been known to change their minds frequently.  when he's of age and still really wants to go then there is no other real option than to let him follow his heart.  a real life theme that's been with us since the very beginning.  it's interesting to note that a parent's open and continued opposition will probably have the inverse effect and make the kid that much more determined to go.

 

[Wooden Skye]

There is a difference in whether he is enlisting or if he is trying to get an appointment to the USAFA.  If he is just interested in enlisting, he may be limited on what eventually he will be able to do.  Trying to get an appointment is what he should shoot for.  He should talk to his congressman or woman and find out what he can do now to benefit him in the future. 

In the interest of not getting political, I personally think military service is a great thing and in some cases may be better than college (the government will pay is also a plus).  I would have gone that route, but due to having 2 heart surgeries as a kid, I couldn't enlist or try for an appointment.  I had a friend in high school that got an appointment and he said that cadet life was hard, still the best decision he made.  I have also met several people in my professional life with military backgrounds and they believe their service gave them a leg up in their careers.

 

[cliffp]

When I was 14, I wanted to join the RAF but the ATC (air cadets) put me off. I didn't like being ordered about. I think the cadets give youngsters a good taste of what it is like to be in the forces and it may well be the case that like me, this 14 year old goes off the idea so the whole issue becomes academic. If he was strongly discouraged he might well resent it and this could be a cause of bad relations within the family for years to come.

I teach in a University and we have a great many students who have either left the military (mostly Navy) or are doing a degree to help them progress their careers in the forces. Through my contact with these students I have gathered that they are very well looked after.  As others have said, the risk of going to war is lower in the RAF or Navy, and that if they are sent to an area of conflict, the risk of injury or death is likely to be a lot lower.

 

[AlexThePalex]

When I was young I wanted to be an F16 pilot and volunteered. Made it through a couple of selection rounds and then they realised what kind of hippie scum they were dealing with and told me to take a hike. I was very sad and disappointed at the time, but later in life realised they were right. I had no clue of the political and moral implications of a job like that. All I saw was these marvelous pieces of machinery that could shoot through the air at incredible speeds, and when movies like Top Gun further blur your vision from reality with promises of dogfights, adventure and heroism, it was hard to resist for a young chap like me.

Only later in life did I realise, that as a pilot, I would just be a bullet in somebody else's gun. They point, they shoot, and then you go out to deal your blow to the enemy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against war, under certain cirumstances it's an unavoidable thing that has to be done, and a country has to be always vigilant. Unfortunately, in recent history there have been a couple of conflicts that are really questionable in my mind, and I really wouldn't be able to live with myself If I had been in a position where I had to take any part in them. So the selection officers were good at their job.

But as it stands now, a position in the air force under current circumstances is one of the safest jobs you can have in the military. Whether you're a pilot or ground support, you're always pretty far away from the action. So unless there's a full scale war with a powerful opponent like Russia or China, I wouldn't worry too much about my safety if I was in the air force.

 

[Sparktrician]

By the time this kid gets old enough to either enlist or go officer post-AF Academy, wars will be fought by remotely-piloted drones.  If he chooses to be a Green Beret or SEAL, all bets are off.  I have had no regrets about the time I spent in the military.  I learned a useful and marketable skill which sustained me through post-military college/graduate school. 

 

[shed9]

Best thing they can do is support him, anything less will be fruitless and counter productive.

Besides, there are so many roles in the RAF with very few of them in actual harms way.

We had a slightly similar situation a few years back when my step-sons best friend enlisted (mostly because of the buddy-system but that's a different discussion).  He was berated by all of his friends and everyone tried to talk him out of it; the upshot was that everyone fell out and he still went through it anyway. The irony is he left as soon as he could.

I would see the positives; he knows what he wants to do with himself in life (heck I'm still not sure what I want myself yet)and the British Military are one of the best in the World.

 

[Larso]

I spent 12 years in the Royal Australian Air Force and my wife is currently in her 26th year of service and niether of us have faced a shot fired in anger.Yes you do train for it and being willing to put yourself in harms way is part of the deal but there is so much more to todays military.
Not sure about the UK but here it is not so easy to enlist in the air force as it is a very competative recruitment process so a desire may not even turn into reality,and as has been said previuosly 14 year old boys do change their mind.
I have done feed drops for stock in floods, fought fires, and filled some tension filled security positions and my wife the same but in between we went to work each day in realtive comfort with like minded individuals for a good salary.
Next week my wife is an assistant to the NSW Governor handing out bravery awards, one of the proudest things a citzen can witness so yes you may need to put your hand up but you also will do and learn heaps of rewarding things and make lasting friendships.
An effective military is a deterent to war so we do need young men and women  to follow those who have gone before but hopefully this leads to less conflict not more,for evil to triumph all it takes if for good people to do nothing.
Give him all the support and information you can talk about all aspects of service and when he is an adult he can make an informed decision on his future with the comfort of a supporting loving family behind him.
Personally i recommend a career in the services to anyone.

 

[semenza]

This is a slightly serious subject, so not sure if this is right place to talk about this, but I feel the FOG community may have some valuable advice.

A friend has a 14 year old son who is very keen on joining the Air Force. This has created a conflict in the family basically because other relatives really don't want to see him go to war.

I haven't been involved in the armed forces myself but can appreciate that the sense of structure and purpose can be very rewarding.

I'd be interested to hear any comments about how this conflict might be resolved.

When you say Air Force I assume you  mean RAF since you are in the UK, right?

Seth

 

[shed9]

When you say Air Force I assume you  mean RAF since you are in the UK, right?

Seth

Seth, I think you can safely assume that, the air cadets are generally a precursor to the RAF.

 

[Kev]

There was a point when I was thinking it would be good for my son to join the army. Not thinking of conflicts and fighting - more the structure and the peace time good the armed forces achieve.

A near neighbour and friend has a son the same age and hooked into the same idea, but their son decided it would be great to be in a special forces unit and become a sniper. Both he and my sone have spent a lot of XBox time together, but the friends son has a few "issues".

With all these things, it not the "what" ... it's the "why".

Getting a pilots licence via military service and moving out to the public / commercial sector would be a smart career path if hostile exchanges don't disrupt the plan!

From a family perspective I'd think it'd be more dangerous in the UK to join the police force.

 

[Tim Brennan]

Yes. He wants to be a pilot.

 

[shed9]

From a family perspective I'd think it'd be more dangerous in the UK to join the police force.

???

Yes. He wants to be a pilot.

I have a few ex-RAF friends and I think most of them joined the cadets with the intention of being a pilot - the reality is that none of them carried on down the pilot route after finding out all of the available options. There are so many 'ifs' in regards to his situation, I suspect the chances of him being at risk are probably quite low.

 

[gippy]

If he is the right kind of person to become a RAF pilot then he will be able to resolve any conflict himself when the time comes. If he can only manage a 'I don't care what you think, so there!" then he won't make it past selection.

(Ex RAF ground crew)

 

[HowardH]

My business partner was a cadet at West Point.  The last time we had dinner together he was telling me about the number of foreign students who were at West Point.  I had always thought it was for U.S. citizens only but that's not the case.  Many kids of foreign dignitaries, (sons and daughters of politicians, military brass, royalty from all over the world) routinely are educated at our service academies. The reason is pretty sound.  They get their education here and then return home to serve their home countries but the relationships they make during their time at our academies lasts a lifetime.  Lot's of back channel goings on and such when we need something done like use of airspace, etc. You never know the guy sitting next to you at the mess hall could be a prince or the son of the president of some other country.  Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Tinker]

I was still somewhat of an angry young man (The why of that will never be told here)by the time I went into the service.  I realized i had a lot of growing up to do and the discipline of basic training had a lot to do with continuing in the direction of maturity. I was maybe one of the lucky ones in that I was trained to be a medic.  I was not involved in the shooting part but had plenty of a life facing such experiences. I met a lot of great guys and lived life face to face.  Even tho there was shooting' all around, I have a wealth of great stories about honest and hard living men who, like I, grew up with a lot of positive thinking as a result of military life. 

Oh yeah, I do have some humorous tales tucked away in my head and still rattling around among all of the rocks that are in there. (As you can guess, I really had to force myself to recall them) When i was on my way home on The Boat, my notebook with dozens of stories and many addresses was swiped.  I was unable to reach some of my friends (I did get in touch with a few because I knew the states where they lived.)  One day, 43 years after I was out of the service, my best friend was able to locate me.  That was a tearful reunion (not tears of sadness, believe me)  Another great pal found me after 50 years.  So, even tho a guy is only 39 years old, a lot of great friends and memories are possible.  And we had some great times growing up together.  I have had, or never had, no regrets for any minute I spent in the service.  Would I ever go back?  That idea never popped into my head at any time since the minute I mustered out.
Tinker