Touch Decision

This assignment was particularly difficult for me because the decision that I have to make is very dear to my heart. I want to become a commissioned officer in The United States Air Force. Currently I am an enlisted member of the Air Force and I enjoy my career. I find my career very rewarding and challenging, however I think I have more to offer if I were given the oppertunity to serve in an officer capacity. The decision I have to make is whether or not I should apply for OTS as an active duty member or should I have a break in service secure outside employment and then apply.

Although serving in The United States Air Force as an officer is my first choice it is not my only choice. I have considered serving in other branches as well. The branches that I have looked at specifically include The United States Navy and the United States Army. As a military service member I respect the sister services and I hold them in high esteem. The other option was to pursue a teaching career using the troops to teachers program.

There are many pros and cons to each possible decision as well as a number of variables that I must consider. My first choice being the Air Force requires figuring out the complicated process of putting together a package and taking the challenging Air Force Officer Qualifying test while juggling my responsibilities as a student and an active duty airman. I also have a number of other obstacles that I must confront if I were to submit my package as an active duty airman due to some unfortuante events that have occured in my life. From personal observation, word of mouth, and other circumstances I know that it is difficult for enlisted men/women to make it through the board that decides whether or not an airman is qualified to attend OTS. The Air Force is actually in the process of drawing down on its officer ranks and is not seeking many new applicants unless they hold degrees in specific majors such as medical, technical, or foreign language. In order to be competitive your package must stand out significantly. A lot of airmen that I would consder top notch material were denied admission into OTS even though they were highly recommended by their commander. If I were not able to accomplish this task while in service I considered taking a break in service and getting a job locally, most likely I'll have my degree by this time, and then applying for OTS. Alot of the obstacles I have to overcome wouldn't be much of a factor if I were to apply this way. Which brings me to my second choice the United States Army. From my personal experience being deployed in a joint command environment I have become quite fond of the Army and I admire the professionalism exemplified by their personell. I could see myself serving in this capacity, however I understand that the Army profession may require that expose myself to danger more so than the Air Force and I may deploy more frequently for extended period of times. That doesn't seem too harsh to me at this point in my life because I am single without a family, but I can see the toll it may take once I decide to start one. I also understand that the war is coming to an end so deployments may not be as frequent as they were in the past and this may be a good step for me if the Air Force isn't working for me and I'm still dead set on being a military officer. Another option I considered was being a United States Navy Officer, however I am not too familiary with the Navy and the way they operate although I could always learn. I also know that the Navy deploys to sea more frequently and I'm not sure I could adapt to that lifestyle. My final option was to become a teacher through the troops to teachers program. This option seems promising it would be some what difficult to transfer back to civilian life after my military experiences but I think I could handle it. There are also other incentives that I have took into consideration for this program such as the $10k bonus for teaching in high need areas and not having to worry too much about deployments. The comfort of working some where close to home with young people and making a positive difference in the community.

As of right now I think the best course of action to accomplish my goal of becoming an Air Force Officer would be to continue to serve to the best of my ability as an enlisted service member, finish my requirements for my bachelors degree in Adult Education, and at the end of my enlistment take a break in service to make sure this is something I really want to do. Meanwhile I can research the other commissioning oppertunities that the other branches have to offer while working on my Air Force package simultaneously. Then I will apply to each service to see whether or not I get accepted and secure a job once I get out to cover my expenses until I get a training slot for a commissioning school

Now that I have selected my best choice I plan to finish my enlistment obligation, save some money to cover expenses when I separate, take the AFOQT so thats one less requirement I have to worry about fulfilling while I'm in, research the other commissioning oppertuntites, and focus on finishing my bachelors degree in Adult Education. I also need to coordinate with Optometry to get PRK surgery as early as possible because I would love to be a pilot. In order to make this a reality I plan to write a detailed plan including dates and objectives that I plan to accomplish. I also plan to write a weekly schedule to help better manage my time.