![]() The other advantages to being a 1A8 are: you travel a lot more, there are multiple aircraft to fly on (So more assignments), and you get paid more because of flight pay. It's been a serious morale issue for some time. Some of the flyers have liked these deployments, but the general feeling is a lot of money and effort went into them being linguists, and yet the majority of them never use their language. Many 1A8's these days are being deployed in non-language capacities to act as "sensor operators" for various aircraft. If you were to enlist and become an Arabic flying linguist, by the time you made it through training and arrived at Offutt to qualify on the aircraft, Libya might very well be over, or a more experienced linguist would get the deployment over you. ![]() Arabic is slightly higher in demand now because of Libya, but few linguists are being deployed in support of it. By far the most active mission is for the Pashto (Afghan) linguists - which I admit, I was one and that sounds like a bias, but I affirm that it is true. My friends who have promoted don't like doing the management part usually as much as they like language part.ġA8's on the other hand, by and large don't use their language aside from a few, select ones and even then it isn't always constant. Then you start supervising, instructing, evaluating and doing more management. Things change when you start promoting to E-5 (Staff Sergeant) and above. That said most 1N3's actually use the language they were trained to use, and they have a higher rate of job satisfaction, at least in my experience and observation. They also don't like the culture clash that may come with being Air Force on an Army installation for instance, as is the case for some 1N3 assignments (Not all though). The parts they hate are long hours, shift changes, and being at one place for a very long time - one linguist might spend 4-8 years at one base, for example. They stay at their duty stations for long periods of time, rarely deploy, and get to enjoy a very stable home life. Ground linguists enjoy a lot more stability. Regarding the career itself, I have several friends/acquaintances still in the service who are both ground and airborne linguists, and the difference in morale between the two fields is staggering. Honestly I liked SERE a lot and thought it was far more character-building than basic training. If you become a flyer, you also go to SERE in Fairchild AFB, WA. Otherwise being stationed in Monterey, CA is awesome and there is so much to do, and it is easily one of the top assignments for a linguist. The biggest things that trip up linguist students are DLI itself (Learning a new language in a year can be difficult for some people), and getting their clearance (This process can be fast like it was for me, or drag for several months it all depends on your background). I hope a more recent BMT graduate can field some questions about the current basic training program.Īs far as tech school goes, for a linguist it's pretty long, at least a year, and in some cases can last longer. It apparently involves more weapons and combat training than it did in the past. Basic is longer now than when I was in - Air Force BMT is now 8 weeks vs. Take it for what you will, but I have seen several suggestions to become a linguist and your situation isn't much different from mine when I enlisted (Though I bore no foreign language fluency at that time.).įirst thing: basic and tech school. I was in for 6 years and here's a little bit about what I experienced and saw in the Air Force as a flying linguist. I enlisted with a Bachelor's in Art w/ emphasis on Graphic Design. I'm a former USAF 1A8X1 (Airborne Linguist). r/army /r/navy /r/usmc /r/uscg /r/airforce r/nationalguard r/airnationalguard/ /r/britishmilitary /r/CanadianForces /r/AustralianMilitary /r/TheRoyalNavy /r/Bundeswehr More Related Subreddits If you have a general enquiry or would like to find out more, call 07 or email Subreddits They offer free Paradigm therapeutic programs to those most in need within the UK. Talking2Minds UK was established with the sole purpose of helping those suffering from PTSD or other severe stress related conditions.PTSD Resolution UK The PTSD Resolution charity's national counselling programme helps Veterans, Reservists and dependants resolve the symptoms of military trauma and reintegrate into normal work & family life.DStressLine for Marines, attached Sailors, and families when it's needed most - 1-87.Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline - 1-80.Military/Veteran Crisis Line - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) - Press 1 or text 838255 or click here for 24/7 Confidential online support from a caring, qualified VA professional.Dealing with PTSD and/or having thoughts about suicide?.Reddit AMA Form Posting Rules Dealing with PTSD?
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