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Originally Posted by RKDinOKC
Graduated HS in 77. Aced the ASVAB had high grades and high ACT scores. Got called by recruiters for 2 years. Told them all they had to do was to agree to pay for my college and I would sign up. All they could offer back then was ROTC for $100 a month. And at that time ROTC was a pretty sad way to enter the military. Would have been happy to go to one of the military colleges like West Point or Air Force Academy had it been offered.
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I asked my dad once how he ended up in the Air Force as a career officer. He went through ROTC in college and near graduation time he walked into the recruiting area. All the services were there with the fancy dress uniforms and propaganda for their branch.
He started with the Navy since he was a Sea Scout as a kid. He talked to the recruiter and as an officer he would be at sea for 6 months at a time on many occasions in a career. That did not appeal to dad. He talked to the Army and back then they did not have much of any fixed wing aircraft. It was almost all choppers.
The Marines were just owned by the Navy and did not appeal.
The Coast Guard just did not appeal to him at all.
The Air Force guy explained the flight training program, and that at the end of the day he could go home to be with the family. That part did not work our real well since he was gone on TDY a lot and one 18 month remote assignment with only two days with the family.
I remember many occasions after he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during the week he would not put on his uniform in the morning because the base commander or one of the Generals would call and ask him to meet him on the golf course that morning. Of course when the General asks you to join him it is not really just a request. It was just amazing how the best tee times were always available to the Generals. He said they did discuss the current crisis as they played but it was pretty good duty.
He paid his dues with many trips to Greenland, and virtually every remote island in the Pacific. If someone asked him about Christmas Island he would just cuss about it. He did travel the world and I really need to convert his map of the world of countries he has been to from analog to a digital format.