mentholated

I'm sure this question would be better suited to a recruiter, but maybe some of you had an idea of where you wanted to work in the armed forces before you were recruited..

If I wanted to serve in say the 148th SPACE OPERATIONS SQUADRON (Vandenberg AFB), could I just go to a recruiter and say that? Do recruits ever have any bit of choice in the matter?

What could I do after enlisting to have a more likely chance of working with the 148th?

(intelligence applications)

CingularDuality

Do you know what that unit does? I've worked with them (and/or the other space squadrons) a few times and I don't think it's as exciting as you think it is...

That said, you usually get to pick which unit you want to work for (or at least which base you work on), when joining the Guard or Reserve.

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Tarenth

For what I can dig up through google with a 2 minute search it seems like the people at the 148th do work as a kind of glorified telephone operator. The only difference between the two being that when a line goes down they have to call NASA to fix the MILSTAR system instead of the guys in orange jumpsuits.

If you're thinking of joining the National Guard then I'm pretty sure there are some jobs you can and cannot do since you'd require extra training and time in the position.
If you're thinking of joining the Air Force then I believe you get an option of choosing where you want to go and what you want to do. I remember a recruiter told me once that you are told to list your top three deployment areas with your application and the Air Force will try to make sure your top one is your last deployment of your service term while the other two will be taken 'under advisement'. Highly specialized fields like Nuclear systems tack on extra service years as they try to squeeze the amount of cash they spent training you back.

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CingularDuality

Ha! That's exactly what they are! We would call them up when we wanted to go up on a bird, and they control the power that the satellite puts out. Basically, they control the satellite: who uses it, when they use it, and how they use it.

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Twiggy

Thats not how recruiting works. If the job is available then you have a better chance of getting the job you want and vise versa. If you want to be in the 148th SPACE OPERATIONS SQUADRON I suggest you get high scores on the ASVAB and when you enlist choose a job in intelligence or an administrative(paper pusher) type job. They allow the most flexible hours and you would get your degree faster than most jobs cause of the hours After you get assigned to your first wing then you can request to be transfered to the 148th SPACE OPERATIONS SQUADRON. I'm not sure but depending what you want to do I think you have to be an officer and to do that you have to have a bachelors degree and past OCS(officer candidate school). Hope that helps

Kerostasis

To the best of my understanding, Cing correctly described the process of enlisting to the reserves or National Guard, where they will give you some choice of where you want to go, and Hotshot correctly described the process of enlisting to the Active Duty forces, where you can put in a request if you want but they'll pretty much move you wherever they want to anyway.

I suspect that the Space Ops squadron at Vandenburg would be mostly active duty troops , rather than reserves, although I could be wrong. That means arriving there will be pretty much a matter of luck, although your chances are much better if you're good at a specialty they require at Vandenburg.

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mentholated

Thanks guys, all of your information has been helpful. I'll be making a decision within a month.

CingularDuality

That particular squadron is a Guard squadron, so if they hire you, you're guaranteed a job there.

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Kerostasis

Oh, is it? Well then, you're in luck Mentholated! Now you just have to prove to them that you are actually qualified for the job.

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Twiggy

I was going into the military but I'm still trying to decide. If I don't go into the service I will become a entrepreneur or a computer systems analyst