Thinking of joining the RAF

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jemcam

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2001
3,676
0
0
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: jemcam
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
If you join the RAF, you'll endanger your life. President Bush is bound to declare war again and it may be on your country... :Q Then you'll get shot down by our far more elite air force and superior satellite laser beams.

:disgust: I hereby nominate this one as idiot of the day.

Dude, wtf, that was HILLARIOUS. Stop with the :disgust: and make with the :laugh:

Okay, I apologize if it was meant as humor. One can never tell though.
 

bapace

Senior member
Jul 7, 2004
720
1
0
Join the French Air Force. You won't have to worry about being shot down cause they will never fly in a hostile area. You will just always be running.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: jemcam
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: jemcam
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
If you join the RAF, you'll endanger your life. President Bush is bound to declare war again and it may be on your country... :Q Then you'll get shot down by our far more elite air force and superior satellite laser beams.

:disgust: I hereby nominate this one as idiot of the day.

Dude, wtf, that was HILLARIOUS. Stop with the :disgust: and make with the :laugh:

Okay, I apologize if it was meant as humor. One can never tell though.
check your batteries

 

jtusa

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2004
4,188
0
71
Originally posted by: Pablo
If you were a pilot, after you get out you could land lucrative commercial piloting jobs...

:thumbsup:

My dad was a fighter pilot in the USAF for 21 years. He retired about 10 years ago, but since then he's flown for the airlines and is now a private jet pilot. He absolutely loves it.
 

loic2003

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
3,844
0
0
Originally posted by: Wapp
I was in the USAF for 4 years. It wasn't too bad. It's a great confidence builder. I came in when I was 18 and it really boosted my self-esteem.

Pros: You get free medical and dental coverage. Thirty days of leave a year. Free housing. Travel*. Free College**. Free training.

Cons: Piss-poor pay. Lack of personal freedom. Harsh penalties for minor infractions. Possible long hours. Possible death; see Travel.

* Travel: maybe to a crappy base in Texas far away from any major city or to a hostile country.

** The USAF has 100% tuition assistance. While you are in you can attend classes after duty hours and only have to pay for books. Also, you can take CLEP and DANTES tests for FREE. Also, the MGIB: You pay $100 a month for your first year and after three years you have access to $36k for college fees for when you get out.

If you have anymore questions you can post them here or PM me.

Once again, this is for the USAF. I'm not really sure how the RAF works.


Pay starts at £24K and goes up to £85K which isn't too shabby I guess. I think you get lots of tax relief if you're in the armed forces.

It's a hell of a decision; signing away 12 years of your life is a tricky one. Trying to see what the alternatives are, well.. I'm not so sure these days. I'd like to start a business, but 9/10 businesses fail, and even those that survive will likely remain within the small category. Being in IT, although pretty easy, is kinda dull.
If I'm going to start at the bottom 'ranks' of some company, I might as well start in the RAF.

In a recent speech Steve Jobs said (paraphrased): "Each day when you wake up, ask yourself 'If this was my last day alive, is this what I'd want to be doing?'. If the answer is no too many times in a row, then it's time to find a change in direction.".
I think waking up and training in aircraft would be far more satisfying than 99.99% of jobs that I am capable of.

If I don't try to go for it, it'll likely be one of those 'what ifs' that hounds me for the rest of my time. I'll book it soon, and of course post results and pics of any hot (female) officers I see when I go do the tests :D
 

NissanGurl

Golden Member
Sep 4, 2003
1,111
0
0
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
If you join the RAF, you'll endanger your life. President Bush is bound to declare war again and it may be on your country... :Q Then you'll get shot down by our far more elite air force and superior satellite laser beams.

"Quit humping the 'laser'"
 

KoolAidKid

Golden Member
Apr 29, 2002
1,932
0
76
Thank you for being the first person I've encountered that gets the percentage right when they add a pole to their post.
 

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
4
0
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: jemcam
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
If you join the RAF, you'll endanger your life. President Bush is bound to declare war again and it may be on your country... :Q Then you'll get shot down by our far more elite air force and superior satellite laser beams.

:disgust: I hereby nominate this one as idiot of the day.

Dude, wtf, that was HILLARIOUS. Stop with the :disgust: and make with the :laugh:

indeed
 

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
4
0
Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Originally posted by: Yossarian
only do it if they let you fly a Spitfire.

There was a show on the Military Channel last night and some lucky bastard English pilot has flown both a Spitfire and Messerschmitt BF 109. They were comparing technology from both sides. They even had a working Sherman and Tiger tank in mock battle!

.......... that would not even be fair putting a tiger tank up against a sherman
 

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
85
91
Originally posted by: loic2003
Not sure how much I fancy the airline pilot thing though... Taxi, take off, climb to right height and vector then hit a few switches and you're done for several hours. At least when I've got nothing to do in this office job I've got the intarweb (ATOT) to brouse.

Yeh, but while you are surfing on ATOT do you get the stewardesses to give you back rubs, bring you breakfast, coffee, etc? (I know its not PC to call them other than flight attendants, but since flight attendants can be either gender, I did not want to give you the wrong impression. Not that there is anything wrong with that.)
 

jadinolf

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
20,952
3
81
Originally posted by: jemcam
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
If you join the RAF, you'll endanger your life. President Bush is bound to declare war again and it may be on your country... :Q Then you'll get shot down by our far more elite air force and superior satellite laser beams.

:disgust: I hereby nominate this one as idiot of the day.

May I join you?
 

jadinolf

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
20,952
3
81
Originally posted by: bapace
Join the French Air Force. You won't have to worry about being shot down cause they will never fly in a hostile area. You will just always be running.

And the French planes come equipped with surrender flags. :D
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
Originally posted by: bapace
Join the French Air Force. You won't have to worry about being shot down cause they will never fly in a hostile area. You will just always be running.
Of course you'll always be running. I don't think the French airmen even leave the ground........they're all scared of heights.
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,301
0
0
Originally posted by: loic2003
I'm bored sitting at a desk, I'm plenty healthy, got perfect vision, am the right height, have great hand-eye coordination (I kick ass at computer games), enjoy flying and really fancy the adventure of the RAF. I'll be too old to join in a few months so it's now or never :(

On the negative side, you have to join for 12 years minimum, have to take orders oh, and you could be shot down and tortured to death by some bastard. Plus when you come out at the other end, what kind of employment opportunities are there?

Anyone been in the airforce (US or otherwise) and can tell me whether it's worth the dedication?

Absolutly worth it...

I never ever look back on my 10 years of service and wish i had not done it..

I loved my Time and would still be there if I could..

I was gonna be a lifer for sure..

US Navy 1987-1997

 

loic2003

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
3,844
0
0
Originally posted by: CVSiN
Absolutly worth it...

I never ever look back on my 10 years of service and wish i had not done it..

I loved my Time and would still be there if I could..

I was gonna be a lifer for sure..

US Navy 1987-1997

What did you do when you left/what do you do now?

 

bapace

Senior member
Jul 7, 2004
720
1
0
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Originally posted by: bapace
Join the French Air Force. You won't have to worry about being shot down cause they will never fly in a hostile area. You will just always be running.
Of course you'll always be running. I don't think the French airmen even leave the ground........they're all scared of heights.

bwahahahaha. LOL at the surrender flags mentioned as well.