Advice needed - Daughter thinking about service

If she is set on flying, HOLY CRAP NOLAN RYAN IS FAT!, sorry he was on espn... if she is set on flying The United States AF is the way to go, however you mentioned bad eyesight, pretty much a no go.
The AF is going to be much more.. like a corporate job, office mostly, cake hours(mostly) easy deployments(mostly) I have several friends, officer and enlisted in the Intel field and they love it.
Army is going to be like the Army, and can't really speak for it other than, what I've heard/witnessed.
*** make sure she uses her degree***whatever that means officer, higher enlisted rank, she earned it, use it.

[Smokin Gator]

Originally Posted by theycallmedan'lboone

If she is set on flying The United States AF is the way to go, however you mentioned bad eyesight, pretty much a no go.

I think she realizes that there is no way she is going to be flying. I really don't even think she would want to. I think it just sounded neat for a little while. I think she realizes that with her languages (she speaks Spanish, French, some Italian, and some German) along with the International Studies degree that intelligence is a good fit. She also has pretty good technical/computer skills.

Originally Posted by Smokin Gator

I think she realizes that with her languages (she speaks Spanish, French, some Italian, and some German) along with the International Studies degree that intelligence is a good fit. She also has pretty good technical/computer skills.

No sh*t??

screw Intel....point her towards CA/PSYOPS.

No kidding.

[Smokin Gator]

Originally Posted by tobii3

No sh*t??

screw Intel....point her towards CA/PSYOPS.

No kidding.

Sorry to be so ignorant... but what is that?

my apologies...I've been in since G-d was a Corporal...

CA - Civil Affairs

According to the U.S. Army, "Civil Affairs units help military commanders by working with civil authorities and civilian populations in the commander’s area of operations to lessen the impact of military operations on them during peace, contingency operations and declared war." With their expertise in civil matters, they are the principle unit in assisting a commander in the conduct of civil-military operations.

PSYOPS

Psychological Operations (PSYOP, PSYOPS) are techniques used by military and police forces to influence a target audience's value systems, belief systems, emotions, motives, reasoning, and behavior. Target audiences can be governments, organizations, groups, and individuals, and are used in order to induce confessions, or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator's objectives.

Hope that helps!!!

Originally Posted by tobii3

screw Intel....point her towards CA/PSYOPS.

Cliff's notes -

Functional area description. Encompasses positions which re-quire officers possessing special skills relating to the conduct of PSYOP or CA. Additionally, these highly educated officers must have critical skills associated with a specific region of the world, foreign language expertise, political-military awareness, and cross-cultural communications. PSYOP and CA officers perform critical roles across the spectrum of conflict at all levels of command. In addition, both PSYOP and CA have companies, battalions, and one PSYOP group level command, which perform significant missions in support of Conventional and Special Operations, theater, and national objectives. PSYOP and CA officers play critical roles in foreign internal defense and unconventional warfare as well as other missions directed by the national command authority, in peace and war

I wasn't suggesting it as a shot in the dark like some of these recommendations, I was suggesting it because I have spent 20 years WORKING with these kinds of Officers.

Another point -

Special qualifications for both Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs Officers.

(a) Be fully qualified as a CPT in primary branch.

(b) Have a Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) score of 85 or above, or, possess a measurable ability in a foreign language.

(c) Male or female managed by the Officer Personnel Manage*ment Directorate.

(d) Be eligible for TOP SECRET security clearance under the provisions of AR 380-67.

(e) Be airborne qualified or volunteer for airborne training (if required).

(f) Possess a baccalaureate degree, preferably in social/political science or related disciplines, from an accredited college or university.

[Tikihut27]

Now that we've all determined she should be an officer (not everyone wants to be one, although I am one myself), the key factor to me is how she is going to intergrate her service into her long-term career goals.

She should look at what job she wants 10-15 years from now... research a little as to the qualifications of the positions. Things like TS clearances, experience, civilian degrees, etc.

She should then tailor her military goals so that she meets her long-term goals- that the military leaves her with those qualifications when she decides to leave. The military helps with Master's degrees, but different branches and jobs within them will offer her specialty skills and clearances.

Then balance that with having her pick a job she will enjoy in the meantime.

For example, MI can help her get a TS clearance, but could be kind of boring if you are stuck writing powerpoint presentations all day. CA can get her out into the world and interacting with all types of people. Then again, CA folks get deployed a lot and it's a kind of dangerous job...

The National Guard and Reserves offer a lot of the training and experiences while at the same time allowing (most of the time, ho, ho) for officers to gain experience in the civilain sector at the same time. This has worked out well for me, except for the multiple deployments since 9/11. The National Guard also offers state missions, which in FL is a big deal. As a Guardsman, I can tell you the opportunity to help folks right here in NY deal with natural disasters is a big reason for me to stay in.

Drawback to the Guard and Reserves is that is can be hard to find the job you want located close enough to you.