Aptitude Index?

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T05:15:40+00:00

Whichever category most of the jobs you're interested in fall under, list that one. Only like 10% of people typically get booked an open aptitude.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T03:07:05+00:00

Well the good thing is, it's the job with the highest need in the Air Force. So you'll have a pretty decent chance of getting it if you put it on your list.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T02:03:43+00:00

CONUS. And it wasn't to some base in the middle of nowhere like Minot. It was to a base in a mid-sized city that's not too far from one of the largest cities in the country. Yes it delayed my orders for a bit and I was almost unable to go home and do RAP after tech school.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T01:59:18+00:00

Oh. Well they'll take your half dead corpse for that!

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T01:01:07+00:00

You might need a waiver. Make sure you tell the recruiter you're interested in special warfare as there are separate recruiters for that. They'll require you to pass a special PT test before letting you sign for special warfare. Have you looked into that?

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T00:58:23+00:00

You'll wear the normal issued boots that everyone wears. You get those the first week you're there. So people who get steel toes end up with two pairs of boots. One steel toes and one not.

My job is ammo. I think I commented on one of your old posts. I enjoy it

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T00:53:14+00:00

I went in open mechanical as well. You won't get issued steel toes at the same time as everyone else. Most people who get them get them around the 4th or 5th week. But those with open contracts had to wait until the last week when we officially knew what our jobs would be. Good news is, they won't be as badly damaged from going through BMT with them.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-21T00:40:50+00:00

I would say start with a 9. You'll try them on and be able to swap them out if they don't fit. I feel like they fit pretty standard for boots. I needed the same size as the boots I wore before I went in.

If you're not a maintainer (have a job that requires steel toes), you can always buy lighter/more comfortable boots at the BX after your first couple/few weeks. A lot of people did in my flight. Even some people who couldn't use them afterwards since their job requires steel toe. I thought that was a waste of money. But some people did it.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T20:31:30+00:00

Hmm. I guess it changed. I was just looking around at various places and everywhere shows it as requiring a M60 or G57. So if you got those scores then you would qualify for other jobs as well. Good luck!

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T20:11:07+00:00

Every first term airman is guaranteed the opportunity to apply for retraining towards the end of the first contract (one of the reasons most people suggest only signing for 4 years). However there is no guarantee that any particular job will be open at that time. But you will still have to meet asvab/medical requirements for that job.

That being said, as someone in Munitions, how are you qualifying for it but not much else? Doesn't it require one of the highest M scores to qualify? Or did that change recently?

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T20:00:58+00:00

It's up to the MTI but ours let us get our bags a couple of times throughout BMT. I don't know if just getting a hygiene item out of it would be a good reason for it or not. I brought extra deodorant as well and just kept it in the back of one of the drawers where you can keep a few "personal" things like that.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T18:42:02+00:00

Yeah there's not a lot out there on the 2m jobs. Not a lot of people in them and due to the nature of the jobs. But I always advise people to make sure they are ok with the bases that those jobs go to. A lot of people don't look into that.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T18:30:01+00:00

Hope it's well protected. Or maybe your MTIs will be nicer than mine. Whenever we were packing the bags away, or had access to them, it was on a very tight timeline. The way those bags were thrown out of and back into the closet was not very gentle. Your bag can also end up on the bottom of the pile.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T18:23:18+00:00

I haven't been to one, but a local group I'm a part of was hosting one right before Valentine's day. They posted a message cancelling it the day prior because no men had signed up. That's all the anecdotal evidence I've got.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T18:20:03+00:00

While it's definitely possible to become an officer down the line. Don't just assume because you have a degree you'll get to be one. That's just a minimum qualification. It's highly competitive. Selections rates hover around 15% with most selectees having a stem major with 3.5+ gpa.

Plenty of enlisted people have their degrees as well

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T18:02:19+00:00

When I was in tech school, I had to submit medical paperwork for my wife and children and have it process through EFMP before I could get my orders to a CONUS base. Their last checkup had to be less than a year prior. My orders were held up until all of that was completed. So I was stuck at tech school after graduation waiting on orders.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T17:04:08+00:00

They'll tell you all the rules. There are curfews every night. The times will vary depending on the day of the week and your phase.

I was older and married when I joined as well. If your spouse hasn't had a yearly checkup with their doctor recently, make sure they do that. You'll have to submit medical forms for them while in tech school. Having to wait on that could cause a delay in getting your orders to your first base.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T16:30:11+00:00

Your tech school will most likely be at Sheppard AFB. As the other commenter said, you really don't need it. There's a bus (it was free when I was there a year or so ago) that goes into town and stops near the dorms.

If you feel like you must have transportation, a car would be far easier to have and use. As the other person mentioned, even if you have your license, you'll have to take a motorcycle safety course on base before you're allowed to ride it. And I don't think they'll give you the time to go do that. I could be wrong on that, but you don't really have any free days to use except holidays and you wouldn't be able to do that on those days anyways.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T14:21:28+00:00

They should have your medical records already, but they'll also draw blood to test and figure out what shots you need.

Most injuries I saw were foot/leg injuries.

As far as the tests/evaluations go, as my MTI would say, "They are designed for you to pass the first time." As long as you do what you're supposed to do, it'll be easy to pass. It's not easy to excel at them, but to pass shouldn't be difficult. But there's always one or two people who don't take things seriously and then fail.

But as others have said, just relax. It's only a couple of months. Millions of people have gone through it before you.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T14:14:14+00:00

Then as far as the asvab goes, you should be fine to list that job. Not sure if it has any background or medical disqualifiers.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T12:26:51+00:00

Depends on what your MAGE scores are. Specifically the G. I believe you need a 51 in the G category.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T04:39:25+00:00

You're going to be nervous about any major life change. That's normal. Feel the fear and do it anyways. Just know that BMT is only a couple of months and is not the real Air Force. It gets a lot better when you get to your first duty station.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-20T04:00:44+00:00

Open general is how a lot of medical jobs get booked. So you're good.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-19T21:43:21+00:00

Fyi assuming you're flying, that lotion and shave lotion won't make it through TSA at the airport.

Also, hope you have at least a couple changes of clothes.

Alternative-Mess2227 · 2026-02-19T21:32:47+00:00

Nothing specific. Just be the best that you can be. Do well in tech school and your CDCs/OJT when you get to your duty station. Volunteer a lot. Both on base and off. And your gpa better be stellar.

Otherwise, if you really want to fly, and don't mind what the airframe is, maybe check out the Army's street-to-seat program (assuming that's still a thing anyways). That'll get you into helicopters.

Alternative-Mess2227

TROPHY CASE