LOL.
I joined the AF in 1962 and it was that way then.
"We" lived large, compared to our brothers in the other services.
Of course there was a trade-off.
While the Army and Navy promoted their personnel (and here I'm referring to enlisted, although it may apply to Officers as well) rapidly--especially with the "Specialists" grades, the Air Force ALWAYS lagged behind in that respect.
While it took on the average of 3 1/2 - 4 years (at that time) to achieve Staff Sergeant (E-5) in the Air Force, it was NOT unusual to see Specialist 5's in the Army with only 2 1/2 - 3 years in service.
Therefore, our "perks" of nice mess halls with good chow; barracks with 2-men rooms; and other amenities not enjoyed by the Army or Navy (and I wouldn't even dare address the poor Marines) were ways the Air Force attracted and retained "quality" personnel.
I don't know if the situation has changed over the past 35 years or so since I got out (1970) regarding promotions, but if not, then it would be a big mistake for the Air Force to be considering cutting back on the one "advantage" they enjoyed over the other branches, UNLESS, they begin making up for those losses with equal time and grade promotions much the same as the Army and Navy.
True. Many of us draftees made it to Speedy 5 within our two year hitch. Then they'd sometimes offer us an E-6 if we'd stay.
Right!
It was much the same in '89 when I retired. We worked a lot with other services in Korea and Southeast Asia and would routinely be working with troops one or two grades higher than we were. Also, the Army and Marine chow halls were dumps, but we envied the Navy's, at least the ones at the major bases.
It was much the same in '89 when I retired. We worked a lot with other services in Korea and Southeast Asia and would routinely be working with troops one or two grades higher than we were. Also, the Army and Marine chow halls were dumps, but we envied the Navy's, at least the ones at the major bases.
Coincidentally, I just got an email from my deployed Army Medic daughter who is two months into her second Iraq tour providing med coverage for convoys. She emailed me from an Air Force barracks in N Iraq where she was making a stop for the day. She was amazed at the 'upgrade'. Most impressive were the connected showers with people walking to and from in nice fluffy robes. So I suppose even in theater there is some noticeable perks to being Air Force.
I don't know how it is now, but I joined the Navy in the early 80's under the Advanced Electronics Program. I was an E-4 almost immediately, and passed the E-5 test with a score high enough to get promoted on my first try while I was still in 'C' school - less than two years, and I hadn't even stepped on a ship yet.
There were a number of us that aced that test at 'C' school, probably because that school was a year long advanced training course that only took E-4 students from the top two or three finishers in 'A' school. I found out a couple of years later from a buddy that it really made some of the E-5's and E-6's training with us furious, and they tried behind the scenes to get the training command to hold back or even cancel our promotions. They did manage a delay (kept us from going home for Christmas with our new rank), but we got the extra stripe before the next round of tests.
I think they were mad because they had used senority instead of grades to get assigned to that school, and we were showing them up in class. They were converted from from other ratings, and really had no business trying to be techs. Rocks, one and all.
There was more than just the retention issue... It was also important to treat the AF enlisted well as they were the ones ensuring that your plane made it up and back safely. The AF relied on a highly technically trained enlisted force that would probably not accept being treated as the other services enlisteds' were. The AF also coveted ideas and nutured innovation out of it's enlisted force. Try getting that from someone that you feed MREs to and bunk 4 to a room in swealtering temperatures.
And yeah the promotions still lag behind the other services.
Retired SMSgt (2004)
You must have been in a different Air Force than me!
I entered service in Sept '59, got into the CommOps/Crypto (291xx) career field, and the joke was on me. The first E-5 promotion I witnessed happened in '64, and he was one of the squadron jock types. Typical time in service to E-5 in the 291 field was around 7 years, with many good guys taking much longer.
Admittedly, AF life for the enlisteds was much better than for other services. Quite a few, tho, thought promotion was better, and left. Around '65 as VN began heating up, the Army offered Warrant appointments for Comm/Comsec types, and I knew two AF E-5's that switched over. I tried myself, but was late to the party.
It wasn't until the early '70's after USAF promotions were based on testing that the promotion inequalities began to smooth out. Prior to that time, you never knew what criteria was used, how close one was to promotion, or where to improve.
All in all, tho, life was good! I did enjoy my air conditioned dorm, gourmet chow, golf courses, etc., and of course, the love and admiration of the ladies when I wore my USAF Blues!
(snerk)
The AF is still a tougher place to make rank. But, the other services pull stripes quickly as well.