Howdy!!
I want to enlist in the AF Reserve and the first step I took was to speak with one of the national recrutiers. That person gave me the number of the Houston recruiter so I called him 3 weeks ago. He told me he was the only AF Reserve recruiter in the Houston area ane had 39 candidates in front so he asked me to send him a text and will call me back.
So far 3 weeks have passed and have not heard from him.
Is it typical to wait this long to start the actual process with the reserve?

Post your email and I'll reach out to see if I can help.

email is: wichoaggie@gmail.com

Thank you!!

I have your email if you want to take it down.

AF recruiter?

My brother is trying to go AF active I was another branch so my recruiting/b billet friends aren't any help lol

Good luck with the USAF. My son was in San Antonio when he was looking to enlist back in 2014 and found that AF recruiters there rarely had to work past about the 10th of the month to make their recruiting goals. He literally could never find anyone in the office!

Conversely, the US Navy recruiting office (next door) was always staffed--and that's where he ended up. Just over 4 years later, he's an E5--maintaining and operating the fire direction system for a 5-inch gun on a guided missile destroyer.

I went to an air force recruiter in college. he pretty much told me "don't call us, we'll call you" and walked me out the door. incidentally, the Marine OSO office was next door so I ducked in there to see what they were all about.

fast forward two years, and I got a call from the college station air force recruiter asking me if I was still interested in the AF - I answered the call in my room in O'Bannon Hall at Quantico. guess he got a little tight on mission that week and had to go through the ol' rolodex.

If you still need help, send me an email at tyler.fry.15@gmail.com and I can help out with your attempt to join the AF Reserve. I currently work in Houston as an Army reserve Operations officer and have helped out the AF Reserve recruiter numerous times. I can see if I can cash in some favors if you still are interested. Or if you change your mind and want to join the Army reserves I can help with that.

Email sent, thank you!!

You are definitely making the right choice going USAF.

Signed,

- Army reservist

Aim High. Go Air Force,

I met one of the guys in the 1st Air Commando Squadron, a few years ago in Albuquerque. He was sitting outside El Pinto restaurant, and I noticed a patch on his jacket and struck up a conversation. Wish I could have spent more than a few moments with him.

Call the actual unit you're interested in. They will be more than happy to help. More often than not, recruiters don't know what's going on. The 442d at Whiteman AFB, MO has all kinds of openings. I'm sure the 301st at Carswell is the same.

Good luck.

I'm a Navy recruiter in Corona, California right now, and it isn't any different here. The air force office is right next to us, and they are never there. Must be nice.

A little bump on this thread.

I am actually now trying to join as Active Duty.
Currently I am at a crossroads on my decision and the biggest enemy is my age(I am 36 years old).

I started the Active Duty process 5 weeks ago. When the Enlisted recruiter saw my Electrical Engineering degree and my professional resume he contacted one of the Officer recruiters because, according to them, I can qualify for commission.
But in parallel I took the ASVAB and continue working with the Enlisted recruiter.

On Monday I had my second meeting with the Enlisted recruiter and we spoke about what is a better fit, to start as Officer or start as Enlisted then wait one year to apply for Officer position.

Both, Enlisted and Officer, recruiters have advised me the best option is to enlist and then apply. That will give me 1 year to adapt to military lifestyle. The Officer recruiter told me I will be in priority to Officer because of my degree and professional resume.
I also think this is the best path. My current position is Project Engineer/Management Director. I can say by experience that I could have not done this job without my previous years working as regular engineer, then engineering manager, then finally director(it was a natural progression).

The major issue right now is time. I am currently 36 years old. By the time I go to BMT I will be 37 years old.
One recruiter told me the 1 year starts ticking when I start BMT, but the other one told me it starts on my first Duty Station( so they have to come back to me with the right answer).
By the time I apply to Officer I will be 38 years old.
I have to finish Officer Training School before I am 40 years old.

I want to make the best decision, either wait and apply for a position that I might not get and waste one year, or join now and at least have more possibilities to get the Officer position but I have to start from the bottom and even if starting as enlisted does not guarantee I will be able to apply/get an Officer position.

Either way I want to join the AF, it is just a matter which path is the best for me to take at this point.

Sorry if it is too long!!

Why the change to active duty? I applaud your desire to serve, but I think with your career accomplishments you will have buyers remorse pretty quick with enlisting active duty. For 1, I'm assuming your current salary is in the $100k range, which is well beyond E-3 and O-1. It may not seem like an issue now, but after a year or 2 you will feel the pain with the pay cut. 2nd, Going Reserve (or Guard) at your age, I suspect would be a better fit as opposed to starting at the bottom with 18-20 year old kids that don't know a dam thing. You will be put in charge of these knuckleheads and won't gain anything for it. 3rd, I wouldn't trust a thing you are hearing about officer accession before 40 from recruiters. I don't say that from officer accession experience, just my opinion based on my interactions with my recruiter and career planners while in the Marine Corps over 20 years ago.

Are you dead set on the Air Force? Have you explored the other branches (including USCG) and Reserve components? You may qualify for direct commissioning with your EE. Don't sell yourself short. You've accomplished a lot with career and have a lot to offer. You just need to find the right fit.

DO NOT GO ENLISTED AT YOUR AGE IF YOU EVER WANT TO BE AN OFFICER.

Things change. You may not get a waiver. You may get hurt. If you are ok with being enlisted, fine. If not, go to OTS.

Nothing is guaranteed if it's not in your contract.