Air Force vet's please look.

[Hoosier8]

Malmstrom and Minot? Technically correct... but have you ever been there?

(Congrats to your son.)

I remember the campaign to get people to go to Minot. "Why not Minot?" I don't know of anyone that volunteered.

 

[gregkl]

I remember the campaign to get people to go to Minot. "Why not Minot?" I don't know of anyone that volunteered.

Funny. My son loves Grand Forks! Entering his 4th Winter there.

 

[varkman]

I remember the campaign to get people to go to Minot. "Why not Minot?" I don't know of anyone that volunteered.

Why not Minot.......too friggin cold!

 

[Hoosier8]

Why not Minot.......too friggin cold!

Yeah, while that was going on they were advertising that they had electrical outlets in the parking lots to plug your engine heaters into. Great selling point.

 

[Hohn]

Thanks....

My son has pretty much decided to do the Space Systems Operations, he's in his younger 20's and I gota let him make his own decisions. One good thing about it is that it looks like all of his duty stations are here in the USA.


I did find a link about military leave, but it doesn't list the law code. Military Leave Laws for Employees | BizFilings Toolkit


For some reason they think they still have to provide him with heath care & stuff? Must be some BS law in Obummer care. I'm sure they are reading it wrong.

Congrats, atvdave-- you must be right proud of your son, deservedly so.

Space Command HQ at Peterson AFB in C-springs is the place to be if your son can get there. Location is beautiful, and there's a huge military network in the area. I didn't get to know the area as well as I would have liked, as my time in the area was overwhelming spent at the technical college up on the Rampart Range (the one with the pointy church). I'd recommend that as a first assignment if possible (not likely for a 1st tour Airman out of tech school, but it happens). If he doesn't like the gig, he can get out and there are lots of opportunities in the area. Lots of other Spacecom outposts too-- Cheyenne Mt, etc.

Unlike Minot (pop 12k. I grew up in ND and even ran HS track in the Minot dome). Closer to Dickinson there's oil and gas, but minot itself isn't the best gig. Minot State is cheap education, might be a good change to knock out some school-- what else are you gonna do in Minot anyway? (bro and sis each went to MSU).

Montana is beautiful, but Malmstrom is similarly out in the boonies. Low population density means low opportunity in most cases. Great tour for hunting and fishing, though.

Vandy is near Vacaville, if I recall. Northern CA. Lots of schools nearby, and beautiful area. But the locality is all run by Commies, if your son can manage that. If he's a dorm dweller, it's probably moot. My ex BIL still lives there, been an AF missile guy forever, and probably will retire from there. It's sort of a dead end. Hard to get to, but hard to leave. Most of the people that go there don't want to leave (popular Spacecom retirement location, 2nd only to Pete/C-Springs.


If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone into academia at the Academy. Go to grad school and then get PhD and do post-doc work. Teaching at the Academy as a military officer is a fantastic job. And then you can retire, and go back as a civlian and do exactly the same thing. Best of all, you get to live in C Springs the whole time.

I like Indiana and am thankful to live here and have meaningful work that provides well for us. But if I could do a similar job in Colorado, the moving truck would already be here. (if SWMBO want to move back-- we met in C Springs and later went back to get married in Cadet Chapel at USAFA:

 

[gregkl]

Congrats, atvdave-- you must be right proud of your son, deservedly so.



Vandy is near Vacaville, if I recall. Northern CA. Lots of schools nearby, and beautiful area. But the locality is all run by Commies, if your son can manage that. If he's a dorm dweller, it's probably moot. My ex BIL still lives there, been an AF missile guy forever, and probably will retire from there. It's sort of a dead end. Hard to get to, but hard to leave. Most of the people that go there don't want to leave (popular Spacecom retirement location, 2nd only to Pete/C-Springs.

Hohn I'd like you to expound on Vandenburg being a dead end. My son who is at Grand Forks is heading there in Spring on a green door assignment. He plans on making a career out of the AF. Is he killing his career by taking this assignment? He seems jacked to go.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Hohn I'd like you to expound on Vandenburg being a dead end. My son who is at Grand Forks is heading there in Spring on a green door assignment. He plans on making a career out of the AF. Is he killing his career by taking this assignment? He seems jacked to go.

Green Door assignments are very cool. Very few of them around the USAF and have significant responsibilities.

For those of you INGOers who are wondering: no, it is not a porn-related assignment. I do wonder why they decided to give it the project code (or whatever) Green Door.

Edit: In 2002 a Green Door security manager told me that a security clearance keeps you from talking about what you just saw on TV. I thought that was quite profound.

 

[Hohn]

Hohn I'd like you to expound on Vandenburg being a dead end. My son who is at Grand Forks is heading there in Spring on a green door assignment. He plans on making a career out of the AF. Is he killing his career by taking this assignment? He seems jacked to go.

Less of a dead end and more like a Cul de Sac. Vandy does a lot of secret launch (green door, as ref'd previously). It's a small, close-knit group.

He'd definitely NOT killing his career, but he may be giving up some future flexibility. The risk is that once they've brought you into that world, they want you to stay-- turnover is very bad. Thus, he'd want to be sure he'd be cool with doing that kind of thing for quite awhile before going.

If you go once and don't get to far into it, you'd be OK to get elsewhere around Spacecom. If you go back, you'll be there until you retire in most cases-- and usually by choice. Many folks find the work very satisfying (like my former BIL does).

 

[Woobie]

I can be of no help on the Air Force advice. All I know is they have better food, nicer facilities, and better looking women.

By law, they have to hold him at his current job and title plus any automatic raises, etc. for five years, period. And to my knowledge, they can't charge for that. You may elect to continue health care coverage, in which case you will pay. But IMO, it's stupid, because Tricare.

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve > USERRA > Frequently Asked Questions

The applicable law is USERRA 1994. The ESGR can help you, as I'm sure the Dept of Labor.

Best of luck to you and your son.

 

[gregkl]

Less of a dead end and more like a Cul de Sac. Vandy does a lot of secret launch (green door, as ref'd previously). It's a small, close-knit group.

He'd definitely NOT killing his career, but he may be giving up some future flexibility. The risk is that once they've brought you into that world, they want you to stay-- turnover is very bad. Thus, he'd want to be sure he'd be cool with doing that kind of thing for quite awhile before going.

If you go once and don't get to far into it, you'd be OK to get elsewhere around Spacecom. If you go back, you'll be there until you retire in most cases-- and usually by choice. Many folks find the work very satisfying (like my former BIL does).

Thanks. We will see how it all turns out. His assignment is a 4 year commitment. What happens at the end of the 4 years will be interesting to see. He's not in Spacecom though if that would make any difference.