Leaving for basic

Well I guess Ill tell ya about myself. My names Greg. I'm 23 live in a small town about an hour south of St.Louis. I'm a cop/firefighter/911 dispatcher. I leave for basic April 25th, I'm super excited. I'm going in open mechanical and I'm gonna list Cables and Antennas as my number one choice. Any advice, life lessons or just stories would be awesome. Thanks.

Be like NIKE (JUST DO IT) :) STAY AWAY For underage folks (Under 21) and you will be fine..Hope you make it

Same here, just keep your nose clean and your fingers crossed. Good luck to ya.

Good luck, My boy friends boy is leaving for basic on the 14 Mar 11, You may cross paths. Remember keep your mouth shut put sir or mam'm in front of and at the end of any answered question, or request to speak.

Greg,
You already have a head start on most of the folks you will meet in Basic Training and Tech School: maturity.

Start with the end in mind - have a goal of finishing no matter what they throw at you.
LISTEN to instructions. Lots of seemingly stupid rules to teach attention to detail (fold underwear just so, etc).
These rules will be more significant when you are working in whatever career field you get into.
Remember, even if you don't get your first choice, there are options for cross-training later.

As you can see by the responses and the Wire/Cable community here, we hope you get in.
Look through the other forums for stories or wait and post your own in 6 months.

Welcome to the Air Force.

Greg...

I'm a fire fighter/ paramedic as well near Chicago. I went through Basic training in 1985 and went into Cable and Antenna at Keesler AFB in Biloxi Ms.(1986-1989), but I was in a temporary duty unit (1839 EIG) and we were always traveling to different locations throughout the US and overseas. I will say that I had a blast. It was pretty cool and an eye opening experience to see how people live in other countries. I also went open mechanical and was taken for testing for the Cable/ Antenna field when I was in Basic training. At that time we were tested with climbing utility poles with climbing spikes (gaffs) on our feet. We also had to climb a stationary 50 foot ladder and perform basic confidence tasks while strapped into the ladder. They wanted to see how we reacted to heights. With this field, you will have to work up high. Hopefully you've worked up on ladder trucks before. We were sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas for school for 3 months. Just like everyone else said, keep your nose clean. Keep a positive attitude and don't eyeball your Drill/ Training instructor, they don't like that. Basic training will be over before you know it. Good luck and have a blast!!

Well good luck just like everyone else said keep your ears open and your mouth shut and don't voulenteer for anything while in basic, as far as cable/antenna I have loved the career feild I have had a Blast with E&I for the twenty years I have put in the Air Force, getting ready to retire so good luck to you.