Comments by "Jake Broe" (@JakeBroe) on "Enlisted or Officer - Which is Better for You?" video.

  1. Absolutely! Full disclosure, I know very little about daily life in the other branches. I do my best to generalize my information here on YouTube to reach the widest audience possible, but all of my information is biased as it is coming from an Air Force Officer. Even within the Air Force, the world of ICBMs is much different than the rest of the Air Force. I appreciate people from other branches leaving comments for those looking for more information. Thanks for the comment and support!
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  2. Hey Everyone! All information that I give in this video is from my perspective as an Air Force Officer. I eagerly admit my ignorance of life and operations in the other branches and I encourage you to seek out members from those services to learn more about them and how they differ from the experience that I give in this video. If you found this video useful then give it a LIKE! It really helps out my channel. Also consider checking out my entire playlist on Military Finance topics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLscTZuOqKWIycpttIOB044CBFLdPpgiYu
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  3. I agree! I love working with prior Es. They have the best stories!
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  4. Hey Zac! I have some videos coming soon about TFOT/OTS. As for base assignments, that is up to AFPC. You can put your base preferences, but the Air Force is going to send you wherever they want and you have to go. Special considerations are given to service members who are married to other service members or have family with certain medical conditions, but otherwise you have to be ready to go anywhere.
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  5. Hey Handlez! They definitely do not. Bullets are expensive. I got to fire 3 clips of a 9mm five years ago at OTS and I haven't touched a gun in the Air Force since then.
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  6. That's awesome Alvin! I actually work in an ops squadron with 50+ other officers, so I really do not get this normal interaction with senior enlisted leadership. I wish I did, they sound amazing!
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  7. Of course! I think most who do go through OTS do not have STEM degrees. STEM applicants are rare, which is why the Air Force likes them. But have a non-STEM degree still qualifies you to apply for sure!
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  8. Hey Cyril! It can for some professional jobs. JAGs (people who have law degrees) come in as O-2s and promote to O-3 after 6 months. Nurses and Doctors immediately pin on a rank depending on their time in the medical profession. I met a brain surgeon with 20+ years experience who came in as an O-6. I know the Air Force also gives direct commissions to cyber security experts (come in at O-5/O-6). But 99% of officers come in at O-1.
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  9. Yep! I work with a lot of prior enlisted who went officer. Most will retire as a Major or a Captain without ever having to compete for promotion as an officer. Cheers Joel!
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  10. Hey Joshua! I taught in a public Korean elementary school for six years. Singing days of the week and helping 5th graders with counting ordinal numbers did nothing to prepare me to be an Air Force officer. But that doesn't matter. Moving to the other side of the world to immerse yourself in another language and culture takes guts. Something a lot of Americans would never be willing to do. If you want to be an Air Force officer you have to believe in yourself. You have to be your biggest fan and you have to sell yourself if you want the Air Force to invest in you. If you do not think you are great right now, then change that. Volunteer to do stuff. Seek out opportunities. Build your resume now. Prove that you are mentally and physically capable of succeeding as a pilot. Nothing is easy, but the people who made it all have one thing in comment, they tried and did not give up on the process or the goal of self-improvement. I have two videos coming next week about applying to OTS. Be sure to check those out!
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  11. It's a big decision! There also is no harm in applying and seeing if you get it. You can always decline it if selected if you change your mind (though everyone you work with would then think you are nuts). But you have to do what is best for you. Best of luck Rachael!
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  12. You sure can Archer!
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  13. If you mean go from guard/reserve to active duty, then yes!
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  14. Hey Zac! As long as you are average or above average compared to your peers, you should be fine. I don't know what promotion rates are for chaplains, you can ask this if you know any. Additionally, for O-4s who don't make O-5, many go guard or reserve to get 20 good years and they still will collect the pension, they just have to wait until age 60 to start it. There are also other government agencies that count military years towards their pension, so there are lots of options in this scenario.
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  15. Hey Tony! I actually just uploaded this exact video on Airman Vision's website for them. Check it out! https://youtu.be/3kkYfKpG5qc
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  16. Congrats on graduating tech school! Best of luck to you as you are starting out your military career. You can always commission later down the road!
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  17. Well, hopefully your package can just be rolled in to the next board and you can be selected when they meet! Waiting sucks for sure! Best of luck Ben!
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  18. Hey Mary! Awesome! Haha, don't you miss Minot? j/k Welcome to the channel! Glad to have you with us!
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  19. Hey Rob! For sure, everything varies from branch to branch and career field to career field. I have met good senior Captains that wanted to stay in and failed to promote to Major (black marked for fucking up as a Lt 8 years earlier). I also know Majors who failed to make Lt Col and they are being pushed out right now. Most officers who suck at leading people and making decisions just eliminate themselves and get out because the job is so uncomfortable for them. Nobody at age 18 can really know that this is what they want for themselves when they agree to do ROTC or the Academy. You are also correct that the world of missiles is very different from the rest of the Air Force. I am in an ops squadron right now with 60 other officers. I am 5 years in to my service and have never been directly responsible or in charge of anyone other than a single deputy Lt. My job is to pull alert and be in the missile field. I work with enlisted people, but I am not directly in charge of them. That will change eventually of course! Cheers!
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  20. Thanks so much Sam! Cheers!
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  21. Haha, I was wondering what your connect was. We appreciate our civilian counterparts! Cheers Jackson!
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  22. I hope you have a good day Trenzcv
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  23. Hey Jordan! Depends if you have the time to wait to go to OTS. Check out my video on how long that process takes.
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  24. Awesome! Thanks for the comment and support Travis!
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  25. Awesome! Yeah, I taught in a public elementary school in Gwangju for six years. I loved it and really miss the lifestyle there (but not the job). I am glad you found my channel and I hope you get a lot of value from my videos! Cheers!
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  26. Hey Xavier! I know nothing about this, but I can look in to it. Cheers!
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  27. Haha, most people were trying to avoid the jungle. Sounds like you were trying to go!
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  28. Hey Spinattitude! You can message me on instagram: jakebroe
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  29. Haha, for sure, there are intangibles. As an officer I am given more independence and managed less it feels like. That definitely has a quality of life value. Cheers!
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  30. That's a good job! I volunteered in my base's legal office for a little and if I could pick an enlisted job, I would want to be a paralegal.
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  31. Hey! I would go on the main reddit thread for the Air Force and ask this question. Enlisted people would give you great answers. I personally do not know! https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/
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  32. Congrats DE! I wish you luck in the service!
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