Forum: Air Force Life

Good Day Everyone,

My name is Rob and I currently reside in Lancaster, PA. I am 21 and have an Associates Degree in Computers. December 10th, 2008 I will be qualifying at MEPS and from what my recruitor as well as others already enlisted have told me, this is where I will be given my AFSC list and what I'm qualified for. I scored a E-70 on the ASVAB. I am willing to go where the USAF needs me, however my goal is to work with UAVs. I guess my questions pertain to those who are currently working in this field of the USAF. However anyone who has knowledge on AFSC dealing with UAV deployment/maintance, I would appreciate any responses and advice given. From the amount of research I have done AFSC 2A3X2 deals with F-16 Falcon, F-117 Nighthawk, CV-22 Osprey, and the MQ-1 Predator?

I am new to these forums and I want to apologize if this request for information should be posted in another thread or not at all. I am simply trying to gain knowledge and understanding, and prehapes make a few new friends who are in the military currently. The way it was explained to me by my recruitor the USAF snatches up Electronics jobs rather quickly, but she wasn't able to give me an ETA on my departure. She stated roughly around Feb. or Mar. if not sooner than that.

Hope everyone is having a good day and thank you in advance for your advice and wisdom.

Respectfully,

Rob

F-16.net Sponsor

I am a retired 2A3X2, but have no experience with anything but the F-16 within that AFSC. I wouldn't expect that the UAVs are much different from airplanes as far as maintenance goes.

I can say this about the USAF, though: they will always put the service's needs before the individual's.

I enjoyed my time as an avionics technician. The crew dogs call us "pointyheads", probably because they don't understand what we do. We call them "nose pickers" for obvious reasons. If you get into this AFSC, you'll find yourself well-placed for employment in just about any electronics repair field in civilian life.

If you're looking at being a sensor suite operator on the UAVs while they're in flight, then this AFSC is not for you. I have no idea what that AFSC would be, but it is not 2AXXX. I would caution you here that my intimate association with the USAF/ANG ended three years ago, so things may have changed since then and I could be very wrong.

Good luck and have fun!

Be careful what you commit to. When I got my top five list in 1981, Ground Radio Operator was at the top of the list, followed by Fuels System Technician. The recruiter pushed me very hard to take one of those AFSCs, but I knew I wanted. At that time, of course, it was 326X6C.

As I approach 27 years as an F-16 Avionics maintainer, I can tell you that I agree with SixerViper completely. 2A3X2 will get you to a lot of places, both in and out of USAF. I must admit, though, that if I was still in, I would rather work jets with real pilots and not UAVs. Perhaps a generational bias...

Best Regards,

I'd say stick with the UAV's as its the way of the future in the USAF/AFRC/ANG. This coming from an ex 326X2B Instrument/Autopilot guy with 33yrs experience under his belt, and still very much involved with the current fighters out there.

Cheers,

ViperDude

Is a TS Clearance required for 326X2B? I am not able to get one until 3 years after initial enlistment. Thanks in advance, also is there any other info on any sites about 326X2B? I wasn't able to find alot of info about that AFSC, only that it is an AFSC dealing with UAV's Instrument/Autopilot, etc.
Thanks

Rob

P.S. I checked with my Recruiter, from what she told me that is the old code for the AFSC's. Do you know, has that AFSC changed to something new in the recent years? If you or anyone else has any information concerning any careers dealing with UAV's the more advice the better. But I wanted to express my thanks to everyone so far who has posted knowledge and advice.

I agree with Joe when it comes to working with planes with real pilots. Not only because you get real pilot interaction, but you also get in the cockpit. Almost any f-16 spec will tell you that half the time spent with the airplane is in the cockpit troubleshooting or ops checking the A/C. You just don't have that with UAV's.

If I was a new troop coming into the USAF I would look long and hard at what you want to do now and after your enlistment. Once you figure out what you want to do in 4-6 years, it makes choosing the path a little easier.

Plus! No incentive rides with UAV's and that extra benefit will only be around for the next 10-20 years. If that!

I am a former 2A372 only worked F-16's '00-'06. You need to keep in mind that the USAF is going to put you where they need you so if they need F-16 troops more than UAV troops then chances are you are going to work F-16's. Personally I would never want to work a UAV as an avionics troop. Some of the biggest complaints from UAV guy's I knew is that they were more of a Crew Chief than an avionic troop because there isn't much avionics to a UAV so they had avionics guys cut trained to do crew chief work. (i.e pump gas and change tires.) They also complained about deployments because while the plane can be flown from any where most of the time its the MX personel that are close to the theater of operation so they could launch the planes. Also Indian Springs, Beal AFB and UAE are some of the only bases to chose from. The portion of the UAV that I think is the future is the SATCOMM portion of the plane. That is what makes the entire concept of a UAV work. All the satcomm guys I knew loved what they did and the USAF couldn't keep them in because they would get more money on the outside. Check into SATCOMM with UAV's!

Forum: Air Force Life

Question for enlisted USAF Members concerning 2A3X2