Air Force Firefighting Careers  

hi i am hopein to to join the air force firefigther career but have qustions about it.

I recently just graduated from the fire fighter acadamy and was interested to see if it would be benificial to join the airforce reservein help with employment?

John,
The minimun age requirement is 27 years of age.

Deployments range from 4 to 6 month appox. 16 to 18 months apart.
Training is about 4 months long at Goodfellow AFB, TX and your family will not be able to go with you but you will receive housing allowance which is based on where your family is living. The training to very hard with days started at 4 and ending around 5 along with PT on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. If you are not in peek physical condition, the odds are against you. Be prepared to carry around 300 pounds of hose on your shoulders and pass a firefighter PT course under 8 minutes. Many do not pass the first time. BMT is 2 months long you may or may not be able to contact your family at all. Its up to your training instructor. The pay in BMT is your base pay and you will receive housing allowance while you are there if married. To qualify for a job as a firefighter you need around a 36 on your ASVAB.

can you join as an officer and still be a fire fighter

I’m all in

I joined 22/6/2009 as a DEP (Delayed Entry Program) AKA Soft Book. at the end of my Junior year. i leave 7/9/2010. You cannot be an Officer Firefighter however there are jobs that are in control of it though. Joining the Air Force was the best thing that i ever done, and can’t wait for the experience. To all those that want to join as a firefighter good Luck and see ya soon.

i think he meant the maximum age requirement is 27, unless it was a typo and he meant 17

Well you can’t be more wrong about the Air Force. The Navy actually does way less training then the Air Force. I am a USAF MSgt and have gone through fire protection training at Goodfellow AFB. It’s a hard task to accomplish but if you keep your mind focused and stay strong it makes your time in training go by much faster. Out of the 5 Navy students in my class 0 graduated with me. All failed at least one test and had to be reclassed. The time I spent with my fellow Navy students I realized how easy they had it. The Navy does not have a time frame on when you need to complete the classes. Also the Navy allows their soldiers to fail multiple tests and continue in the fire protection courses. The Air Force will give you 5 chances during your training. They graciously allow you to retake an exam that you have failed, if you do not pass the retake exam you are reclassed. If this action persist 5 times you are the either reclassed to a different job field or revoked from the Air Force.

I am current active duty Navy Seabees, been in 6 yrs. How hard would it be to cross over to Air Force fire protection? I am trying to get closer to home (Washington state) which is why I am leaving the Seabees. Does anybody know how long of a wait it would be to get picked up for Fire Protection at McChord AFB?

Wow there’s a lot of questions that haven’t been answered on here. I’ve been in the Air Force Firefighter for five years, and I’m a Staff Sergeant (E-5).

Your first step is to talk to a recruiter and see if the USAF has any openings to be a firefighter. If they do, then you enlist for 4 years. If your an eagle scout or have some college credit hours you’ll receive the rank E-3 while your in BMT, about the fifth week in. If you don’t have that, don’t worry about it because you’ll be promoted to E-3 quickly enough anyways. (Most make E-5 in a little over 4 years from when they enlisted). You have be 18 years old. And yes, like all Air Force contracts, your job is guaranteed in writing; they cannot change it after you enlist.

There is absolutely no firefighting experience to be a USAF firefighter. In fact, if you’re on a civilian department first you might be trained differently then us, and it might screw you up a few times when your at our academy. If you do have previous experience before you go to our academy, its best to keep your mouth shut about it, especially if your a volunteer firefighter (we call them Jolly Vollys).

After you enlist, you’ll find yourself in BMT pretty quick. It sucks hardcore, and the USAF basic training has gotten much more difficult within the last few years. Its physically and mentally demanding. BMT is 8 weeks long, just remember its all a head game and don’t take anything personally. Work out a lot before you go. By the end of it you have to run a mile and a half in 12 minutes, 50 push-ups in a minute, 55 sit-ups in a minute (at least that’s what it was 5 years ago). You will be able to call home for 30 seconds your first week, and a 3 minute phone call around your third week if you earn it. After that you can call more more often if you earn it

After your done there you’ll go directly to San Angelo, Texas for the fire academy; one the best and toughest in the world. Its full name is the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy, Goodfellow AFB. All 5 branches train together to be firefighters in the military. In my class I had 10 USAF, 2 army, 2 marines, 1 Navy, and 1 Coast Guard, most of them will be fresh out of their bootcamps just like you. The academy is about 3 months long and I had some the best and worst times of my life there. It’s the second most physically demanding school in the Air Force, right behind Pararescue. By the end of the academy you have to do firefighter’s PT in under 8 minutes. If you don’t know what that is just look up some videos on Youtube, I know theres one that was filmed at the academy. If you can’t do it you can’t be a firefighter and you’ve just wasted 3 months of your life. You’ll have your choice of quitting the Air Force all together or switching to another job like services and go to their school. Don’t worry though, if they see you struggling at the beginning they’ll make you do extra PT after class with a personal trainer. When you’re out of the Academy, you’ll finish with Firefighter II, HazMAt Operations, First Responder, and Airport Firefighter. You’ll also be very close to earning an Associate’s of Fire Science, you just have to take a few online classes afterwards to earn it. Also, you won’t learn to drive the fire engines, crash trucks, and tankers until you’re at your duty station.

After the academy you’ll be shipped to your duty station. You usually get one of your first three picks of where you want to go. I know a guy who’s first choice was Germany and he got it. At this point, your wife and kids can live you again (of course they can’t while your in BMT or the academy). The Air Force will even ship all things to your new base for free. Deployments have just changed within the last weeks. Starting next year, all fire deployments will be 6 months. Deployments are just like your manning a normal fire station, only its in some other country. You’ll work a 24 on/ 24 off shift the whole time.

Matt- I’ve never heard of “hire rank” before, you can be a USAF right out of high school. I can’t tell what to do, but personally I had my Associate’s in Liberal Arts before I enlisted at the age of 20. Did it help me? Not really. I enlisted in the Air National Guard, I was never active duty. This means that after I went to BMT and the academy, I only go do the the military thing one weekend a month at my local airport. They also pay 100% tuition while you’re in. And since a guard enlistment is 6 years instead 4, you’ll have about 28 days a month for about 5 years to earn a bachelors degree in whatever you want. I’m actually graduating with my B.A. in Environmental Science from my local state university in a few weeks, I’m 24 years old, still in the guard and I’ve never been deployed. Now I’m looking for a full time job like any other college grad. If I find a job in another state, then I’ll just transfer to a job that’s closer to my new job. You just have to call a guard recruiter, not an active duty one.

Hope that helps

Do Air Force Fire Fighters go into combat at all?