AFROTC AFSC Dropped, Want to change it

T

The Irish Potato

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Nov 10, 2016
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So yesterday my AFSC dropped as 63A1 (Acquisitions), and frankly, this just sounds like a miserable experience to me. If I wanted to do business, I'd have majored in it and stayed private sector. Additionally, planning and finance just make my eyes glaze over.

Personal issues with the field aside, does anyone know how I might go about changing it? I was really hoping for Security Forces, but right now I'm just looking for options.
 
You signed up to serve in any position that the AF wanted to give you. and unfortunately that is how all of the stats and preferences worked out. Bloom where you are planted and get ready to update your form 53 for your training base.
 
I will do what I must. I've heard of cadets getting theirs switched and have been told it can be done, I just don't know the how of it and want to explore the option.
 
You can do an operational experience as an acquisitions officer to space, cyber or other fields. There are probably more cool opportunities you don't even realize. Just seek them out and you'll be fine.
 
Personally if I wasn't going for RPA I really wanted acquisitions or contracts (Accounting major)! It actually could be a lot more interesting than you think! Yes, sometimes I imagine there will be a lot of boring work but after talking with some officers I learned there can be some neat things accomplished. How would you like to be in charge of acquiring a component of the B-21 Raider? My FTO at FT was lead on a F-35 component in his twenties. Where else do you get that experience?
 
Some people, such as yourself, may like working with numbers and overseeing a plan come to fruition. Personally, I've never done well with math and long term planning and find them to be very dull and draining. I could be overseeing the development of a rail gun, and I still wouldn't have the warm fuzzies over it. I'm not saying the job isn't important or that it doesn't have its perks. I'm saying that I'm not well suited to the job. It'd be a bit like trying to turn a bolt with a hammer, it might get done but it won't be good for the tool or the project.
 
The Irish Potato said:
Personally, I've never done well with math and long term planning and find them to be very dull and draining.
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What do you think that you are going to be doing as an officer in Security Forces? You will not be driving around in a Humvee with a weapon chasing bad guys. You will be calculating crowd sizes and doing planning for a base airshow that is expecting 100,000 attendees. You will be planning long-term base defense installations and meeting with contractors to get them built. You will be planning force sizes and working to get the personnel to your site to keep your base safe. As an officer in any AFSC you will be working with math and long-term planning.

Stealth_81
 
Look into cross-commissioning into the Army. One of my son's best friends in Infantry BOLC was from the AFA. I'm not sure about the process, but I can assure you you wouldn't be in Acquisitions as a 2LT.
 
Stealth_81 said:
What do you think that you are going to be doing as an officer in Security Forces? You will not be driving around in a Humvee with a weapon chasing bad guys. You will be calculating crowd sizes and doing planning for a base airshow that is expecting 100,000 attendees. You will be planning long-term base defense installations and meeting with contractors to get them built. You will be planning force sizes and working to get the personnel to your site to keep your base safe. As an officer in any AFSC you will be working with math and long-term planning.

Stealth_81
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That's fair and I don't expect to escape those two entirely and I'm not expecting to be out in the field. That said, risk assessment and base defense sounds good to me. Translating what an operator wants into something that I can take to a contractor to build within a budget, to then take to engineers for testing, and then installed. Not so much.

Regardless though, I'm not asking to be convinced of the position. I already have people trying to do that. I just want to know if anyone knows if it can't be changed and how.
 
Jcc123 said:
Look into cross-commissioning into the Army. One of my son's best friends in Infantry BOLC was from the AFA. I'm not sure about the process, but I can assure you you wouldn't be in Acquisitions as a 2LT.
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I've considered it and am talking to a few AROTC instructors at the moment to get some information on whether that is a route I want to pursue.
 
I know two cadets who are both very unhappy with the AFSC's they just got and both wanted the AFSC that the other got. They put in a request with the cadre to switch and they're going to pass it up the chain to see if it's possible. I've heard of this happening before so this may be a possibility? Finding someone who desires the AFSC you have and asking HQ for a trade?

I'm really hoping it works out for them because they are both well qualified for the job they want, I think the AF sees the value in having good people in jobs they really care about....they just can't make everyone happy. Good luck to you OP, I'm not certain you'll be fortunate enough to find someone in SF that wants Acquisitions, but if you do find someone wanting to trade for your job it's certainly worth a shot.
 
Unless you were a Rated EA that didn't get a rated AFSC there is no immediate way to change your assignment before commissioning. Some of my friends were given rated positions (Mostly CSO) just weeks before commissioning but none going from nonrated to nonrated. In Active Duty there are reassignment boards but it's very few and usually towards high demand AFSCs like Cyberspace or any of the rated positions. Now you can go talk with your cadre about your displeasure of getting your AFSC but most likely they will say it's the needs of the Air Force that matters over your desires. You signed a contact and swore an Oath that basically requires you to oblige the will of the Air Force. If the Air Force wants you to be an Acquisitions Officer then you will be an Acquisitions Officer.

Now with that in mind you have two options:
- Stay and commission as an Acquisitions Officer and hopefully down the line you can compete for a reassignment board for a more preferred AFSC. Now this requires grit and the performance of being the best at your situation. If your commander sees you as an excellent officer with an excellent attitude and work ethic as an Acquisitions Officer you have a favorable report for reassignment. On the other hand if you have a poor attitude and never do anything but wish you were somewhere else you're gonna have a bad time and you'll probably not going to be reassigned.
- Leave. It sounds cruel but if you're not happy with being an Acquisitions Officer life is too short to waste 4 years in an AFSC you think you'll not enjoy. Then again you have already spent 2-3 years in ROTC and have already invested in time and effort to a career in the military. If this option feels much easier than doubling down and being the best Acquisitions Officer in hopes of reassignment than do so. If you're battling yourself for both options consider talking to a young Acquistions Officer for guidance and see how their work is. If you're still considering leaving tell yourself you will leave first and consider alternate options. Then tell your peers you're leaving and see what they have to say. Lastly tell your cadre you're leaving and have a logical and rational reason for leaving along with your plan after you leave. If you jump to telling your cadre that you're leaving first you are not allowing others to show their perspectives that you didn't realize and you are more likely to burn bridges that you may require in the future.

Non Ducor Duco said:
I know two cadets who are both very unhappy with the AFSC's they just got and both wanted the AFSC that the other got. They put in a request with the cadre to switch and they're going to pass it up the chain to see if it's possible. I've heard of this happening before so this may be a possibility? Finding someone who desires the AFSC you have and asking HQ for a trade?

I'm really hoping it works out for them because they are both well qualified for the job they want, I think the AF sees the value in having good people in jobs they really care about....they just can't make everyone happy. Good luck to you OP, I'm not certain you'll be fortunate enough to find someone in SF that wants Acquisitions, but if you do find someone wanting to trade for your job it's certainly worth a shot.
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Easier said than done. Finding someone that would want to trade SF is hard enough. The paperwork that would take to switch AFSCs is long. The amount of red tape and command approval takes a lot of time that cadre most times doesn't consider this an option. Switching FT Maxes is easy because it stays in the ROTC command range but switching AFSCs means notifying AETC for training, AFPC for personnel info, etc. The two cadets that you know are very lucky to have mutual interest in switching each other's AFSC this early of the game.
 
Do good enough at your job in acquisitions and you could probably go where ever you want in the AF.
 
AlphaAlphaSigma said:
Unless you were a Rated EA that didn't get a rated AFSC there is no immediate way to change your assignment before commissioning. Some of my friends were given rated positions (Mostly CSO) just weeks before commissioning but none going from nonrated to nonrated. In Active Duty there are reassignment boards but it's very few and usually towards high demand AFSCs like Cyberspace or any of the rated positions. Now you can go talk with your cadre about your displeasure of getting your AFSC but most likely they will say it's the needs of the Air Force that matters over your desires. You signed a contact and swore an Oath that basically requires you to oblige the will of the Air Force. If the Air Force wants you to be an Acquisitions Officer then you will be an Acquisitions Officer.

Now with that in mind you have two options:
- Stay and commission as an Acquisitions Officer and hopefully down the line you can compete for a reassignment board for a more preferred AFSC. Now this requires grit and the performance of being the best at your situation. If your commander sees you as an excellent officer with an excellent attitude and work ethic as an Acquisitions Officer you have a favorable report for reassignment. On the other hand if you have a poor attitude and never do anything but wish you were somewhere else you're gonna have a bad time and you'll probably not going to be reassigned.
- Leave. It sounds cruel but if you're not happy with being an Acquisitions Officer life is too short to waste 4 years in an AFSC you think you'll not enjoy. Then again you have already spent 2-3 years in ROTC and have already invested in time and effort to a career in the military. If this option feels much easier than doubling down and being the best Acquisitions Officer in hopes of reassignment than do so. If you're battling yourself for both options consider talking to a young Acquistions Officer for guidance and see how their work is. If you're still considering leaving tell yourself you will leave first and consider alternate options. Then tell your peers you're leaving and see what they have to say. Lastly tell your cadre you're leaving and have a logical and rational reason for leaving along with your plan after you leave. If you jump to telling your cadre that you're leaving first you are not allowing others to show their perspectives that you didn't realize and you are more likely to burn bridges that you may require in the future.


Easier said than done. Finding someone that would want to trade SF is hard enough. The paperwork that would take to switch AFSCs is long. The amount of red tape and command approval takes a lot of time that cadre most times doesn't consider this an option. Switching FT Maxes is easy because it stays in the ROTC command range but switching AFSCs means notifying AETC for training, AFPC for personnel info, etc. The two cadets that you know are very lucky to have mutual interest in switching each other's AFSC this early of the game.
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I never said I thought it'd be easy, I don't even think the two cadets I talked about have a simple road ahead of them. I highly doubt he'll find someone in SF willing to switch but anything can happen so I didn't discount it. Idk how many people are desperate to trade for Acquisition in general either but it's got to be more than ppl with SF wanting a trade. BUT it is a possibility so it's worth looking into b/c there are very few ways to get a job change at this point.

Also just leaving the AF is easier said than done. We're pretty locked in at this point. He'd have to convince the AF to give up the years of investment they put into him and then convince the army to take him. Should probably confirm with someone that this is even possible.
 
FWIW you can switch to reserve/guard...they're still taking plenty for the next FY. And you can choose your job and your base. I have a few friends that did that. One was sort of in your situation- they received an AFSC they didn't particularly want plus a 2 year ops tour in a different AFSC as discussed above. Instead they found a reserve base nearby with the job they wanted and boom. Paperwork and a few months later they got their contract switched, the AFSC they wanted, and their civilian career squared away... Granted they'll have to do a bit of extra traveling for the 1 weekend/month/2weeks/yr/whatever else TDY comes their way should they volunteer- the long term goal was worth it. May be worth it to you as well. You would work with a local AFR officers ascension recruiter. You will, however, have to be putting in a ton of the legwork.
 
The Irish Potato said:
Some people, such as yourself, may like working with numbers and overseeing a plan come to fruition. Personally, I've never done well with math and long term planning and find them to be very dull and draining. I could be overseeing the development of a rail gun, and I still wouldn't have the warm fuzzies over it. I'm not saying the job isn't important or that it doesn't have its perks. I'm saying that I'm not well suited to the job. It'd be a bit like trying to turn a bolt with a hammer, it might get done but it won't be good for the tool or the project.
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Just like what @Stealth_81 said, even as a SF officer you won't be doing any of the actual job. Most "law enforcement" tasks are handled by OSI if on base except for base defense. Added to that, as a SF officer you are there to manage people and not necessarily do the job. Ask a whole bunch of SF officers and I'm sure you will get the same officer to a certain extent.
 
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