Welcome to the Communications AFSC discussion blog. The purpose of this blog is to foster discussion between future Air Force officers interested in the Communications career field and current officers in the Communications. The views expressed in this blog are solely the opinions of the individual authors and not of the United States Air Force nor the Department of Defense.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Questions
Cadets, please post questions here as comments on this post that you'd like to see turned into new threads for discussion.
No, you don't have to have any specific degree to be a comm officer. At my last shop we had folks with degrees ranging from EE, to Psychology, to Computer Science, to Philosophy.
Your job as a comm officer will be to do more oversight and project management. Although you may have opportunities for some 'hands-on' stuff, that won't be the bulk of your work.
Comm is a very broad career field. If you are assigned to an SCB Flight (base level comm) or HQ NOSC (Network Operations & Security Center) one of your duties may be to oversee the operation of the help desk. A good way to learn is to get out there and work the desk. However, working the help desk is not generally a 33S duty.
As with just about every job in the AF today, you will absolutely have an opportunity to get deployed.
I went to the AFPC website and saw that Comm is the most over manned AFSC in the Air Force with a 34% vulnerability rate. Am i in danger of being involuntarily force shaped? I was hoping to make the Air Force a career.
I wish I had a better answer to this, but the truth is that trying to project the RIF is much like trying to read tea leaves. Generally speaking, one's RIF eligibility depends on two factors: 1) your AFSC and 2) your year group. The data that you saw for comm is correct, but it doesn't apply equally to all year groups. For example, my commissioning year group is 2003 and we're currently not targeted for the RIF. Of course, none of this is written in stone and subject to change depending on the needs of the Air Force. Realistically, there is no way to project whether any particular YG/AFSC combination will be more or less susceptible to RIF in the future.
For example (and this is hypothetical), say Intel is currently critically manned. As a result, the AF assesses more Intel Officers. Simultaneously, losses from the Intel field are lower than projected. It's entirely possible that in a few years, they could be looking at Intel for possible RIF candidates, even though it was critically manned just a few years prior.
I guess the short answer to your question is, your guess is as good as mine.
I visited Lackland last summer and they said that the squadron was going to go from 400 civilian and military to 40 civilians and no military. I also heard that the Comm Squad here at the Academy was going that route as well. Is this downsizing something that is happening Air Force wide and if so, what kind of jobs will be available to Comm Officers in the future?
Remember that anything said in this blog is just opinions based on our observations and experiences. For official information you would have to reference AFPC website or talk to someone from that office.
I think what Deejeigh said is pretty accurate. It's really hard to answer your question right now. The Reduction in Force board will be meeting to look at people who were commissioned in the 95-01 time frame (except 99). Based on the current matrix, it appears that they will be involuntarily separating peole from every year group, with people 00-01 receiving the most cuts. Also I think the Force Reduction board will be primarily looking at people from the 2004 year group, which will also likely see significant comm officer cuts. As far as newly commissioned communications officers, we really don't know anything about that and what will happen in a few years. The current info dictates that they will not involuntarily separate anyone before the 2 year point, so I think the best advice is to start building a good record immediately.
Based on the little knowledge I have, what you are hearing appears to be correct and it seems to be pretty much Air Force-wide. All base level comm squadrons are likely to see major downsizing over the next few years.
what does this mean for comm officers? It almost certainly means they will need less of us (as seen by the amount of comm officers the Air Force is trying to get rid of). In some year groups the Air Force is trying to get rid of over 100 comm officers within the next year.
As far as what this means for types of jobs we will hold, I really don't have the answer to that. My guess is that there will still be plenty of staff jobs available at Majcom and Headquarters levels. Also, there will likely be comm officer jobs available at the major network hubs the Air Force is going to. Ultimately I imagine there will still be some comm officer jobs available at every Air Force base, but the number of them will certainly be significantly smaller. Also, there are places like the Air Force Communications Agency at Scott AFB which has a ton of comm officers, although I'm not sure exactly how they will be affected by this. There are also comm jobs in intelligence, program offices, combat comunications, etc that I don't imagine will be affected very much.
Unfortunately I can't give a great answer to your question because there is so much that is unknown right now, but hopefully this helps you out a bit. If you want more information on something specific, let us know.
With all these changes, is it likely that the choices that we had available for our first base choices may have changed significantly? I don't suspect that you will really have this info. All I know is my fiancee is going to kill me if I end up somewhere else. Grad School apps were expensive and time consuming!
I was interested in what kind of hands on experience there is in the 33 field. I'm interested in cyber defense and information warfare and I was wondering if this was getting picked up by the Comm field (and which AFSC specifically) or the Intel field. Also I have a decent background with computers and networks, assuming I go for 33 would I have a choice what I do or would I be stuck in a comm shop and be that Lt. that isn't allowed to touch anything?
As a member of the "Nerdy Dozen" ('08 comp sci majors), I share Jason's question, and was also wondering what the requirements/competiveness of combat comm slots were
First: Downsizing. It is true that many base level comm squadrons may be downsizing, but that is partially due to MAJCOM NOSCs taking over some of the functions typically performed at base level (e.g., Boundary Protection - proxies and firewalls). However, these 'downsizes' reflect changes in the Network Security/CND side of the house. Comm encompasses WAY more than just that. So while CND jobs at base level may be moving to HQ level, telephone, ATCALS, Plans, etc. may still be found at base level.
Second: Knowledge I can't really say that I wish I had known something then that I know now. However, one of the reasons I chose comm is b/c I'm joint-spouse and I liked the possibilty of assignements that comm offered. But, even with downsizing & consolidation of services, I'm not sure that there's another AFSC that offers as large a variety of possible assignment locations.
Third: Leadership Generally speaking, as an MX officer you're probably going to have more of an opportunity to supervise/lead troops (active duty airmen) than you will as a new Comm officer. However, this doesn't imply that you won't have ample opportunity to lead - even as a brand new 2d Lt. It all depends on where you get stationed and what's going on there (ops tempo, deployments, etc.).
Fourth: Hands-On Network Defense and IW are parts of the very braod 33S career field. They are not a separate designator or shred out (the only shred out is for engineers). As a general rule, don't expect to be very hands-on, especially at first. You will have opportunities to work on various devices (routers, switches, firewalls, proxies) but for the most part, that's not your job...you're there to lead the technicians who are there to do the work. But, as with everything, there are exceptions. For example, in my last job, I was in charge of exercises for the command. Part of that duty included having a 'range' network supplied by AFCA. When the range wasn't in use, I was free to do whatever I pleased with it. The beauty of this was, if I dorked it up, there was zero operational impact, and all I had to do was re-image the device. Chances are, you're not going to be allowed to "play and learn" on operational equip.
Agree with comments above. You will definitely have hands on leadership experience.
I just came from a tour in Combat Comm and they are getting many 2Lt accessions. I think it is very likely at some point you'll do a rotation in combat comm, so stay in shape.
15 comments:
Do you have to have a specific degree to be a comm officer?
Also, do you do a lot of the wiring/etc. for the base, or do you just oversee the enlisted troops/contractors that do it?
Do you have to work the help desk?
Do you have the opportunity to get deployed?
No, you don't have to have any specific degree to be a comm officer. At my last shop we had folks with degrees ranging from EE, to Psychology, to Computer Science, to Philosophy.
Your job as a comm officer will be to do more oversight and project management. Although you may have opportunities for some 'hands-on' stuff, that won't be the bulk of your work.
Comm is a very broad career field. If you are assigned to an SCB Flight (base level comm) or HQ NOSC (Network Operations & Security Center) one of your duties may be to oversee the operation of the help desk. A good way to learn is to get out there and work the desk. However, working the help desk is not generally a 33S duty.
As with just about every job in the AF today, you will absolutely have an opportunity to get deployed.
I went to the AFPC website and saw that Comm is the most over manned AFSC in the Air Force with a 34% vulnerability rate. Am i in danger of being involuntarily force shaped? I was hoping to make the Air Force a career.
Comm and Reduction in Force:
I wish I had a better answer to this, but the truth is that trying to project the RIF is much like trying to read tea leaves. Generally speaking, one's RIF eligibility depends on two factors: 1) your AFSC and 2) your year group. The data that you saw for comm is correct, but it doesn't apply equally to all year groups. For example, my commissioning year group is 2003 and we're currently not targeted for the RIF. Of course, none of this is written in stone and subject to change depending on the needs of the Air Force. Realistically, there is no way to project whether any particular YG/AFSC combination will be more or less susceptible to RIF in the future.
For example (and this is hypothetical), say Intel is currently critically manned. As a result, the AF assesses more Intel Officers. Simultaneously, losses from the Intel field are lower than projected. It's entirely possible that in a few years, they could be looking at Intel for possible RIF candidates, even though it was critically manned just a few years prior.
I guess the short answer to your question is, your guess is as good as mine.
I visited Lackland last summer and they said that the squadron was going to go from 400 civilian and military to 40 civilians and no military. I also heard that the Comm Squad here at the Academy was going that route as well. Is this downsizing something that is happening Air Force wide and if so, what kind of jobs will be available to Comm Officers in the future?
@ Polar Bear
Remember that anything said in this blog is just opinions based on our observations and experiences. For official information you would have to reference AFPC website or talk to someone from that office.
I think what Deejeigh said is pretty accurate. It's really hard to answer your question right now. The Reduction in Force board will be meeting to look at people who were commissioned in the 95-01 time frame (except 99). Based on the current matrix, it appears that they will be involuntarily separating peole from every year group, with people 00-01 receiving the most cuts. Also I think the Force Reduction board will be primarily looking at people from the 2004 year group, which will also likely see significant comm officer cuts. As far as newly commissioned communications officers, we really don't know anything about that and what will happen in a few years. The current info dictates that they will not involuntarily separate anyone before the 2 year point, so I think the best advice is to start building a good record immediately.
@ Kristopher
Based on the little knowledge I have, what you are hearing appears to be correct and it seems to be pretty much Air Force-wide. All base level comm squadrons are likely to see major downsizing over the next few years.
what does this mean for comm officers? It almost certainly means they will need less of us (as seen by the amount of comm officers the Air Force is trying to get rid of). In some year groups the Air Force is trying to get rid of over 100 comm officers within the next year.
As far as what this means for types of jobs we will hold, I really don't have the answer to that. My guess is that there will still be plenty of staff jobs available at Majcom and Headquarters levels. Also, there will likely be comm officer jobs available at the major network hubs the Air Force is going to. Ultimately I imagine there will still be some comm officer jobs available at every Air Force base, but the number of them will certainly be significantly smaller. Also, there are places like the Air Force Communications Agency at Scott AFB which has a ton of comm officers, although I'm not sure exactly how they will be affected by this. There are also comm jobs in intelligence, program offices, combat comunications, etc that I don't imagine will be affected very much.
Unfortunately I can't give a great answer to your question because there is so much that is unknown right now, but hopefully this helps you out a bit. If you want more information on something specific, let us know.
With all these changes, is it likely that the choices that we had available for our first base choices may have changed significantly? I don't suspect that you will really have this info. All I know is my fiancee is going to kill me if I end up somewhere else. Grad School apps were expensive and time consuming!
Is there anything that you know now that you wished you would have known then (when you were choosing your AFSC)?
What kind of leadesrhip experience do you get being a comm officer?
How would the leadership opportunities differ from being a maintenance officer?
I was interested in what kind of hands on experience there is in the 33 field. I'm interested in cyber defense and information warfare and I was wondering if this was getting picked up by the Comm field (and which AFSC specifically) or the Intel field. Also I have a decent background with computers and networks, assuming I go for 33 would I have a choice what I do or would I be stuck in a comm shop and be that Lt. that isn't allowed to touch anything?
As a member of the "Nerdy Dozen" ('08 comp sci majors), I share Jason's question, and was also wondering what the requirements/competiveness of combat comm slots were
Great questions.
First: Downsizing.
It is true that many base level comm squadrons may be downsizing, but that is partially due to MAJCOM NOSCs taking over some of the functions typically performed at base level (e.g., Boundary Protection - proxies and firewalls). However, these 'downsizes' reflect changes in the Network Security/CND side of the house. Comm encompasses WAY more than just that. So while CND jobs at base level may be moving to HQ level, telephone, ATCALS, Plans, etc. may still be found at base level.
Second: Knowledge
I can't really say that I wish I had known something then that I know now. However, one of the reasons I chose comm is b/c I'm joint-spouse and I liked the possibilty of assignements that comm offered. But, even with downsizing & consolidation of services, I'm not sure that there's another AFSC that offers as large a variety of possible assignment locations.
Third: Leadership
Generally speaking, as an MX officer you're probably going to have more of an opportunity to supervise/lead troops (active duty airmen) than you will as a new Comm officer. However, this doesn't imply that you won't have ample opportunity to lead - even as a brand new 2d Lt. It all depends on where you get stationed and what's going on there (ops tempo, deployments, etc.).
Fourth: Hands-On
Network Defense and IW are parts of the very braod 33S career field. They are not a separate designator or shred out (the only shred out is for engineers). As a general rule, don't expect to be very hands-on, especially at first. You will have opportunities to work on various devices (routers, switches, firewalls, proxies) but for the most part, that's not your job...you're there to lead the technicians who are there to do the work. But, as with everything, there are exceptions. For example, in my last job, I was in charge of exercises for the command. Part of that duty included having a 'range' network supplied by AFCA. When the range wasn't in use, I was free to do whatever I pleased with it. The beauty of this was, if I dorked it up, there was zero operational impact, and all I had to do was re-image the device. Chances are, you're not going to be allowed to "play and learn" on operational equip.
Agree with comments above. You will definitely have hands on leadership experience.
I just came from a tour in Combat Comm and they are getting many 2Lt accessions. I think it is very likely at some point you'll do a rotation in combat comm, so stay in shape.
What is the difference between 33SX and 33SXA? I know that 33SX can go anywhere but where can 33SXA be assigned?
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