How do you get a job doing surveillance?

Do I pick my job for the Air Force or does my recruiter? How do get the job I want?

• I am a college graduate, I scored a 98 on the ASVAB, and I got through MEPS with no problems. I want to do Airborne Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Operations (1A8X2). I made it clear to my recruiter that I want a flying job that deals with intelligence and will get me a Top Secret security clearance. I listed a few flying jobs at MEPS such as Airborne Comms (1A3X1 I believe). However, my recruiter just called me and said he got me a contract for Air Traffic Control, a job that doesn't entail any of the three attributes I'm looking for. How can I go about getting an Airborne Intell job?

• Answer:

  1. The job doesn't get you a TS clearance. You earn one after passing the SSBI. 2. The majority of airmen enlist with a guaranteed aptitude area and then jobs in that area are selected for them. Some go with guaranteed AFSCs, but that's not the common way to go. (Some people go open general! Those people are screwed.) 3. ATC is a good job. I would take it. You can't just get the job you want. If your MAGE scores qualified you for 1A8X2, and there are no slots open for that AFSC, you can't get it, no matter how much you think you deserve it. By the way, just in case you need a welcome into military reality, you don't get to pick where you live, when you move, what you wear while you're working, what job you do once you're enlisted (because even an intel guy will work in the motor pool if the CO says he's working in the motor pool), what you eat while you're in training, or whether you put your hands in your pockets when it's cold either.