TAC-P Recruiting/Enlistment

[Horse Soldier]

I'm interested in getting into TACC/TAC-P/whatever the proper term is.

I visited the ROMAD site online and saw on there that you can't enlist directly into into the field -- which is what my local USAF recruiter told me when I asked him about it (well, once I got the job code off the website for him, since he'd never heard of it).

That being the case, I am in the process of joining the USAF, going into the security forces, with the goal of cross-training into TACC.

Is thie feasible/logical/etc? My recruiter says it works, but I know a guy who was in the Air Force for a while and he cautioned me that you can only cross-train into "more critical" jobs.

Any help folks in the know can provide would be very appreciated.

[mdb23]

Let me start off by saying that I am not in the USAF, and that all of the folowing information was provided to me by a friend who happens to be an AF recruiter.

Yes, you must cross train into TACP, but you must be careful what AFSC you start off with. According to my source, SF is at a critical shortage, and supervisors are EXTREMELY reluctant to let anyone leave that field for any reason. Your best bet would probably be to go to the ROMAD site and look for an email POC. Email that person and BRIEFLY state that you are joining the AF, wish to cross train into TACP, and are wondering if any certain AFSC is easier to crosstrain over from. I did the same thing when I considered the AF after college (I was looking at the SERE instructor AFSC), and the SERE staff was more than willing to suggest jobs that they had little difficulty in pulling personnel from. Just for information, they told me to stay FAR AWAY from SF, linguist, or any IT job. However, there always exists the possibility that you may not be selected for TACP (or make it through the training), so be sure to get an AFSC that you can live with should that occur. For more, and probably better, information try the www.specialtactics.com (http://www.specialtactics.com) website. I believe they have a board devoted to TACP.

Good luck.

mdb23



[This message has been edited by mdb23 (edited 09-27-2001).]

[Jeff Rambo]

www.specialtactics.com (http://www.specialtactics.com) is your best bet. If only they hung out over here :-\

[lou]

you'll find very little information on romads at specialtactics.com. tacps belong to usaf acc. romad.com is the best place for any info on 1c4s. i'm a romad, and you CAN go directly into the 1c4 career field. your best bet is to get your contract changed before you leave, it's been done before. it'll be much harder to x-train later. from what i've seen, you'll have a better time being a romad than guarding a gate. good luck and check out the tacp site, we'll take care of you there.

[This message has been edited by lou (edited 09-30-2001).]

[Horse Soldier]

Thanks for the information.

I haven't signed anything on the dotted line yet as far as entering the USAF (my parole . . . I mean conditional release . . . from the National Guard just came through this week after 4 months of arguing with the moron bureaucrats who are supposed to process the things), so I'll see if the people at MEPS can square things away for me when I head down there.

[Horse Soldier]

Parenthetically, I just read in an earlier post that TACPs take the PAST test like CCTs and PJs.

A.) Is this true? and,

B.) How would it work if I were enlisting straight into the TACC job? Would I have to take the PAST test before enlisting, or would I have to take it before beginning Tech School?

Also,

C.) What would happen if I didn't pass the test? From what I understand of the test, I don't think I'd have much trouble with the "land based" portions of the test, but the swim might be a problem.

Thanks again for any information.

[300]

Aspiring TACP's take the army PT test and must score(i believe) a minimum of 60%. You used to take the test during basic with the 1C4 liason, so you may have to work out the right time to go to basic with your liar...er...recruiter.

[mdb23]

Sorry for the misinformation. I told my buddy that he is full of sh*t. However, he stated that, while you can go directly into the careeerfield via trying out and applying while at basic, you cannot get the TACP AFSC written into your contract. Therefore, you still must enlist under a different AFSC (or oopen contract), and, as previously stated, some AFSCs are hard to be released from.

Once again, sorry for the misinformation. I should have left this one to the real deals.

mdb23

[Horse Soldier]

I'd be coming into the USAF as prior service (I've got 8 years in the Army National Guard), so will be skipping basic training.

Any ideas where a PT test would enter the picture in my case?

[300]

Depending on where you live, you can have a mil rep give you the PT test and pass it to your recruiter who's responsible for passing it to the career reps, I believe. I know the rule of thumb for the cct/pj PAST is that a senior mil E or O can give you the PAST if there is no CCT/PJ unit within a 100 mile range or so..

[Jeff Rambo]

Likewise on my part, my apologies. Could of swore ST.COM had a TACP board.

[Squelch]

HorseSoldier,

E-mail me directly and I will put you in touch with one of our (TACP) recruiters at Lackland. Don't buy into the "come in as this and you can crosstrain" BS. We do need people in our job and we are one of the few careerfields that is continuously expanding to meet new missions. I can't tell you much about the PAST test, as I came into the job prior to it being all volunteer. My e-mail is Squelch275@hotmail.com.

[Squelch]

Originally posted by Jeff Rambo:
Likewise on my part, my apologies. Could of swore ST.COM had a TACP board.

While we do augment SOF forces and have some individuals with a few STSs, we have not been fully integrated. Our daddy (ACC) won't relinquish us to AFSOC, but this may change in the near future.

P.S. Thanks for including us on your board!!

[dsumner]

Also try contacting Charlie Heidel over at www.romad.com (http://www.romad.com) it's the TACP website. it's got a message board and links to other TACP sites including the SOF TACP recruiting site.

[Eagle49]

TACP tactical air control party 1C4X1, is a critically manned career field. It is not an accessible field outside of the AF you must be recruited from within while in basic training by one of the sanctioned recruiters. There is a tryout perhaps 4-5 weeks once; pending on the size of your class, you've entered Lackland. You must pass a class III physical and multiple individual interviews. TACP is no-mans-land it is the darkside of the AF. The reason for this is because TACP's bridge the gap between Army and AF, employed by the AF but never see an AF base, you will be stationed on Army bases for the term of your career however if you are one of the few that makes it through the tech school, and dont get booted out of the AF first you may just see an AF base once you reach senior master sargeant. If you wash out of TACP, there is no retrain for you, you go home right back to the couch where you first started to think about joining the AF. So, go ahead and enlist as an S.P. just make sure its something you want to do in the case you fall on your face during the trials. good luck...

[Fire-Gunner]

I'll bet Horse Soldier is probably an NCO by now!:D

Eagle49, fill out your profile, please.

[SN]

TACP tactical air control party 1C4X1, is a critically manned career field. It is not an accessible field outside of the AF you must be recruited from within while in basic training by one of the sanctioned recruiters. There is a tryout perhaps 4-5 weeks once; pending on the size of your class, you've entered Lackland. You must pass a class III physical and multiple individual interviews. TACP is no-mans-land it is the darkside of the AF. The reason for this is because TACP's bridge the gap between Army and AF, employed by the AF but never see an AF base, you will be stationed on Army bases for the term of your career however if you are one of the few that makes it through the tech school, and dont get booted out of the AF first you may just see an AF base once you reach senior master sargeant. If you wash out of TACP, there is no retrain for you, you go home right back to the couch where you first started to think about joining the AF. So, go ahead and enlist as an S.P. just make sure its something you want to do in the case you fall on your face during the trials. good luck...

Way to ressurect a thread that ran it's course four plus years ago.

[tactical_airman]

lol wow...this was an old post eh? Anyways might be wrong but incase any new commers look here I believe that you can take this as your AFSC before you goto Lackland. Pretty sure infact. Also the thing about never seeing an AF base is not really true, i'm going to one.