mav031

They can guarantee a FIELD of work - Administration, Maintenance, Electronics and the dreaded General.

 

They told me I was qualified for General - and I though 'wow', I would enter as a lowly enlisted airman and apparently would soon be a General! I could envision the stars pinned on my collar!! Man, wuz I wrong!

 

By the time they got to me upon Graduation from Basic, it was Cook, Clerk, or Policeman. Police school was a mile across the base. Whoopee! 10 more weeks at Lackland!

Good to know I can at least narrow down a field. I want Broadcasting/Journalism, as that is where my professional background lies. He said that's very competitive and hard to get. SO I may need to re evaluate.

I didn't think the military recruited people as old as you? I thought the airforce cut off is 27ish. And 35 for the Army.

Yep. AF goes up to 39 now for enlisted. Cut off for Officer is 35, which I missed.

I am an AF Vet - 'Chair Force' - ha ha - I guess humping through the jungle to build sandbag bunkers to position an M-60 for incoming Viet Cong Sapper Teams qualifies me for a big ole Steak Sandwich and a Fluffy Pillow. That was a loooong time ago. I was a Combat Security Policeman.

 

But I digress....You'll be put in a 'Flight' of Basic Airmen - about 60-80 or so - at Lackland and the kids will be scared and lonely and confused and yes they will comment about your age - be a leader and you'll do fine. They may just promote you to an E-2 so that you get that instant respect - given your age.

 

Don't expect the Barber to be terribly gentle with his clippers - shearing 100's of heads a day makes him a pro, just not a gentle pro. If anyone comments about your scar, just tell them it was a surgery a long time ago. They'll drop it. They have a lot more things to worry about.

 

Have you been guaranteed your field of work yet? Getting those 1st orders out of Basic is what you're working for.

Thanks for the feedback.

My recruiter told me he can't guarantee me a job. I would have to list 10 different job choices in the order I would like them and they will pick one of them. Not sure if that sounds right or not. Would feel a lot better if he could guarantee me something, or at least narrow it down a little better.

Hey thanks for the shout-out Speegs, I definitely have some experience with HT's in the military in terms of both paperwork and dealing socially.

 

1. Yeah, you'll probably just have to deal with having a scar in boot camp. Just have a thick skin about it. Even though you can grow you hair out longer after boot camp, the military barbers are a crap-shoot and they've misunderstood my directions (even after I pull up my hair and show them the scar) and shaved my donor area way too low on numerous occasions, resulting in the usual inquires about whether I've been in some sort of car wreck, had brain surgery, etc. and the varying lengths of explanations I give them depending on what kind of interest they show in it - I usually don't bother with people who wouldn't care or ever need to understand (i.e. - women or the lucky guys with natural good hair). In boot camp though, you will never see 90% or more of those people ever again, so it doesn't really matter.

 

2. You'll probably have to drop the Rogaine for the 8-9 weeks of boot camp, but if you have an active prescription for Proscar/Finasteride then bring it (and several copies) to MEPS/boot camp to go into your medical record, and they should let you keep your doctor-prescribed meds. I saw some guys with prescription allergy meds, etc. in boot camp, and the Air Force is notoriously lenient among the various Armed Forces with this kind of thing.

 

I'm here to try and provide insight to any more questions you have, so ask away

Thanks man. That was some great insight.

1. I guess I'm just freaked out about shaving my head. I've never come close to doing that since my HT, and the idea of exposing that giant, stretched scar freaks me out. I just envision the other guys relentlessly mocking me or something like that.

2. I told my recruiter about the scar and my meds. He seemed a little unsure if I would be able to continue to take them during boot camp. You think this is something I can have them commit to before I sign up? I'm also slightly concerned about stopping Rogaine, as I respond very well to that.

3. Lastly, while I have your attention, can you give me insight into what life might be like for an older guy just starting out? I'm in my late 30's. Almost at the limit of what the AF takes. Did you encounter any older dudes while you were in basic, and how do the younger guys respond to that?

Thanks.

UPDATE: His name is OtherSyde, and here's a link to one of his threads about his procedures.

 

I encourage you to reach out him in a private message or on his thread and encourage him to discuss with you here on this thread for the benefit of any other vets that are wondering the same things you are.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/187757-1303-fut-hairline-dr-gabel-9-months.html

Awesome. I will def reach out to him. Thank you!

In the meantime, any other feedback is appreciated.

From top to bottom, finding a surgeon to recovery, I'd love to know what you all think as I'm in the process of deciding.

As a veteran of 2 HT's, I can chime in here...

1. The scar. This is my only regret. Wish I had the knowledge back then to go FUE.

2. Keeping up. Everytime I shed, or go through a shedding phase, I get a little panicked. Some weeks my hair looks thicker than others. It's a tiresome cycle.

Otherwise, I am happy I did it. Fingers crossed the native hairs hold up now.

Hey all,

Longtime lurker. First time posting.

I'm in my late 30's. Diffuse thinner. I've had 2 HT's in the past (900 grafts and 3000 grafts). Now of course I have a scar from ear to ear. The scar stretched a little, and is noticeable if I go below a #4 clip.

Anyway, for all my friends here, have any of you enlisted in the military AFTER getting a FUT hair transplant? OR.. have you seen someone in boot camp with that scar?

1. Shaving head. Clearly the whole squad including peers and superiors will see the scar. Anyone had to go through this or was with someone who went through this? I am mainly concerned with boot camp/basic training (after that I can grow it out a bit).

2. Medications. I use Proscar/Rogaine daily. When I stop either of those, my hair starts to shed again. Will I be able to use these in boot camp? How about after? What do you guys propose?

Thanks in advance! The branch I am looking at is the Air Force. Basic training is about 9 weeks long. If anyone can shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated.

Damn I wish I had gotten FUE.

My 1st HT was 10yrs ago. 900 grafts. I don't think FUE was really common back then.

My 2nd HT was in 2013. 3000 grafts. I figured since I already had a scar, I might as well do it again. However, the first scar was so small. I could have at least kept it to a minimum. Now I have a scar from ear to ear! Oh well.

Looks great so far OP. Would you mind if we asked how much it cost? If that's private, no worries. Looking forward to seeing the final results.