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I was surfing YouTube, and I ran across an Air Force Senior Airman (E-4) who relates his journey in changing careers in the Air Force from an office job, to getting a flying job. There were two choices available to him at the time, loadmaster and flight attendant. Flight attendant came up first. When he made this career change, he already had six years in the Air Force, and he wanted to stay in. He hated his job, so he changed specialties.
If you search in YouTube or Google, you'll find his vlog easily enough. There aren't a lot of videos on that subject.
So I was aware that the Air Force has a fleet of VIP planes. I do remember that Nancy Pelosi, when she was Speaker of the House used VIP planes for much of her travel back to her home district in California. Apparently she would fly in a 12-seat jet, and when she wanted more and bigger, so it wouldn't require refueling, the Pentagon denied that. It made news. This was back in 2007/8.
Until I saw that vlog and an accompanying USAF recruiting video, I didn't realize how nice those planes were. I've ridden on space-available military planes for the hoi polloi, and they are nothing like those VIP planes.
Basically that fleet of airplanes is painted just like Air Force One, except the presidential seal is missing.
Flight attendant is an actual Air Force specialty, and I was taken aback that people would want to spend a military career attending to VIPs.
Yet I was a little surprised at what their job responsibilities include. Most everyone has traveled on a civilian airliner, and we all see what a civilian flight attendant does.
It's the same for an Air Force flight attendant, but there is more. They are responsible for preparing the meals that are eaten on that flight. As in they shop for the food, cook, and otherwise prepare it. They are also responsible for loading the VIP luggage in the belly of the plane, as well as cleaning the interior.
And, of course, there are perquisites when you serve important people with the flight attendants getting lots of travel around the world, and being able to stay in nice hotel rooms. They're usually hotels located on the military base that are set up for, well, VIPs. It beats the barracks.
When viewing this, I'm already annoyed that the military spends so much on VIP support. What annoyed me more was that these flight attendants don't wear USAF uniforms, though I guess their suit with vest and tie counts as a uniform. In my mind, they're military personnel, and should dress like them, not like a fake civilian.
When I joined the Coast Guard, and was stationed on my first buoy tender out of boot camp, one of my duties as a new crew member was to spend time in the crew's mess doing scullery duty. There would be two of us assigned there, and the idea was to switch out between acting as a steward in the wardroom (officer's mess for those not in the Navy or Coast Guard). He was even given a white coat, and the work was a lot easier than being in scullery. Instead of switching out, I told my counterpart I would stay in scullery my whole time.
I didn't want to serve the officers. I have to say, I kind of view those flight attendants the same way.
Discussion (27)
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The vast majority of USAF people I interacted with had jobs that were directly in line with obvious USAF objectives.
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Sure. This is definitely a niche specialty. As the vlogger said, most Air Force personnel can go through a whole career not knowing that the Air Force has flight attendants.
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“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” There is always a hierarchy, but some hierarchies are organic, while others are contrived. Military rank is organic given the way in which a military has to operate. Business organization is organic until someone foolishly creates positions and expectations that do not support profitability. Government organization is organic until it is bent to serve vanity and excessive power. What is irritating about the facts reflected in the OP is that a military is to be utilitarian not a vanity project.
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Huh. When I was in, I loved my job and wanted to stay in. But there was no way to advance and keep handling dogs (K9 Trainer and then Kennelmaster was the NCO track). So I separated.
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