Young
Sgt. Marcus Young, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is a heavy equipment operator by trade but he now spends his days recruiting for the Air Force and the U.S. Space Force across the south central part of Indiana.
Young, whose office is in Clarksville, recently spent time in Seymour and talked about what those two branches of the military can offer to young people who are undecided about their futures.
Airman Basic Uzziel Rubio of Jeffersonville was one of those this past year before he decided to join the Air Force.
The process of enlisting took Rubio about two weeks back in November.
“Then I went off to basic,” Rubio said. “That was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas … After basic training, I went off to Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Right now I’m home on leave. When my leave is over, I will be going to New Jersey and McGuire Air Force Base.”
Rubio said he was convinced to join the Air Force by his wife who had already joined.
“She told me about everything they (the Air Force) offers,” he said. “At the time I was working an electrical apprenticeship job, but I didn’t really see much of a future there. So, I kind of weighed out the options and saw that the Air Force might be the best option for me.”
Young said the biggest issue in finding applicants such is Rubio for openings is making sure they are actually qualified to join in the Air Force and Space Force.
Applicants have to score above a 31 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery aka ASVAB test before they can join either branch of the military, he said.
“We can’t take the test for an individual,” Young said, but they can help by preparing them for the test.
At this time, the Space Force consists of about 600 personnel and there are only 13 job openings, he said.
“We have those same 13 jobs in the Air Force,” Young said. “Their (the Space Force) sole mission is to monitor what goes on in space.”
He said those jobs are cyber, and successful applicants have to score in the 66 range on the ASVAB.
“We have the resources to help individuals obtain that goal if that’s what they want to do,” Young said.
The Air Force has the same jobs, but there are 27,000 personnel.
“So, it’s a lot easier to go into the Air Force for the same type of job and their process is a little bit different,” Young said.
Rubio has trained to conduct maintenance on the C-17 Globemaster, which is a large military transport aircraft.
“We’re considered crew chiefs, and we basically go over a whole inspection on the aircraft,” he said.
Young said there are only certain locations Rubio can be assigned to because of his job classification.
“There are only certain places where the planes he is working on are located,” he said.
Rubio’s wife has a medical job that is needed everywhere so she will be able to join when he takes up his permanent station at McGuire Air Force Base.
“They look for joint spouse bases,” Young said. “She’ll follow him since his job is only offered at certain bases.”
He said as a heavy equipment operator who was assigned to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, part of his job description called snow removal.
“But since there was no snow there, I different have to worry about that,” he said. “But I did have to worry about wildland fires because I was a part of the only wildland fire team in the Air Force.”
Young said he and Rubio are out not trying to get out the word that the Air Force and Space Force is an option for those who recently graduated from high school and are trying to figure out what to do next.
“The military provides education,” he said. “We pay 100% of tuition. We provide $4,500 in tuition assistance for every year that you are in and if you don’t use your education benefits while you are serving, you also can use your G.I. bill once you are out.”
Young said the benefits provided by the military are a great way to get into the workforce.
“I am just trying to make sure I am presenting an opportunity for anyone who is interested and qualifies to go through the process,” he said. “A lot of people think the military is the same as it was 40 years ago. It’s completely different.”
Young said the military has been revamped to cater to people’s everyday needs and lifestyle.
“Typically, we offer a lot of jobs that have fair hours and you have a lot of free time to do whatever you want to do,” he said.
There are jobs that pay well. At this time, the Air Force and Space Force are offering enlistment bonuses for a lot of those jobs right now. That will end Sept. 30.
Anyone interested or with questions regarding joining the Air Force may contact Young at 812-989-2749.
