Should I get/do the following before entering USAF?

Question

My friends tell me not to stress out about it, that "the service will help you with any of these things once you are in," but is it preferred you have all of this taken care of before going in?

1. Drivers License (I only have a State ID)

2. Passport

3. Learn how to swim

Will not having any of these things immediately available disqualify me from certain types of work? Just curious.

Never learned how to drive because I've always lived in big cities where public transport is faster and cheaper.

Passport expired. Almost drowned when I was small so I never made it a priority to learn how to swim. Only explaining because people always ask "How come?"

Answer 1

Absolutely get a drivers license before you join!  A state drivers license (any state) is required to drive any military vehicle and most AFSCs require one.  Life in the AF will be miserable without one.

A passport is handy to have, especially if you wish to travel overseas to countries that don't allow you to visit in your official capacity as a member of the armed forces.  An excellent example is Ireland.  When I was stationed in the UK, a civilian US passport was required to enter Ireland.  (If you need an official passport, it will be issued free of charge.  However for most overseas travel, your military ID and travel orders will be sufficient.)

Unless you want to go into Para-rescue, there's no need to be able to swim.  And you need to be an accomplished swimmer just to pass the entrance tests for PJ school.

Answer 2

Don't need to learn how to swim but some military job require driver license.

Answer 3

nah you dont need none of that as long as you have a government issued id you are good to go assuming you are a us citizen. you can get all of that stuff later, your recruiter will or should let you know everything before you ship off to boot.

ahh swimming? this aint the navy pal. I went through water survival training and boot camp and I still dont know how to swim LOL but having a life preserver makes you swim  

Answer 4

A driver lisence would help, of course, but they'll give you a passport when its necessary to go into other countries, you don't need to get that...And swimming, unless your going for a Tac-p job, you might need that.