So my fiance is joining the Air Force.

having several close friends in the airforce, 4 stateside, 1 overseas in japan, and 4 more gearing up for basic, i do have to say they are probably in the best hands militarily. only 2% of the airforce sees combat, and of that 2% significantly less are on the ground in it. they count mid-air refuelers in their 2% as well, the one in japan is doing that currently and he is still listed as non-deployed. a friend of the family told me a story recently about the differences with the airforce and the rest, which boils down to: he was in the national guard living in a tent city building bases in the middle east. he had to build the airconditioned condos and living quarters assigned to the air force guys when they got there. when the building was finished the airforce was moved in and he had to continue living in his tent, a quarter mile from those quarters, for 4 more months.

you mentioned communications when you were talking about it. i would assume that he is at least moderately experienced with electronics, if this is so and he gets such a job, he may never leave the states, and if he does it will probably be a base way behind lines just routing com traffic or working on a computer all day.

its a scary thought when loved ones join the military and there are definitely many emotions that go along with it. the thing to remember is be optimistic, the odds are on his side, he loves you, and he will eventually get to do whatever it is he wants with his life, whether it be this, or anything else, including providing a life and living for your family for the rest of your lives.

(ps, if he decides to stay in, the air force has a ridiculously good retirement for its people, you guys would be set forever, seriously )

tl;dr odds are for him, and air force gets the goods where it counts on deploy