Credit Checks in the Air Force?

You should do what your recruiter told you to do. Get used to following orders, there will be a lot more.

Either you can pay them off now and try again or you can join another branch and pay it off after your first paycheck. Either way, you're going to have to pay them sooner or later. Going to another recruiter isn't going to help if the Air Force as a whole isn't taking people with bills in collections.

There are so many peoplke trying to enlist, they use anything to weed people out.

The problem is, your debt is in collections status, not that you have debt.

So call them up and set up a payment plan, to get the debt out of collections.

Nope they wont touch you until that debt is paid off. It shows them that you cannot handle your finances and your are irresponsible with money.