If I do get picked up by the board, where do I end up going? Straight to a VR, stay at the VTs, or something worked out between the detailer and I?
When you apply, you put which community(ies) you're applying for in your letter. It's changed since I was selected, so now you just put community and not the actual "sub-community." Part of that is because a lot of the RESFORON squadrons went away and/or merged (this mostly affected us helo guys).
So on your letter, you'll put "VP," "TRACOM," "VR," etc, in order of preference. For TRACOM, that could be either VT(p) locations, but you won't know that until later. At least that's how it was. Here's the catch, though...
Operational units get first pick. I'm sure VFA picks first, then HELO or VP (not sure which), then TRACOM or VR (not sure which order). So if you put TRACOM or VR ONLY, it's possible your AC eligibility slot may have already been filled for your YG by someone who said they wanted VP. If you've already dropped your letter, this isn't as big a deal. But here's the other part of the equation...if you haven't been rushing the unit (or Wing in the case of the TRACOM) before you go to the board, you're wrong. While it is a board, I'm convinced that often times the "right" person is picked for a particular unit. For squadrons like the helo or VP units, you're probably going to have an idea on where you're going when selected. For VR or TRACOM, it will be worked out later, unless you get a By Name request from the unit to the detailer. BTW, as a FTS JO, your detailer is the same as mine. It's just one guy, so it's a small world.
One last thought...don't completely discard VP as an option. If VP is like the rest of the Reserve units, AC VP probably does not equal Reserve VP. That's certainly the case on the helo side. But if you don't ever want to sit inside a P-3 again, that's cool too. Just understand it can limit your options.