Hello all. I am an ATAN who is one day seeking to submit a sta-21 package. Mdream has always been to be an officer, a naval aviator in fact. I am very well educated about aviation. I am earning my gliders license and all i read is books on aviation and I am a well rounded avionics technician. I have a couple off issues that are bothering me however. In 2008 I was accelerated to third class out of school and well on my way to a great career, when I started making pooor choices on my liberty time and partying alot. I went to mast at 20 years old for underage drinking. Then later that year (5 months) my poor judgement lead me to another underage incident. So before my two year mark I had two incidents and probably should have been discharged. However, my chain of command backed me up alot and my CO being prior enlisted gave me yes, a third chance. After that second time, I realized i was lucky to still be in and till this day I never take it for granted. I love the Navy and all the opportunities and experience it offers you. Everyday at work I worked hard to prove I was on a different path and maturing as time went on. I got every qual i could get and even submitted requests to get quals that airmen werent meant to have. I proved alot of people that thought i was a "bad sailor" wrong, I even managed to pull off Rawhide of the quarter and nominated for Rawhide of the year ( that is like sailor of the quarter or year but for E-4 and below). I have since then gottten married and became alot more responsible on my liberty time. I am also in school with about 20 credits completed and also have another 14 from military training. I participate in community service and hope to build up 500-700 hours within the next year or so. I can't submit my first package till sept 2011, due to the NJP. So my question to you all is have any of you selectees ever had setbacks before in your career? My AMO said that he would 100% back me up and write a letter of recomendation when the time comes. I have come very far since 2008, and I refuse to let my young days haunt me from my dreams. I know that it will be almost impossible to pull off, but I am ready. I feel that my low times will make myself a better leader and officer one day. I have two years to submit the "ultimate package". If any of you have advice for me, good or bad inputs will be very well appreciated.
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I need some advice!
- Thread starter jdean3204
- Start date
Jdean, welcome to the website, and excellent post outlining your question and background. While the NJP will put you at a disadvantage, it is what you have done since then to set yourself on the right track that will be looked at by the board. Nothing is more critical than your day to day job in the military, excelling in that job, qualifying early and gaining the support of your command. It sounds like you are on the right path, and doing that for the last couple years. Do not let community service get in the way of that. A sailor with 700 service hours but is late to work, no endorsement from the chiefs or division officer do to poor performance at work would not enable you to reach your goals.
Your CO's endorsement and AMO letter of recommendation should specifically address the NJP and your performance then versus now. If all the board "sees" is a lackluster command endrsement and no details or remarks on the NJP, then you stand little chance of selection into what is ultimately a very competitive programs.
I personally think you are on the right track. Keep up the motivation, keep knocking out those quals, and KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN AND OUT OF TROUBLE!
Best of luck, I hope you make your dream a reality.
Your CO's endorsement and AMO letter of recommendation should specifically address the NJP and your performance then versus now. If all the board "sees" is a lackluster command endrsement and no details or remarks on the NJP, then you stand little chance of selection into what is ultimately a very competitive programs.
I personally think you are on the right track. Keep up the motivation, keep knocking out those quals, and KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN AND OUT OF TROUBLE!
Best of luck, I hope you make your dream a reality.
Jdean, sounds like you are on track now. Just keep pressing, stay positive, and give it all you've got. I used to be a COD maintainer too, AD to be exact 
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Spot
11.5 years and counting boat free
I swear I’m watching another version of myself here…I am a prior enlisted AT (P-3 IFT), always wanted to be an officer, loved aviation, and all of that stuff. But I’ve also been to mast over an alcohol related incident (got so wasted in Rota, Spain that I ended up in the hospital…8 hours before preflight). And I too had a large portion of my chain of command standing behind me in the CO’s office recommending the minimum punishment.
You are correct that you can’t submit a package for three years after your NJP. But the vital timeframe is right now. On the board, they will be looking to see just how hard you are willing to work, despite a major setback. Making life changes and overcoming obstacles, in my opinion, ranks much higher than the “stellar sailor” who has always done everything perfect.
In my case, I busted my ass to do everything the best that I could. After flights, I would stay 3 or 4 hours past the end of the work day to help fix gripes. When on my flights, I would sit on my toolbox at other stations learning how everyone does their jobs. At first, I did it because the spotlight was on me and everyone was watching to see whether or not I was worth saving during my NJP. But after a few months, I guess you could say I finally realized just how good I had it, and I worked that much harder for myself because I loved what I did; not because someone else was watching me.
Since then, I have submitted my STA-21 package, was selected, finished college, and now I’m in Pensacola as an SNFO. So it can be done.
You have a good attitude starting out by not letting your younger days haunt the future. The incidents will always be there though, and they will be hurdles to overcome. But more importantly, they will be learning experiences. And I wouldn’t say that being accepted is impossible. Even if it takes 2 or 3 times to get picked up, keep charging and submit a package every year you are eligible. Once you are picked up, you will be an extremely valuable asset to junior sailors because you have been through tough times, you have been to mast, and you have overcome and excelled.
Good luck.
If you have any other questions in the mean time, feel free to PM me.
You are correct that you can’t submit a package for three years after your NJP. But the vital timeframe is right now. On the board, they will be looking to see just how hard you are willing to work, despite a major setback. Making life changes and overcoming obstacles, in my opinion, ranks much higher than the “stellar sailor” who has always done everything perfect.
In my case, I busted my ass to do everything the best that I could. After flights, I would stay 3 or 4 hours past the end of the work day to help fix gripes. When on my flights, I would sit on my toolbox at other stations learning how everyone does their jobs. At first, I did it because the spotlight was on me and everyone was watching to see whether or not I was worth saving during my NJP. But after a few months, I guess you could say I finally realized just how good I had it, and I worked that much harder for myself because I loved what I did; not because someone else was watching me.
Since then, I have submitted my STA-21 package, was selected, finished college, and now I’m in Pensacola as an SNFO. So it can be done.
You have a good attitude starting out by not letting your younger days haunt the future. The incidents will always be there though, and they will be hurdles to overcome. But more importantly, they will be learning experiences. And I wouldn’t say that being accepted is impossible. Even if it takes 2 or 3 times to get picked up, keep charging and submit a package every year you are eligible. Once you are picked up, you will be an extremely valuable asset to junior sailors because you have been through tough times, you have been to mast, and you have overcome and excelled.
Good luck.
If you have any other questions in the mean time, feel free to PM me.
Lot's of good feedback here. I was also an AT, also got into trouble in the FRS for underage drinking, also turned myself around, and am commissioning next May.
I think it's safe to say that if you aren't "that guy" anymore, you have a great shot at becoming an officer. Good luck...
I think it's safe to say that if you aren't "that guy" anymore, you have a great shot at becoming an officer. Good luck...
First of all thank you to all the gentlemen that replied. I feel very enlightened by some of the things you had to say, and I know that the road ahead is going to be long and hard, but I know I can do it if I apply myself 100%. That is the beautiful thing about this country and especially the USN. I am already grabbing the bull by the horns and sorting out everything i need to create a stellar package. I need the board to know that my troubles early on were due to immaturity and that I have grown up alot since then. Another question is that if my high school transcripts werent that great, will good college transcripts somewhat cancel that out? My college transcripts will be great, I am sure of that. Once again thank you for the input and if you have anything else that may be helpful I would love to hear it. Also congrats to everyone that made it and that have already made their dreams a reality. That is a big inspiration to me and other future candidates that are starting this process of making our dreams come true.
ATAN Dean
ATAN Dean
Absolutely. To mitigate poor indicators of academic aptitude from high school, get as many college credits as you can, as many 4.0 college grades as you can, and the highest SAT scores you can get. That says to the board that you are capable of hacking it in college, you're committed to your education, and you have matured and turned things around.