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Navy/USMC Aviation and Age. Am I done?

Plush Pilot

New Member
Hey all. I have been training with the Marine Corps for 6-8 months now and am getting dangerously close to my 29th birthday. The Corps has offered me an age waiver up to 29.5 I believe is what they said, but don’t yet have an appt. to NAMI and I heard it can take months to get there and get results back. Furthermore, an age waiver is req. for OCS after age 28, and the guy my recruiters send their apps. to apparently, “doesn’t like old lieutenants” and will likely not accept my waiver and push me to be a reserve officer. I am already a pvt. pilot w/ an Instrument Rating and a few hundred hours, just shy of my commercial, passed the ASTB/OAR with pretty good marks, and am trying to fly. Are there options to fly as a MC reserve officer? Will the Navy offer me an age waiver past 29 as well? Do I still have NFO/WSO options or am I done for an aviation career?? Thanks guys.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I'll say this, the USMC isn't going to have an NFO platform in just a couple years, so that's not going to be a viable option for you.
 

Scruff

Registered User
None
Contributor
Last I heard the age waiver for USN (Non-Prior) was 27. And its non-waiverable, no questions asked.
 

Criminal

God's personal hacky sack
pilot
Hey all. I have been training with the Marine Corps for 6-8 months now and am getting dangerously close to my 29th birthday. The Corps has offered me an age waiver up to 29.5 I believe is what they said, but don’t yet have an appt. to NAMI and I heard it can take months to get there and get results back. Furthermore, an age waiver is req. for OCS after age 28, and the guy my recruiters send their apps. to apparently, “doesn’t like old lieutenants” and will likely not accept my waiver and push me to be a reserve officer. I am already a pvt. pilot w/ an Instrument Rating and a few hundred hours, just shy of my commercial, passed the ASTB/OAR with pretty good marks, and am trying to fly. Are there options to fly as a MC reserve officer? Will the Navy offer me an age waiver past 29 as well? Do I still have NFO/WSO options or am I done for an aviation career?? Thanks guys.

First post here in a long time. I happen to be in the USMC officer "recruiting industry" currently for my b billet. Waivers are a huge part of my job.
Bottom line, no you are not done for. That can be waived for a bit longer. The real question is are you even competitive for an air slot, cause it is insanely competitive. Above that, you have to be even more competitive due to your age. Your pft has to be top notch. What have you been doing for the past 7 years, your peers joined that many years ago, what makes you and your experiences stand out. I've had a couple air age waivers approved lately, but theyhad near 300 pft, very active lifestyle, and a diverse job history (one was enlisted flight crew).
If you are not top notch in everything and you want to be a marine officer, then reserves may be the only thing you would be competitive for. I would suggest setting an appointment with your oso and having a Frank heart to heart. Feel free to PM me
 

Pakol

Learner's permit
pilot
Don't self-eliminate because you're worried about "what if?", let MCRC and the board do that for you. Try to be the best candidate you can be and work as closely as you can with your OSO. The process of Marine Officer recruiting rewards almost delusional levels of persistence; one of my very good friends spent four years showing up every week for PT and events before commissioning. Two years was not uncommon for air contracts. Not saying that's going to be you, but there's a certain element of trust and verify with your OSO/OSA.

That being said, I've been there; I needed an age waiver (one of three, by the way) in 2016 to commission after 27.5 for flight and nearly burned a hole in my stomach worrying about how it never happens after reading some older threads here on Airwarriors. I was the classic "doesn't look good on paper" case: years of unemployment, an undergrad GPA that barely qualified me to apply, aforementioned waivers, etc. WelI, guess what, I had the pleasure of turning 28 during SULE II; It happens, and not only to me. I have friends who competed for and got air contracts at TBS, needed and were retroactively granted age waivers in Pensacola. If the landscape has changed, and air contracts are not as plentiful as they used to be, have a plan B, and a few plan C's, it's the only way you'll stay sane during the waiting.

Good luck, bro. You can PM me if you need any help with the application.
 

Plush Pilot

New Member
First post here in a long time. I happen to be in the USMC officer "recruiting industry" currently for my b billet. Waivers are a huge part of my job.
Bottom line, no you are not done for. That can be waived for a bit longer. The real question is are you even competitive for an air slot, cause it is insanely competitive. Above that, you have to be even more competitive due to your age. Your pft has to be top notch. What have you been doing for the past 7 years, your peers joined that many years ago, what makes you and your experiences stand out. I've had a couple air age waivers approved lately, but theyhad near 300 pft, very active lifestyle, and a diverse job history (one was enlisted flight crew).
If you are not top notch in everything and you want to be a marine officer, then reserves may be the only thing you would be competitive for. I would suggest setting an appointment with your oso and having a Frank heart to heart. Feel free to PM me
 

Plush Pilot

New Member
First post here in a long time. I happen to be in the USMC officer "recruiting industry" currently for my b billet. Waivers are a huge part of my job.
Bottom line, no you are not done for. That can be waived for a bit longer. The real question is are you even competitive for an air slot, cause it is insanely competitive. Above that, you have to be even more competitive due to your age. Your pft has to be top notch. What have you been doing for the past 7 years, your peers joined that many years ago, what makes you and your experiences stand out. I've had a couple air age waivers approved lately, but theyhad near 300 pft, very active lifestyle, and a diverse job history (one was enlisted flight crew).
If you are not top notch in everything and you want to be a marine officer, then reserves may be the only thing you would be competitive for. I would suggest setting an appointment with your oso and having a Frank heart to heart. Feel free to PM me
Criminal, thanks so much for the reply. You are probably right about being competitive. I do have a very active lifestyle; cert. sailboat capt., cert. IFR pilot, college rower, boxer, comm. service, etc. but my GPA is only about a 3.0, I don’t have a technical degree, and of course, my age. At this point I am okay with being out for aviation, but still dedicated to earning a commission in the Navy or Marine Corps, I just don’t want to waste any more time. I’ve been training with the MC for six months and am wondering why my recruiters didn’t bring this up much, much earlier. However some Officer Applicant friends of mine have apparently had better success with other recruiters and have told me not to give up just yet, so I guess I’ll keep fishing!
 
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