Welcome post w/ moral waiver question

[Rgraham7]

Hello all! Thank you for having me. My name is (deleted). I'm aspiring to become a military aviator and/or commercial airline pilot in the future. I'm currently enrolled in a 4 year university earning a BS in Aviation (professional pilot.) Upon graduation, I'll likely be 29 years old, possibly 30 depending on course load taken, and I'll have approximately 250 flight hours with my CFI license. This puts me in a great position to pursue a civilian aviation career which is great, but I want to apply for a pilot slot in the military before I age out of it.

Unfortunately I made a big mistake when I was 23 years old that resulted in my arrest for battery (FVA.) When it was all said and done, the end result was me securing custody of my daughter and the case being dismissed. I searched the forums for specifics on applying for pilot slots with an arrest record but I wasn't able to find anything specific enough to ease my mind. Of course if it's a no go, I'm going to make the respective military branches tell me that before quitting based on what the internet tells me. I know that based on the circumstances surrounding my situation and the details of my case, that a waiver is possible. I'll specifically be applying for USN and USMC pilot slots to begin with. I know it's difficult for people to share their past mistakes. Trust me when I say it brings me great pain to tell this part of my unfinished story. But I'd be grateful for any insight anybody could share who has experienced something like this, or knows somebody who has.

Best wishes,
(deleted)

 

[exNavyOffRec]

First I would edit your post and remove your name, it isn't needed on this forum.

How far off are you from graduation?

What will need to be known is was it outright dismissed or was it dismissed after completion of certain mandated conditions? If just outright dismissed why? The original charge was it a felony or misdemeanor?

It is possible to overcome this, and the answers will help give more direction.

 

[Brett327]

I've removed the name. Some degree of anonymity is prudent.

 

[Rgraham7]

Thank you for that Brett. I thought about that as well but felt rude not introducing myself.

exNavy No the case was not unconditionally dismissed unfortunately. It will be considered an adverse adjudication by military standards. Essentially I took a class and the charge was dropped through a pre trial diversion program. It appeared to be the best way to preserve my future at the time, and I wasn't able to afford an attorney to offer better counseling than the public defender at the time. I felt the charge was frivolous and I had a fair chance at beating it in court, but this was a guarantee. The original charge was battery under the family violence act (misdemeanor.)

I have approximately two years of college left. Upon graduation, it will have been seven years since the incident. No trouble before or afterwards. I'm hoping I make a compelling enough case all things considered. I hope it is not seen as a reflection of my character. I've completely rebuilt my life since then, learned from my mistakes, and grown into a better person all around. There are a lot of things I could have done better relating to the incident, and I certainly am not proud of how it played out. Regardless, I know that it is a sunk cost and there's nothing I can do but move forward and make myself as competitive as possible. I can't change the past, but there is a lot of things I can control such as test scores, pt scores, and my GPA. For context, I planned to start the process with an officer recruiter my last year of university.

Thank you all for the replies thus far.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Thank you for that Brett. I thought about that as well but felt rude not introducing myself.

exNavy No the case was not unconditionally dismissed unfortunately. It will be considered an adverse adjudication by military standards. Essentially I took a class and the charge was dropped through a pre trial diversion program. It appeared to be the best way to preserve my future at the time, and I wasn't able to afford an attorney to offer better counseling than the public defender at the time. I felt the charge was frivolous and I had a fair chance at beating it in court, but this was a guarantee. The original charge was battery under the family violence act (misdemeanor.)

I have approximately two years of college left. Upon graduation, it will have been seven years since the incident. No trouble before or afterwards. I'm hoping I make a compelling enough case all things considered. I hope it is not seen as a reflection of my character. I've completely rebuilt my life since then, learned from my mistakes, and grown into a better person all around. There are a lot of things I could have done better relating to the incident, and I certainly am not proud of how it played out. Regardless, I know that it is a sunk cost and there's nothing I can do but move forward and make myself as competitive as possible. I can't change the past, but there is a lot of things I can control such as test scores, pt scores, and my GPA. For context, I planned to start the process with an officer recruiter my last year of university.

Thank you all for the replies thus far.

Can it be waived, possibly.

In order to overcome that you will need to have all the documents explaining what happened, the fact that it was a misdemeanor helps, and time since the incident will help as well.

was the other party charged as well? that in an odd way would help too.

 

[Rgraham7]

Can it be waived, possibly.

In order to overcome that you will need to have all the documents explaining what happened, the fact that it was a misdemeanor helps, and time since the incident will help as well.

was the other party charged as well? that in an odd way would help too.

No they were not charged. I self reported the incident at the request of my former Captain. I am a former law enforcement officer as well and was in a sworn status at the time of the incident. I told on myself essentially. I trusted the system to make the right call. Again I take full responsibility for everything that transpired. At the end of the day, I was the common denominator. Even if I felt it should have went another way.

In the end, everything worked out in my favor. Charge dismissal, custody arrangement, attorney fees and visitation. It's only with military service that it might come back to haunt me. In the interest of not disrespecting the mother of my child, I'll say this. While she was not criminally charged at the time of the incident, she has been found in contempt of court several times over the last few years for various court order violations. Providing documentation would be no issue.

I appreciate the continued responses. I'll know for sure in the next couple of years what the end result will be. I plan to exhaust all possible options before moving on. Ultimately if I can't be a pilot, I'd still love to serve my country for at least one tour as an officer if I can get over this hurdle. I just wanted to know based on your experience what you think my chances are. Or if you've ever seen waivers successfully processed with people in similar situations. What you say doesn't change what I'm going to try to do. It's more for securing peace of mind for the moment. If there's even a 1% chance, I'm taking my shot. Because I'll never forgive myself if I don't.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Did the incident result in your termination of employment? That could be another thing to be explained.

 

[Rgraham7]

Did the incident result in your termination of employment? That could be another thing to be explained.

Yes it did. I had just transferred to the uniform patrol division at this agency. Which restarted my probationary period. This agency had a known stigma for not wanting to associate with anybody who stumbled into a legal issue. Regardless of the outcome in court. Which is understandable to a certain extent. With that being said, I'm still eligible to work as a law enforcement officer. My certification was not revoked, although my training has lapsed since I never returned. The incident happened in 2017. It was the first and only job I've ever been terminated from. Since then, no issues with employment history.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Yes it did. I had just transferred to the uniform patrol division at this agency. Which restarted my probationary period. This agency had a known stigma for not wanting to associate with anybody who stumbled into a legal issue. Regardless of the outcome in court. Which is understandable to a certain extent. With that being said, I'm still eligible to work as a law enforcement officer. My certification was not revoked, although my training has lapsed since I never returned. The incident happened in 2017. It was the first and only job I've ever been terminated from. Since then, no issues with employment history.

I would make sure you have all copies of anything related to this, when you are about a year out from graduation then you should contact an OR and get ready to go through the process to get this waived, of course you will need to score well on the ASTB as that should be done before you route the waiver.

 

[Rgraham7]

I would make sure you have all copies of anything related to this, when you are about a year out from graduation then you should contact an OR and get ready to go through the process to get this waived, of course you will need to score well on the ASTB as that should be done before you route the waiver.

Thank you very much for all of the insight. It appears that there is hope and I am grateful for that. Thank you for being concise and honest. I wasn't aware I could take the ASTB without a recruiter scheduling it, but I will certainly look into having that completed before hand.

Best wishes,

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Thank you very much for all of the insight. It appears that there is hope and I am grateful for that. Thank you for being concise and honest. I wasn't aware I could take the ASTB without a recruiter scheduling it, but I will certainly look into having that completed before hand.

Best wishes,

you meet the OR, he schedules the ASTB, then work on the waiver, just to be clear.

 

[nodropinufaka]

I think one thing that may hold you up is having sole custody of your daughter.

I know if you have dependents and are primary guardian that is extra paperwork and often times holds people up joining.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I think one thing that may hold you up is having sole custody of your daughter.

I know if you have dependents and are primary guardian that is extra paperwork and often times holds people up joining.

for whatever reason it is easier for a person trying to go officer than enlisted.

 

[Rgraham7]

Thank you all for the responses. I will definitely keep all of you posted for those that care. It will be some time though before I start building my packet. Take care.

 

[Egg_Supreme]

New here so forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask.

24 and going through the OCS application process for SWO. I had a juvenile incident when I was 14, I am trying to track down the documents since I am spacing the details, but essentially went to court and had to do probation for a year for the charges to get dismissed. Got records sealed at 18 and haven't had any trouble since, been nothing but a good citizen working a white collar finance job.

Can anyone tell me more about the waiver process or if I will even need one? None of my stuff was violent, but the waiver process is really confusing me. Recruiter said I shouldn't mention this at MEPS but I don't want it to bite me later.