Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit since I haven't taken the exam yet (I'm scheduled to take it this Friday), but how many recommendations should you have? Is there a set number that you should have? Would a recommendation from a retired Army colonel be good? I know that an interview or recommendation from an intel officer would be good, but what types of folks are they looking for when they look at recommendations?
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The best answer is, "as many as you need to sell yourself."
CPENgunner
New Member
I had five...3 O-6, 1 O-4, and an old boss. You won't stand a snowball chance in hell of getting PROREC'd for anything if you don't get LOR's from CAPT's. In essence, you're F'd in the A!!! Seriously though, get enough great letters to make the boards want you.
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
My LORs were:
Retired LCDR F-8 Driver
Retired Sub CDR that was my HS Physics teacher
Retired HTC that was my HS Welding teacher
Welding shop owner I worked for as a welder
Cranberry bog owner I pulled weeds for.
Retired LCDR F-8 Driver
Retired Sub CDR that was my HS Physics teacher
Retired HTC that was my HS Welding teacher
Welding shop owner I worked for as a welder
Cranberry bog owner I pulled weeds for.
phrogpilot73
Well-Known Member
Did you ever make commercials for Ocean Spray??
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
I was in one, but it was just stock footage of wet harvesting.
At first I thought this said "Wedding Shop," and I cried.
I sincerely hope that you're joking. My LOR's (which judging by what I do now must have worked) were from 3 individuals who no one would brag about knowing. One was from the GM at the restaurant where I worked, another was from my friend's dad (unemployed engineer who had been "downsized" from Motorolla), and one of my teachers from high school who I had stayed in touch with over the years. The only one who had any military experience was my teacher who had been an enlisted Marine in Vietnam.
I've said this countless times here and elsewhere, the LORs are not intended to impress the board by who you know (or, more likely, who you talked to once for just long enough to get the letter out of him), but they are supposed to give the board an insight into who you really are. Stop trying to figure people who you think will make the board wet themselves. Get people who really know you. Here is my advice: get letters from people who know you from different aspects of your life. A good sampling would be from a teacher, a boss, someone from church and someone who has known you and your family for a long, long time. The board will put a lot more credence into those. Of course, I may have just gotten lucky.
WishICouldFly
UO Future Pork Chop
The concept of 'whole-person' has come up repeatedly when talking about the selection boards. What the LORs are really for is NOT who you know or where you've been, but to give them an insight into who you are OUTSIDE of the academics and extracurricular activities.
People want military LORs because, in my opinion, they know better what kind of qualities the boards are looking for, the kind of traits that the military wants, and often (especially officers) would know how to evaluate leadership abilities.
People want military LORs because, in my opinion, they know better what kind of qualities the boards are looking for, the kind of traits that the military wants, and often (especially officers) would know how to evaluate leadership abilities.
I know one retired colonel from the Army. I don't know any other military folks. I used to work with a bunch of them but didn't know them on a personal level. My old bosses are going to write me LORs (one a sitting Senator and the other a former Congressman). I used to prep them for debates, hearings, write statements, etc, etc for them so they both know me personally and professionally and can vouch for my work, personality and abilities. I was just afraid that if I didn't have any military LORs, I'd be....as CPENgunner put it....f'd in the ass.
I sense sarcasm in CPENgunners response. I think those that you stated would be good. Just make sure the letters are better then some generic letter they would give to a stranger or something like that, one that shows your traits and so on...
So let me get this straight, you're afraid that some officer sitting on your board who would jizz all over himself to see a letter signed by a golly gee! O-6 (which is apparently the popular consensus, judging by the posts here) might not be impressed by a sitting Senator and former congressman? To quote Sean Connery (close enough) "Boy, you might be mentally retarded."