Extenuating circumstance SNA age waiver for prior-select

[mb1685]

I attended OCS with an SNA slot at the beginning of this year, and while I was there, my pregnant wife was admitted to a hospital and found to be at severe risk for pre-term labor, and was ordered strict bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. Because we unfortunately didn't have a sufficient support system in place to reliably provide even basic necessities like groceries, I felt I had no real choice but to come home, so I dropped from the program. The OCS chain of command was very understanding of my situation and many of them told me they'd love to have me back, and a fairly high up member of the COC (specific details withheld for privacy reasons) told me I could get in touch with him if I had any trouble re-applying. I haven't seen my DD785 yet but I was told that I would be marked as Recommended. I know that unexpected family issues can of course come up at any point in life and the military doesn't want someone who is going to jump ship and abandon their training and/or mission, but I fully believe that having access to the the support systems available to those already integrated into the military community could have prevented (and would prevent in the future) having to abandon military obligations.

Luckily, our baby was born full-term and is healthy. I would still like to pursue my dream of becoming a military aviator. I am currently preparing an Air Force OTS application and sending applications to Air National Guard units, but being in naval aviation is still my first choice, and as you can probably understand, I'm still pretty disappointed that I was close to achieving that goal. I would still like to exhaust every possible effort to make it happen, even though I know the chances are practically null.

I was recently in contact with the Aviation OCM and although he said that my stats are highly competitive, he does not have the authority to grant an age waiver that does not apply to the conditions stated in the Program Authorization. I had spoken with a few members of this forum beforehand who had been granted special circumstance age waivers many years ago and I respectfully mentioned some of these cases and the name of a former AOCM who was in that position at the time, but the current AOCM wouldn't budge and mentioned that policy may have changed since then. I was able to track down references to past Program Authorization requirements from the timeframes of some of these examples and it appears the age limit was the same then, so it is my (possibly flawed) inference that the Program Authorization can be overridden in EXTREMELY rare cases.

I know that the AOCM is the primary authority on aviation age waivers and that there is a 99.9+% chance that this door is closed for me, but I can't help but want to try to respectfully press my attempts a little further since this was a truly unforeseen occurrence and I felt that I chose the only truly responsible option. As I mentioned before, it is possible that a member of the OCS COC might be willing to vouch for me and make a recommendation. Are there any other points of contact I could get in touch with to try to respectfully pursue this, such as who the AOCM reports to? I fully expect that the answer is 'no' and I know that I am entitled to absolutely nothing (emphasis added to hopefully soften the backlash I am expecting for essentially asking to be given special consideration after already being told 'no' -- I am aware that I'm treading on thin ice and possibly need a reality check), but I would appreciate hearing any insight on this matter.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Waivers aren't granted for non-prior service regardless of the circumstance. Even in the PA it says age waivers are only for active duty.

If your overall goal is to be a Naval Officer check out other programs like SWO and Supply (if you have a STEM or business related major). If not, then USAF and NG might be your only choice.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

you are out of luck.

The policy hasn't changed, they don't budge, we had a guy that was rolled one class due to get hurt during PT, that roll of 3 weeks put him commissioning like a week after his 27th birthday, he had to redesignate.

 

[zippy]

This post highlights the need for candidates to activate their extended family/friend support networks prior to going to OCS so the homefront can be cared for while their gone... it's not just a deployment thing.

I've seen a few candidates DOR from OCS in the past several years for "family issues". While some were legitimate, others could have been taken care of and been non-issues had candidates prepped their family better about what to expect during the OCS period, and taught their immediate family to work with their extended family when issues arise. OCS is pretty much a one shot deal with the Navy, and candidates need to have that mentality going into it. There are other services who regularly invite candidates back if they get injured etc. and disenrolled. The Navy isnt one of them.

Good on you for taking care of your family, sorry it looks like it cost you your dream job with the Navy....

Consider Army flight programs as well.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I remember talking to you almost a year back about handling family issues and to see if the military is the right fit for you.

Fast forward a year and it's apparent that it's not at the moment. You had an opportunity to be a Naval Aviator, one and only shot, and it slipped by.

Before you even reach out to a recruiter, regardless of branch, you need to have a serious talk with your family, as well as immediate members and get your eggs in one basket before you consider again. If you contacted your OR, don't be surprised if he doesn't return your calls, many get upset about working with folks who want to come back in.

This might sound harsh, but this is more than your own dreams or aspirations. It's about family first now, everything else second.

 

[Griz882]

I get your pain and I fully understand your grasping for any and every rung on that ladder. I can tell you from personal experience it is better to make your peace now and move on to another career. When I was medically grounded I spilled gallons of ink arguing and sea-lawyering every rule and reg in the book...all to no end but having my hopes dashed over and over again. The time to let it go is now. Flying for the Army or the Air Force are good goals if the navy is closed to you and you can have all the adventure and excitement you want. If you waste too much time fighting for a dream that is lost you could very well see other opertunities wasted. Good luck to you.

 

[mb1685]

Thank you very much for the replies. I sincerely appreciate them.

I suspected that there wouldn't be any ways left to try to pursue naval aviation and I can accept that.

I hope I do not come across as disrespectful or argumentative, but I'd like to share my two cents on how the situation affects my capacity to serve. My thoughts are likely pretty far off the mark since they are based on a lack of experience, second-hand information, and speculation, but here they are.

My wife and I talked very, very substantially about the military lifestyle and how it fits in with our family planning starting long before we were married, let alone before I began applying to commissioning programs. We discussed every possibility we could think of and formulated game plans, including for pregnancy before or during OCS or during flight training and/or deployments. We of course talked even more about it when we found out she was pregnant, and we continue to discuss how our family would have to adapt to pursuing this goal in the USAF or ANG and how more children, another emergency, etc. would affect things. It has always been at the forefront of our minds and conversations, and by no means have we ever had a "let's blindly go for it and see what happens" mindset regarding being a military family.

I tried to exhaust every possible effort to provide her the care she needed in that situation before electing to DOR, but unfortunately it was the only feasible option. Because she was pregnant, we did of course formulate a plan and coordinate a support system which would have been sufficient for a normal pregnancy, but the possibility of things going awry enough to require strict bed rest (or other significant emergencies) seemed so statistically unlikely that it would have been ludicrous to play it safe and decline the opportunity to commission from the start. Both of our families were unavailable to provide such an intensive level of support for this situation, both geographically and due to employment obligations, and the support system we had in place consisting of close friends would have been perfectly sufficient for providing what we reasonably expected would be needed (occasional help with chores and a possibly a ride to the hospital if labor came a little early). I know that's not an ideal support system for obvious reasons (like medical emergencies), but even those in the military who have adequate non-military support systems can lose them due to frequent cross-country (or continent) PCSing.

I have quite a few friends who are Air Force pilots and I spoke with them quite a bit after this situation unfolded. They told me that while it would be a difficult situation regardless, flying squadrons are very close-knit and genuinely treat each other like family. Although these friends had not been in an identical situation, they said that other spouses, squadron members, or non-squadron-exclusive base staff could likely facilitate a sufficient level of care for a family in a time of need like this were I to be deployed, TDY, or simply in intensive training. Maybe naval aviation squadrons aren't quite the same, but it doesn't appear so in that regard.

Obviously a number of things weren't ideal in my situation, such as my wife even being pregnant at that time in the first place. But when I solicited advice and feedback quite some time ago, I spoke with naval aviators who had gone to OCS and left behind pregnant wives and/or already born children, as well as ones who went through flight school with young children. I knew going in that it would be difficult and would come with its own unique set of challenges and concerns, but I also knew that others before me had done it and it was a real possibility. I also know that medical emergencies requiring a high level of care for a family member could happen to ANY member of the military and that practically no part of a person's background could be a reasonable indicator of an emergency one day rearing its head. The emergency happened due to chance and was completely out of our control. Generally speaking, I am no more likely to have a family medical emergency than any other service member, and again, it seems that the preparation that can be put into place (support systems consisting of nearby friends, relatives, etc.) can vanish with a PCS. It is impossible to adequately plan for the unknown, and I am very fortunate that this situation did not have permanent ramifications (wife and baby are both perfectly healthy). Because non-military support systems are not guaranteed to anyone and because it is impossible to 100% sufficiently prepare for random chance emergencies, I really don't feel that what happened to me (or my background in general) makes me intrinsically unfit for military service. It seems to me that the main issue that uniquely disadvantaged me (lacking a good non-military support system for an emergency) would be true of many service members once they arrive at their first duty station.

I still maintain that there was never a glaring error in what my wife and I expected from the life of a military family; we were just subjected to a statistically rare, unfortunate scenario by way of chance. Again, it seems to me that similar emergencies can rear their heads unpredictably to anyone in the military, and that having the right expectations or trying to plan adequately isn't always enough. But the chance of that happening existing doesn't make them unsuitable to do what's needed, and if it does happen, it seems there are resources available in military communities that can be superior to those available to the often more detached support structures of civilians.

I feel very fortunate that I still have time left to pursue a career as an aviator in other military services, and that my DOR likely won't be a showstopper due the help of the OCS staff and the favorable recommendation rating. I plan on putting everything I can into achieving this goal, and while I'll likely always be a little disappointed to not be a naval aviator, I know I'll get over it.