I know this has been talked about before, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any current info. I am 28 years old and trying to work a lateral transfer to Aviation. Unfortunately, I'll be about 29 1/2 before I could actually get to API. I was told by one recruiter that for "active duty" the cut-off is 29 for pilots and 31 for NFO (he was also trying to talk me into applying for an NFO slot). I was told by another recruiter that for "prior service" the cut-off is 31 for both. Anyone have a clarification for this? Thanks.
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Age Topic Revisited
- Thread starter Jeff29
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Jason Williams
Registered User
Jeff, Im 27 now and will be 28 in a month. I start OCS in March. I have three years in the army behind me (thank god). I was told the age limit was 27 no unless you were a prior. Then the limit is 30. This is what the recruiter said so take it for what its worth.
Derrill Thompson
Registered User
I have to confirm what Jason said.
I am 25 with 8 years Air Force prior service. Yes, I was in at 17. Anyway, I was told 27 and 30 respectively.
Derrill
I am 25 with 8 years Air Force prior service. Yes, I was in at 17. Anyway, I was told 27 and 30 respectively.
Derrill
Dave Shutter
Registered User
Jason...
What was your MOS and where were you stationed? I was a 19K in Germany for two years myself. I would've gone enlisted Navy, but I just could'nt do the Popeye outfit...sorry John.
BTW all: Jeff's source is actually my recruiter in Philadelphia. We've discussed this topic a dozen times or more and his final answer is always: prior serv. adjusted age limit of 30(SNA) and 31(SNFO). NOTE: These are VERY temporary adjustments for this year only. So temporary they're not even written down anywhere!
...he tried to sell you on SNFO huh Jeff? I'll have to watch out for that one!
D
Edited by - Dave Shutter on 02/09/2001 03:44:54
What was your MOS and where were you stationed? I was a 19K in Germany for two years myself. I would've gone enlisted Navy, but I just could'nt do the Popeye outfit...sorry John.
BTW all: Jeff's source is actually my recruiter in Philadelphia. We've discussed this topic a dozen times or more and his final answer is always: prior serv. adjusted age limit of 30(SNA) and 31(SNFO). NOTE: These are VERY temporary adjustments for this year only. So temporary they're not even written down anywhere!
...he tried to sell you on SNFO huh Jeff? I'll have to watch out for that one!
D
Edited by - Dave Shutter on 02/09/2001 03:44:54
quote:I would've gone enlisted Navy, but I just could'nt do the Popeye outfit...sorry John.
Dave, well at least you are finally coming to your senses, and have chosen the better service! You know, at the rate you are going, I will be back from my first squadron, and an instructor in Primary by the time you get there!
On this age topic, I have heard 30(SNA)/31(SNFO), but honestly this is not a topic that I have kept up on for obvious reasons. But, right now from everything I have been hearing, the Navy is really hurting for Pilots and Self Loading Baggage (jk, NFOs). Take that for what it is worth.
Jeff, best of luck in getting that SNA slot.
Dave, well at least you are finally coming to your senses, and have chosen the better service! You know, at the rate you are going, I will be back from my first squadron, and an instructor in Primary by the time you get there!
On this age topic, I have heard 30(SNA)/31(SNFO), but honestly this is not a topic that I have kept up on for obvious reasons. But, right now from everything I have been hearing, the Navy is really hurting for Pilots and Self Loading Baggage (jk, NFOs). Take that for what it is worth.
Jeff, best of luck in getting that SNA slot.
John,
From what you've heard do you think they are taking the "age factor" as a major part of reviewing your packet once it's sent in? I have a buddy who said they still have close to 130 SNA slots open this fiscal year and they are asking enlisted to sign up for officer.
What do you think
-Dave
From what you've heard do you think they are taking the "age factor" as a major part of reviewing your packet once it's sent in? I have a buddy who said they still have close to 130 SNA slots open this fiscal year and they are asking enlisted to sign up for officer.
What do you think
-Dave
Jason Williams
Registered User
Dave, somehow they convinced me to be a underpaid, hungry, wet, pop up target. Thats right 11B. For all you none Army folk thats Infantry. (hey they said it was like camping) I was stationed at Scofield Barracks, Hawaii. That place was great for a single guy.
Dave Shutter
Registered User
Tahoe...
From what I've heard about "what is considered on apps" they consider everything. Remember, your not going to be just a pilot but an officer performing duties. My opinion on the situation from what I've experienced so far is that it's the same as getting hired for any other job. They have an "ideal" applicant, but they don't always get what they want. They would PREFER that you be less than 27 when you start API, have a tech degree, recommendation letters from retired Admirals, Congressman etc...but when the economy's good and recruiting is down, they have to take what they can get. It doesn't mean they lower standards, just loosening reg's like age that open the flow of candidates a little more. My $0.02.
Jason...
Scofield Barracks! Talk about the freakin' "ground pounders" holy grail! I heard about those Hawaii road marches though, straight up the sides of volcanos and into cloud cover. Are they as much fun as I've heard?
quote:...at the rate you are going, I will be back from my first squadron, and an instructor in Primary by the time you get there!
...Oh you got jokes huh! Well in the four years it will take you to get through the FRS and a tour, maybe your training journal covering Primary will get finished and I can use it then...
D
Edited by - Dave Shutter on 02/09/2001 12:55:29
From what I've heard about "what is considered on apps" they consider everything. Remember, your not going to be just a pilot but an officer performing duties. My opinion on the situation from what I've experienced so far is that it's the same as getting hired for any other job. They have an "ideal" applicant, but they don't always get what they want. They would PREFER that you be less than 27 when you start API, have a tech degree, recommendation letters from retired Admirals, Congressman etc...but when the economy's good and recruiting is down, they have to take what they can get. It doesn't mean they lower standards, just loosening reg's like age that open the flow of candidates a little more. My $0.02.
Jason...
Scofield Barracks! Talk about the freakin' "ground pounders" holy grail! I heard about those Hawaii road marches though, straight up the sides of volcanos and into cloud cover. Are they as much fun as I've heard?
quote:...at the rate you are going, I will be back from my first squadron, and an instructor in Primary by the time you get there!
...Oh you got jokes huh! Well in the four years it will take you to get through the FRS and a tour, maybe your training journal covering Primary will get finished and I can use it then...
D
Edited by - Dave Shutter on 02/09/2001 12:55:29
Dave,
Don't worry about your recruiter. He's not the one who tried to sell me on NFO. The two recruiters that I mentioned in my post are actually a local guy and a guy in DC (both of whom I've talked to since talking to your recruiter).
From the info I'm getting, it seems that my best course would be to just try to push through a package and see what happens.
Don't worry about your recruiter. He's not the one who tried to sell me on NFO. The two recruiters that I mentioned in my post are actually a local guy and a guy in DC (both of whom I've talked to since talking to your recruiter).
From the info I'm getting, it seems that my best course would be to just try to push through a package and see what happens.
I think that you're right. Keep pushing. If someone tells you no, ask somebody else. Submit your package and hope for the best. Very few of the people who are accepted are perfect. Everyone has had a glitch in their application. The ones that make it just keep on perservering. If this is your life's dream, keep pounding on the door 'til they let you in. My $0.02. Good luck 
Tell the recruiter that you're interested in going Naval nuclear power and see his eyes really light up.
--Steve Wilkins
--Steve Wilkins
quote:From what you've heard do you think they are taking the "age factor" as a major part of reviewing your packet once it's sent in? I have a buddy who said they still have close to 130 SNA slots open this fiscal year and they are asking enlisted to sign up for officer.
Dave, I really think that Dave Shutter hit it on the head with the military looking for that ideal applicant. Let's face it, the economy is good, unemployment is down, and the military pay isn't what it should be. A rough time for recruiters, and to meet their quotas. Basically you are seeing a relaxation in the requirements, opening up the pool of eligible people for the SNA slots. Lowering of the limits for eyesight to 20/30 (correctable to 20/20) and increasing the age limit. Talking to some of my instructors, "back in the day" it was near impossible to get in if you weren't the 20/20 or better steely eyed killer that they were looking for, if you get what I mean. But that was before the drawdown, cold war at its peak, and Top Gun boosting enlistments across the board. Definitely not where we are today.
As for enlisted to officer. That is basically a seperate subject, other than Seaman to Admiral, and enlisted folks who already have a Bachelor's degree and are eligible for OCS, the military still had to put those folks through school before they are even eligible for those aviation slots. Hey, I was one of those in the ECP program. But that is another indication that the Navy and the military as a whole are promoting from within, and are trying to keep that experience and knowledge since pickings are slim on the outside.
Back to the original question, yes I think age is a factor, but when you don't have enough applicants, they have to take what they can get. But I would imagine the previous military experience of some would negate their age difference when compared against a 22 year old fresh out of college.
quote
o recruiters have more incentive to get people for Nuke v. other platforms?
Recuiters have to meet their quotas, and even more so than aviation, there are few people that can successfully qualify and make it through the screening process to be a nuke officer. But in the end, it boils down to needs of the Navy, and whatever information on what slots need to filled that month the recruiter recieves from his/her central rectuiting district.
quote:...Oh you got jokes huh! Well in the four years it will take you to get through the FRS and a tour, maybe your training journal covering Primary will get finished and I can use it then...
Ouch! Don't pull any punches do you? Well, just remember you are a sitting duck those 13 weeks in OCS, and I know how to send 13 postcards for each of those weeks to you with all sorts of comments on the outside for you to read out for your Gunney and the rest of the Company during mail call! Muahaha.... jk
Dave, I really think that Dave Shutter hit it on the head with the military looking for that ideal applicant. Let's face it, the economy is good, unemployment is down, and the military pay isn't what it should be. A rough time for recruiters, and to meet their quotas. Basically you are seeing a relaxation in the requirements, opening up the pool of eligible people for the SNA slots. Lowering of the limits for eyesight to 20/30 (correctable to 20/20) and increasing the age limit. Talking to some of my instructors, "back in the day" it was near impossible to get in if you weren't the 20/20 or better steely eyed killer that they were looking for, if you get what I mean. But that was before the drawdown, cold war at its peak, and Top Gun boosting enlistments across the board. Definitely not where we are today.
As for enlisted to officer. That is basically a seperate subject, other than Seaman to Admiral, and enlisted folks who already have a Bachelor's degree and are eligible for OCS, the military still had to put those folks through school before they are even eligible for those aviation slots. Hey, I was one of those in the ECP program. But that is another indication that the Navy and the military as a whole are promoting from within, and are trying to keep that experience and knowledge since pickings are slim on the outside.
Back to the original question, yes I think age is a factor, but when you don't have enough applicants, they have to take what they can get. But I would imagine the previous military experience of some would negate their age difference when compared against a 22 year old fresh out of college.
quote
o recruiters have more incentive to get people for Nuke v. other platforms?Recuiters have to meet their quotas, and even more so than aviation, there are few people that can successfully qualify and make it through the screening process to be a nuke officer. But in the end, it boils down to needs of the Navy, and whatever information on what slots need to filled that month the recruiter recieves from his/her central rectuiting district.
quote:...Oh you got jokes huh! Well in the four years it will take you to get through the FRS and a tour, maybe your training journal covering Primary will get finished and I can use it then...
Ouch! Don't pull any punches do you? Well, just remember you are a sitting duck those 13 weeks in OCS, and I know how to send 13 postcards for each of those weeks to you with all sorts of comments on the outside for you to read out for your Gunney and the rest of the Company during mail call! Muahaha.... jk
Thanks John!!
Info like that is good to know, even if it does not effect the pilot slots. Another quick question for you: I work with a lot of retired military here where I work now, do you think I'd be better off getting letters from them v. my current boss who did not serve? One guy is a retired admiral and another is a former commander, but both were SWO's. I'm trying to thing of the best way to put in my packet, I'll be 25 in August...needless to say I should get the ball rolling!!
Thanks!!
-Dave
Oh, by the way...how is your training going..haven't heard too much from ya...
Info like that is good to know, even if it does not effect the pilot slots. Another quick question for you: I work with a lot of retired military here where I work now, do you think I'd be better off getting letters from them v. my current boss who did not serve? One guy is a retired admiral and another is a former commander, but both were SWO's. I'm trying to thing of the best way to put in my packet, I'll be 25 in August...needless to say I should get the ball rolling!!
Thanks!!
-Dave
Oh, by the way...how is your training going..haven't heard too much from ya...
Dave, recommendations are the most effective when the person writing the recommendation has actually seen you at work or has first hand experience with you and your abilities.
It doesn't hurt to have a good word put in for you, but what is that person going to write about you? You are an upstanding citizen and will excel in the military.... etc. Basically how much knowledge about you does the person writing the recommendation have? Better off not having a weak recommendation put in your package.
But if you work with/for them, or they have had any chance to observe your growth in a job/school, then that is a definite plus.
Granted, a retired Adm/Cdr. or other senior officer is going to have a much better handle on writing these recommendations. When I put in my commissioning package (two times for ECP), I went around asking for recommendations. In most cases, the Cdrs or Capts usually bounced the ball back to my court, and told me to write up a recommendation letter. I then gave it to them, and they reworded everything, but I gave them something to start with. Plus they were also in a way testing my own ability to draft a letter and express my own best attributes, and why I should in fact be an officer (sneaky!).
I for one wouldn't feel comfortable writing a recommendation for someone I didn't know that well. At the very least I would have to take time to sit down and give you an interview of sorts to feel you out. So, those are some things you might expect. But, yes, overall a recommendation is a good thing, and can definitely help a package out (regardless of which community the person writing it is coming from), you are also being evaluated on your ability to be an officer and a leader/follower.
Ok, I will get off the soapbox now.
To answer your other question, right now I am enjoying my first training day off since xmas break (that is where all these posts are coming from today!). Groundschool finished off two weeks ago, and I have gone through CPTs 1-5X, a preflight, a SIM intro, and finally SIM1 yesterday. I have 2 more SIMs and then I get to fly again. The P3 has been a bear to learn all the systems and numbers associated with it, makes T34s and T44s seem ludicrously simple. But alot of the information is still the same. I should get to fly early next week, so will definitely write a post about that, should prove interesting.
It doesn't hurt to have a good word put in for you, but what is that person going to write about you? You are an upstanding citizen and will excel in the military.... etc. Basically how much knowledge about you does the person writing the recommendation have? Better off not having a weak recommendation put in your package.
But if you work with/for them, or they have had any chance to observe your growth in a job/school, then that is a definite plus.
Granted, a retired Adm/Cdr. or other senior officer is going to have a much better handle on writing these recommendations. When I put in my commissioning package (two times for ECP), I went around asking for recommendations. In most cases, the Cdrs or Capts usually bounced the ball back to my court, and told me to write up a recommendation letter. I then gave it to them, and they reworded everything, but I gave them something to start with. Plus they were also in a way testing my own ability to draft a letter and express my own best attributes, and why I should in fact be an officer (sneaky!).
I for one wouldn't feel comfortable writing a recommendation for someone I didn't know that well. At the very least I would have to take time to sit down and give you an interview of sorts to feel you out. So, those are some things you might expect. But, yes, overall a recommendation is a good thing, and can definitely help a package out (regardless of which community the person writing it is coming from), you are also being evaluated on your ability to be an officer and a leader/follower.
Ok, I will get off the soapbox now.
To answer your other question, right now I am enjoying my first training day off since xmas break (that is where all these posts are coming from today!). Groundschool finished off two weeks ago, and I have gone through CPTs 1-5X, a preflight, a SIM intro, and finally SIM1 yesterday. I have 2 more SIMs and then I get to fly again. The P3 has been a bear to learn all the systems and numbers associated with it, makes T34s and T44s seem ludicrously simple. But alot of the information is still the same. I should get to fly early next week, so will definitely write a post about that, should prove interesting.
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