Age waiver procedures

[Airman Rob]

I recently became a US citizen after 8 years of grinding away at the INS...
Now I'm trying to get a pilot slot - at age 30, recruiter is telling me it's not possible!!
I have 10 months service in USN Reserves...

Guess that I have to pursue some sort of age waiver-
My CO is offering to support me, as is a congressman - but how do I actually go about doing it??
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[kabttu]

well, hate to be the bearer of bad news but from everything i've read and from what i've been told, they only issue age waivers to people with prior service, and then they only issue it for as much time as you had, so i guess in your case that would be 10 months, could be wrong though, so keep looking! good luck!

 

[EODDave]

Airman Rob,

The only person who can grant you a waiver is the Aviation Officer Community Manager and the Head of Officer Plans and Policy. They are both Bupers Code is N14 I think. Anyway to get the number go to www.Bupers.Navy.mil Then click on Officer Community Managers then Aviation. This will give you an email and phone number. It might help if your CO called, but you can call and explain the situation and then have your CO talk with them. DO NOT GET YOUR HOPES UP! SNA slots are extremely hard to get and waivers are not just given out. Anyways, neither CNRC or any recruiting command will be able to help you. This is one that must come from the top and work its way down. Hope the info helps.


Dave

 

[Airman Rob]

EODDave,
Thanks for the heads-up ....
I will get my CO to contact them directly - I guess it will be at his discretion which specific person he contacts.

As mentioned earlier, my congressman said that they would write a recommendation letter to the "Dept of Navy", in their words - this was their Military liaison - should I be directing them to the people you suggested, or do they go higher in the chain of command for requests like this??

Thanks again for your help - it's huge!!!!
Rob

 

[EODDave]

I would send it to the the people I mentioned earlier. The Aviation Community manager first. If he approves, he would then take it to his boss, Head Officer Plans and Policy.

Dave

 

[Airman Rob]

Thanks EODDave...
Appreciate your input!!
Aviation Community Manager it is.. will let you know how it goes!!
Rob

 

[Mahoney]

Rob,

I tried to send you a personal email and it came back undeliverable. Try me again so I can get you some info.
Let me guess, the community manager told you to go pound sand because he doesn't need any aviators. Or maybe he said that if you'd go NFO he might make an exception. Anxious to hear how it went.

Mahoney

 

[righteousbabe]

Airman Rob,

I am in the same boat as you; 30 y/o but with 18 months of prior service. I have an awesome recruiter who seems to be willing to do what he can to get the waiver. I am hoping to get a similar letter from my congressman. I appreciate the above advice about the Aviation Community Manager, etc. from all of the folks who have posted! Any additional info is appreciated! I would like to hear how it's going with your application package.

Mahoney,

Would appreciate any info you might have!

 

[righteousbabe]

I was also wondering.....

has anyone out there been successful in obtaining an age waiver?

 

[EODDave]

I did. But a word of caution. Age waivers are not given out just because you are a day late and a dollar short. There has to be some type of extenuating circumstance. If you are over the age and just now deciding that you want to be an aviator, dont hold your breath on getting a waiver. If it was something really crazy that held you back, then explain the situation to the right people (not your recruiter) and see what happens.

Dave

 

[righteousbabe]

Thanks for your reply, Dave!

I just wanted to know if there actually had ever been a waiver granted.

This has definitely not been a last minute decision. I had to wait three years from the date of my discharge to apply for OCS, so here I am. I just hope I can articulate it on paper to the right people.

 

[EODDave]

Good luck and dont give up.

Dave

 

[righteousbabe]

Well, I just got a not-so-encouraging e-mail from my recruiter. I think he just got the numbers for FY04. He also advised I talk with the Aviation Community Manager before deciding what to put down for my choices. I found his address at BUPERS and e-mailed him requesting to know the procedure. Fingers and toes crossed!

 

[righteousbabe]

Dave and Rob,

I made contact with the Assistant Aviation Community Manager. He confirmed: waiver requests can be made based on years of prior service, on a month-to-month basis, for up to four years, nothing more. That makes me six months too old for SNA.

Where's the white-out....

 

[EODDave]

Sorry about the sna info. If you are considering nfo you better hurry, as you only have 6 months left to make it into that pipeline.

Dave