ARB Waiver

[RedFive]

Finally got a minute to post this. After you've rushed the squadron(s) you're interested in, had the interview, and they said "you're hired!" you need to submit a "Waiver to the Aeronautical Rating Board." The reason you're submitting a waiver is because you don't actually want to go sit in front of the board and have to explain why you deserve silver wings -- this package includes all the supporting documentation they need to issue you a set of lead wings. The guidance on the ARB Waiver from the Air Force is minimal at best, so when in doubt as to whether or not you should include a document, my mentor said "include it." The black and white is located in AFI 11-402 AETC SUP (Air Force Instruction 11-402 Air Education Training Command Supplement, attached) and starts on page 28. Here are some highlights, but make sure you read everything related to the ARB Waiver as it pertains to you:

2.12. ARB Waivers. An applicant may request waiver of appearance before an ARB if he or she submits documentation showing completion of training that is equivalent to USAF UFT and satisfies the requirements of paragraph 2.14.1. The applicant must have been in a military aviation status within eight years of the date of the request. If the applicant and/or appropriate commanders do not provide sufficient information, or do not include required exhibits, deny the request for waiver and return the application. Process requests for ARB appearance waivers as follows:

2.12.1. The applicant submits a request for waiver of appearance before an ARB to the commander authorized to convene the board (Attachment 3).

2.12.2. The commander appoints a USAF rated officer to review the request. The reviewing officer should be in the same rated specialty and be senior in rank to the applicant.

2.12.3. The reviewing officer reviews the application and interviews the applicant using guidelines in paragraph 2.11 Following the interview, the reviewing officer provides a written synopsis of the applicant's qualifications and makes a recommendation to the convening authority. The convening authority adds his or her recommendation and forwards the request through channels to the MAJCOM/A3 for approval. Once approved, the MAJCOM/A3 will request AF/A3O-AT publish a DAF AO to award the rating.

Basically you put together your own ARB Waiver package, send it to your new squadron where they will probably not really know what to do with it (unless you're at a unit that hires a lot of gold wings) and eventually they will send it up the chain to the Wing and forward it to AFRC out in Georgia (or elsewhere for Guard) where it'll be reviewed and hopefully stamped for approval. Your squadron may or may not "interview" you before they send it up the chain -- my CO called me while I was in training with my airline and asked me how things were going and that was it -- he just wanted to be able to say he checked the box (very Air Forcey of him). The time it takes from submission to approval is months -- you do not want it getting kicked back down the chain, hence the advice I received on "when in doubt, include it." If you're applying to a Reserve squadron and need to ask AFRC questions about the status of your waiver or something else related to your waiver, I have the contact information of the GS who handles all of our waivers -- she's a very busy woman, so make sure you use her number sparingly -- but feel free to DM me for her info. If you're going Guard hopefully someone else here can chime in with similar contact info.

So what's in the ARB Waiver? Page 159 includes a sample memo for an ARB Waiver and includes a bullet list of what they're looking for. Part of it is pretty vague, other parts are very specific:

2. The following information supports my application:

a. Current Aviation Designation Orders.

b. Summary of Military Flying Training. (Include copies of orders or certificates that verify successful completion of all formal courses of flying training. If possible, include course names or titles, course numbers, class numbers, dates, and bases or facilities where training was accomplished.)

c. Aviation Service Orders. (Official military document(s) that show current qualification to perform duties in the aeronautical specialty, qualification at the time of separation from the military, or termination of military status that required flying duty.)

d. Medical Records. (DD Form 2808 and DD Form 2807-1, or other valid forms appropriate for the medical examination, certifying medical qualification for flying duty in the requested rating, completed within the past year.) IAW AFI 48-123, physical must be certified by MAJCOM/SG prior to submission.)

e. Military Flying Record. A record of all military flying time (USAF Flight Record Folder, Naval Aviator Aviation Training Jacket Summary Card and/or Army Officer Record Brief with Aviation Service Entry Date). Include a breakout of hours flown, including undergraduate flight training, by aircraft type, total time in each aircraft by primary, secondary, instructor, or evaluator hours, and date of last flight. This record may be a typed list or a copy of an official document showing the information. In either case, an air operations officer or equivalent should certify the record.

f. Duty History. A brief resume of military flying service to include time at various installations, aircraft in which qualified, and highest aircrew qualification attained in each aircraft.

g. Service Documentation. Copies of official documents that reflect the dates of commissioning, appointments, separations, and discharges.
NOTE: Active duty applicants should submit a copy of a leave and earnings statement. This document will be used to establish the ASD.

h. Statement of Aviation Service Qualification. Statement by the applicant that he or she was never disqualified from aviation service for cause.

i. Statement of Aviation Service Accidents. A statement by the applicant summarizing any accidents in which he or she was involved as a crewmember, or negative statement if applicable.

j. Assignment Limitation Statement. Former helicopter- only pilots must include the following statement: "If approved for award of the USAF pilot aeronautical rating, I understand I cannot be assigned to an active flying position in other than helicopters unless I complete USAF Specialized Undergraduate Flying Training or Fixed Wing Qualification Training. This restriction does not apply if I previously completed USAF/USN Primary Fixed Wing Qualification Training."

k. Summary of Civilian Flying Since Separation from Active Duty. Include record of civilian flying time by type aircraft and date of last flight if applicable. ANG applicants should include copies of all certificates and ratings held.

The ARB Waiver is full of PII, so as much as I'd like to post my waiver here, I can't. Ask a buddy for a copy of theirs if you can. I will include a copy/paste of the index I made for ARB so you have an idea of what I enclosed. Even though it's probably more technically correct as an AD Navy/Marine officer to use your own service's formatting, I elected to use the AF memo format to make it easier on them. My ARB was pretty big, but other guys submit a lot less. As a helo guy, there was some pressure, perceived or otherwise, to prove I didn't have to go back to fucking flight school to learn how houses get bigger. In a couple of rare cases, some guys here had their squadron offer to do the ARB Waiver for them, but personally that's crazy to me. If you're really invested in doing this transition, do you want airman schmuckatelli tearing apart your NATOPS jacket for photocopies and hoping he sends all the right things to the board? Personally, I wanted to be out of the Navy on the 31st and in the Air Force on the 1st, flying and getting paid ASAP. That's just, like, my opinion, dude, but do whatever you feel is best.

Here's the index of everything I sent (I've edited a couple items to keep the description more general, but the list is complete). It IS probably a lot compared to the average waiver, but I had no interest in getting it kicked back. Regarding the redundancy of some documents across sections, what I was told is once they receive your ARB waiver, they break it into sections and give each section to a different person to review. If each person says their portion of the review is good to go, you're golden -- hence the redundancy of some enclosures.

A. Aviation Designation Orders.
(A1) Naval Aviator Aviation Training Jacket Summary Card
(A2) Naval Aviation Designation Letter
(A3) FRS Orders
B. Summary of Military Flying Training.
(B1) NATOPS School/Course Attendance Summary
(B2) MQ-8B FRS Designation Letter
(B3) FAA UAS Training
(B4) MH-60S FRS Training Summary
(B5) Shipboard Aircraft Fire Fighting
(B6) Squadron Designation as Naval Aviator
(B7) Designation as Helicopter Pilot
(B8) Chief of Naval Air Training Designation as Naval Aviator
(B9) Advanced Flight Training Completion Summary
(B10) Naval Aviator Aviation Training Jacket Summary Card
(B11) ATJ Pink Sheet Summary (include this even if it's blank)
(B12) Aviation Preflight Indoctrination
(B13) Division Office Leadership Course
(B14) Navy Additional Qualification Designators
(B15) Navy Electronic Training Jacket
(B16) Operational Physiology, Land/Water Survival Training, Egress Training
(B17) Naval Aviation Survival Training Program Refresher
(B18) SERE Certificate
(B19) Naval Aviation Survival Training Program Qualification
(B20) T-6A Primary Flight Training
(B21) Air Force Physiological Training Record (from my time at Vance)
(B22) Naval Aviation Survival Training Program Qualification
(B23) CRM Training Records
(B24) LASER Training Records
(B25) T-6A Solo Certificate
(B26) TH-57 Solo Certificate
C. Aviation Service Orders.
(C1) Naval Aviator Designation
(C2) NATOPS Flight Personnel Designation Record
(C3) Pilot Designations Letter
(C4) Air Boss Designation
(C5) Helicopter Control Officer Designation
(C6) NATOPS Mission Qualification Record
(C7) Aircrew Air Combat Training Continuum (ACTC) Designation Letter
(C8) Rocket Strafe Waiver IAW Enclosure (C6).
(C9) ACTC Designation Letter
(C10) ACTC Designation Letter
(C11) ACTC Designation Letter
(C12) Weapons School Training Certification
(C13) M16 Rifle Qualification
(C14) M11 Pistol Qualification
(C15) NATOPS Examination Record
(C16) MH-60S NATOPS Evaluation (I only included the most recent checkride paperwork, this shit is long enough already!)
(C17) MH-60S Instrument Rating
(C18) MQ-8B NATOPS Evaluation
(C19) MQ-8B Instrument Rating
(C20) Instrument Ground School and Examination Qualification
(C21) Naval Aviator Aviation Training Jacket (ATJ) Summary Card
D. Medical Records.
Air Force Medical Enclosures (Get your AF Flight Physical knocked out ASAP so it doesn't hold up your waiver!)
(D1) DD 2992 – Medical Recommendation for Flying Duty
(D2) DD 2807 – Report of Medical History
(D3) DD 2808 – Report of Medical Examination
Navy Medical Enclosures
(D4) DD 2992 – Medical Recommendation for Flying Duty
(D5) DD 2807 – Report of Medical History
(D6) DD 2808 – Report of Medical Examination
(D7) Electrocardiogram
(D8) PRK Eye Surgery Waiver
(D9) Anthropometric Measurements
(D10) Anthropometric Measurements
Civilian Medical Enclosures
(D11) FAA First Class Medical Certificate
E. Military Flying Record.
In your cover page for this section, include a summary/table of the following for each military aircraft type flown:
Date First Flown
Date Last Flown
Total Time
Primary Time
Aircraft Commander
Night
Primary Instrument
Sim Instrument
Night Vision Device
Then include a summary/table of all your career totals:
Primary Time
Aircraft Commander Time
Night Vision Device Time
Total Military Time
Civilian PIC Time
Total Civilian Time
Total Time (Manned)
Total Time
Date First Flown (MIL)
Date First Flown (CIV)
Date Last Flown (MIL)
Date Last Flown (CIV)
Lastly, I included the following enclosures:
(E1) T-6A Last Logbook Page
(E2) TH-57B Last Logbook Page
(E3) TH-57C Last Logbook Page
(E4) Naval Aviator Winging Stamp
(E5) MH-60S Last Logbook Page
(E6) MQ-8B Last Logbook Page
(E7) Logbook Hours Summary
(E8) Qualifications and Achievements
(E9) Civilian Last Logbook Page
F. Duty History.
This section was a single page which was essentially a resume of my duty station history (commissioning through current with dates), jobs performed at each duty station, and all of the quals received therein. I also included a notes section at the bottom explaining all the mission qual abbreviations. If you DM me I can shoot you a copy of this.
G. Service Documentation.
DOCUMENT
(G1) Ensign (O-1) Appointment Acceptance and Record
(G2) Lieutenant Junior Grade (O-2) Appointment
(G3) Lieutenant (O-3) Appointment
(G4) Officer Summary Record
(G5) Officer Data Card
(G6) Annual Fitness Report (FITREP) Summary
(G7) Physical Readiness Test (PRT) Summary
(G8) Leave and Earnings Statement
(G9) Statement of Service (Documentation of Separation while DD214 is processed; DD214 expected NOV19.)
ORDERS
(G10) Officer Candidate School, Naval Base Newport, RI
(G11) Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, NAS Pensacola, FL
(G12) Primary Flight Training (T-6A), Squadron, Base, State
(G13) Advanced Flight Training (Aircraft), Squadron, Base, State
(G14) Fleet Replacement Squadron (Aircraft), Base, State
(G15) Fleet Replacement Squadron (Aircraft), Base, State
(G16) Fleet Squadron (Aircraft), Base, State
(G17) Shore Tour, Base, State
(G18) TDY/TAD FRS Orders
(G19) Separation Orders, Base, State
H. Statement of Aviation Service Qualification.
A single signed page stating: "1. I have never been disqualified from aviation service for any cause." Easy!
I. Statement of Aviation Service Accidents.
Another single page stating the following (hopefully) as well as a couple of enclosures:
"1. I have never been involved in any aviation accidents or mishaps.
2. Please see the following Enclosures:
a. NATOPS Jacket Section IVB, Mishap/Flight Violation Record
b. Aviators Flight Logbook, Accident and Flight Rule Violation Record"
J. Assignment Limitation Statement.
This section is intended for Army guys. Whether you're Navy/Marine helo or fixed-wing, you simply need to write a statement saying it doesn't apply. Helo guys may need to expand slightly. Write something similar as below, sign it, and move on.
"1. This limitation does not apply. I was qualified in fixed-wing aircraft (T-6A) on DD MMM YY. While the majority of my experience in the Navy was in rotorcraft, I flew fixed-wing aircraft exclusively during PCS orders to Vance AFB as a JSUPT T-6A Student Pilot from MMM YY to MMM YY. I was winged in MMM YY as an Unrestricted Naval Aviator, meaning the Navy qualified me to fly either fixed-wing or rotorcraft."
K. Summary of Civilian Flying since Separation from Active Duty.
This is all they want:
"I have not flown any civilian aircraft since separation from active duty."
Then sign it. If you've already separated and are doing this process afterward, you'll have to dig in the AFI and try to figure out what to put here.

One additional benefit of including every bit of documentation you can find is later when you check into your squadron and SARM/OSS/etc is asking for some paperwork to get you paid, sent to school, or whatever....the answer for me has so far been "it's in my ARB Waiver" -- then the light bulb turns on and they pull up your pdf and thank you for helping them locate said paperwork.

Lastly, I've also attached some old gouge that some saint put together about a decade ago. The vast majority of it is still pertinent.

Goodluck and post your ARB questions here!

 

[PhrogLoop]

@RedFive, nice touch here: “I was winged as an Unrestricted Naval Aviator, meaning the Navy qualified me to fly either fixed-wing or rotorcraft."