FY14 STA-21 Applicants

[Paul A. Williams]

So I finished all my interviews today and I thought I would put together a list of questions that I was asked between last year and this year.

*Why do you want to be an officer
*You can be a great leader as a chief why not stay enlisted and strive to make CoB or CMC
Why do you think you should be picked over the rest of people that have more time in
What happened your first time in college and how do we know it wont happen again
What do you like about the navy
What do you not like about the navy
If you could change one thing with the navy what would it be
How do you feel about the navy's current strategy regarding sea dominance and power projection?
Why SWO/IP/IW (insert your chosen program)
What can you tell me about this designator
What skills will you draw on to be a good leader
Tell me about different programs and resources the navy has that are available to you and your men
What is more important accomplishing the mission or your people
What is integrity to you? Tell me a time that you showed integrity
How would you resolve conflict with a peer?

Being prior enlisted you are working with someone who graduated the academy and you see that he does not have the best working relationship with his division/department. Do you think it is important to have a good relationship with your people, and if so how do you mentor your peer?
You are an dept head. and the captain, xo, and a fellow dept head give you tasking all need to be done time now. Which do you do first and why? How do you tell the others that their work wont be done by the time they need it?
You are a divo and you have a sailor who does a great job, never late and always squared away, but he drinks a case a beer everyday. What do you do?
You are a divo and you are in your capt's good graces he calls you by your first name and all. One day he ask you to run to his state room to get his glasses. So you go and do as he requests. In the process of looking for his glasses in his desk you happen to find some child porn. What do you do?
You are a direct support officer and have been underway on deployment for a month. You have a JO under you who has been your best friend since college. One day he shows up to watch drunk. What do you do?
You are a hot fill XO. You get done shaking the capt's hand and the CoB(CMC) walks in and says excuse me skipper, but I have an issue and need to speak with the XO. The CoB tells you that their is a sailor who was late 4 hours to duty and did not call. They eventually had to pick him up in the barracks, and he is still hung over. What do you do? Oh and by the way he found out last week his kid had brain cancer (they guy asking the question said it just like that).

*While this is a personal opinion many people will agree (especially Officers in the URL communities from what I've seen) want to hear something concerning command authority, commission from the president of the united states, want to have your own command, CMC's are not able to command the ship they are apart of..... Personally I say these along with other personal reasons. I have found that this is the best way to answer that question, and I was humbled on a couple occasion (luckily not in official boards) when asked that question. I was told point blank by an O-4 LDO SWO (prior MMCS-agang) that is the one reason above all anyone should want to be an Officer. Anyway it's been a long day so I'm going to sleep I apologize for any grammar mistakes, but I was thinking about you guys and thought I would help.

 

[christobal1227]

Hello Everyone!

I have currently been working on my package for the Pilot/NFO option since mid-November of last years. I just recently got some numbers over the last three years of applicants that were selected. And in doing so I became discouraged. For one, the applicants that were selected were all E-4 and above, (even though I will pick up on this next test cause I scored in the 98th percentile on the last test but didnt pick up due to an eval that I received after only being at my current command a couple months. Also, the number of applicants selected over the last three years has declined every year. Still I am continuing with my package and I feel that I have a strong personal statement and my Command is helping me out very much(Shout out to HM1 Lawrence and HM2 Carfaro. I currently have one LOR from my flight surgeon an O-5. I will be getting one from the Marine Corps Base CO who is a pilot, and one from a high school coach. I will have 10 college credits once my package gets submitted. I am taking the ASTB next week so if anyone has any tips on taking the test etc. that would be awesome. Does anyone know when it comes down to what the Naval Education center looks at when looking at these packages. They say the personal statement and CO's endorsment are the two most important documents in the package. Does this hold true? Good luck to everyone and I look forward to more posts and communication between this years members who we applying!


Rate: HN
Warfare: None
Age: 21
TIS: 2.5 years
High School: 3.5 (all honors and AP - Including AP Calculus)
College: 3.5 gpa with 10 credits
ACT: 22 Math, 23 English (2012)
Evals: P (to establish PMA- I attended 5 schools before getting to my first command), MP (4 months after I got to my first real command)
Awards: LOA
PRT: good,excellent high, excellent high
LORs: (1) O-6 ,(2)O-5, (1)O-3, (1) High school coach

 

[BackOrdered]

Hello Everyone!

I have currently been working on my package for the Pilot/NFO option since mid-November of last years. I just recently got some numbers over the last three years of applicants that were selected. And in doing so I became discouraged. For one, the applicants that were selected were all E-4 and above, (even though I will pick up on this next test cause I scored in the 98th percentile on the last test but didnt pick up due to an eval that I received after only being at my current command a couple months. Also, the number of applicants selected over the last three years has declined every year. Still I am continuing with my package and I feel that I have a strong personal statement and my Command is helping me out very much(Shout out to HM1 Lawrence and HM2 Carfaro. I currently have one LOR from my flight surgeon an O-5. I will be getting one from the Marine Corps Base CO who is a pilot, and one from a high school coach. I will have 10 college credits once my package gets submitted. I am taking the ASTB next week so if anyone has any tips on taking the test etc. that would be awesome. Does anyone know when it comes down to what the Naval Education center looks at when looking at these packages. They say the personal statement and CO's endorsment are the two most important documents in the package. Does this hold true? Good luck to everyone and I look forward to more posts and communication between this years members who we applying!


Rate: HN
Warfare: None
Age: 21
TIS: 2.5 years
High School: 3.5 (all honors and AP - Including AP Calculus)
College: 3.5 gpa with 10 credits
ACT: 22 Math, 23 English (2012)
Evals: P (to establish PMA- I attended 5 schools before getting to my first command), MP (4 months after I got to my first real command)
Awards: LOA
PRT: good,excellent high, excellent high
LORs: (1) O-6 ,(2)O-5, (1)O-3, (1) High school coach

How is your pin coming?

To be honest at a glance, if I were still a STA-21 adviser, I would like what I see. But without a warfare pin, I would be hesitate to route it to the Skipper. I would also need to see the written statements.

 

[Doc B-dorf]

So I did my Internal Board today, and here is what I was asked:

What sets you apart from other candidates?
Tells us about your life and why you are choosing to become a physician?
How does being older and having a family affect you? What have you learned?
Where do you see yourself in 10 to 15 years if you are not accepted for this program?
As an Officer, you are expected to be at a higher level, how would Honor, Courage, and Commitment fall into your role as an Officer?
Would you be willing to take a different route to become a physician?
What are some of your strengths and weaknesses in your opinion? How would your coworkers describe your temperment?
What are some examples of conflict with your superiors and juniors and looking back how would you of handled them differently?
What have you done to prove your can lead Sailors?
Why cardiothoracic surgery?

Basically, the board questioned how my experiances in the Navy would make me a good leader and what are some of the choices I have had to make as a leader to prepare me for the experiance as an Officer.

 

[ITguy1]

Hello everyone,

Just found this site and got an account. It’s really interesting to see everyone’s credentials. Gives me an idea of how I stack up. This will be my first try at the program although I have wanted to put a package together for a few years but have been on alot of deployments in the last 6 years(4). I have two friends who made it a few years ago but would love to hear input and work with some people here as well. I’ll put my stats bellow. I still have alot of work today coming back from a yearlong IA. I would like to go IW/INTEL but I read that there aren’t many picked each year. I would also take SWO/IP but not sure if I can get it due to age. I was sad to see that they did away with the straight IP option.At this point I can ride with just Core and try to lateral convert later.

Good luck to everyone and hope to work with you.

Stats:
Rate:IT1/E-6
Time in: 6.5 years
Commands: LHD, IA CJIOC-A, shore, IA CJTF HOA (Flag Comm)
Age:26(just turned)
Pins: EXW/SW/IDW(working)
Evals: EP(E-6 IA detach),P(first E-6), MP(E-5 new command), EP(E-5), EP(E-5), EP(E-5)
ACT/SAT: Don’t have current one
HS GPA: 2.5
Collage classes take: psychology B,
clep: intro to comp
Certs: Sec+
Awards: JCOM(2), NAM(2), Good Conduct(2), ACM, Overseas service, sea service(3), JMUC(2). Other unit and deployment awards as well.
LOR: Navy 0-8, Airforce 0-8, Navy 0-6(old CO)
PRT: All Good's

Im hopeing my navy accomplishments and the fact that I have done two IA's will off set my lack of classes. I almost have a associates just from schools and navy ceredits. Let me know what you think. Im in Norfolk.

 

[ITguy1]

Hello everyone,

Just found this site and got an account. It’s really interesting to see everyone’s credentials. Gives me an idea of how I stack up. This will be my first try at the program although I have wanted to put a package together for a few years but have been on alot of deployments in the last 6 years(4). I have two friends who made it a few years ago but would love to hear input and work with some people here as well. I’ll put my stats bellow. I still have alot of work today coming back from a yearlong IA. I would like to go IW/INTEL but I read that there aren’t many picked each year. I would also take SWO/IP but not sure if I can get it due to age. I was sad to see that they did away with the straight IP option.At this point I can ride with just Core and try to lateral convert later.

Good luck to everyone and hope to work with you.

Stats:
Rate:IT1/E-6
Time in: 6.5 years
Commands: LHD, IA CJIOC-A, shore, IA CJTF HOA (Flag Comm)
Age:26(just turned)
Pins: EXW/SW/IDW(working)
Evals: EP(E-6 IA detach),P(first E-6), MP(E-5 new command), EP(E-5), EP(E-5), EP(E-5)
ACT/SAT: Don’t have current one
HS GPA: 2.5
Collage classes take: psychology B,
clep: intro to comp
Certs: Sec+
Awards: JCOM(2), NAM(2), Good Conduct(2), ACM, Overseas service, sea service(3), JMUC(2). Other unit and deployment awards as well.
LOR: Navy 0-8, Airforce 0-8, Navy 0-6(old CO)
PRT: All Good's

Im hopeing my navy accomplishments and the fact that I have done two IA's will off set my lack of classes. I almost have a associates just from schools and navy ceredits. Let me know what you think. Im in Norfolk.

Forgot to mention I have been doing community service for the last 6 years, everything from habitat for humanity to rehabbing orphanages in AFG.

 

[Doc B-dorf]

Hello everyone,

Just found this site and got an account. It’s really interesting to see everyone’s credentials. Gives me an idea of how I stack up. This will be my first try at the program although I have wanted to put a package together for a few years but have been on alot of deployments in the last 6 years(4). I have two friends who made it a few years ago but would love to hear input and work with some people here as well. I’ll put my stats bellow. I still have alot of work today coming back from a yearlong IA. I would like to go IW/INTEL but I read that there aren’t many picked each year. I would also take SWO/IP but not sure if I can get it due to age. I was sad to see that they did away with the straight IP option.At this point I can ride with just Core and try to lateral convert later.

Good luck to everyone and hope to work with you.

Stats:
Rate:IT1/E-6
Time in: 6.5 years
Commands: LHD, IA CJIOC-A, shore, IA CJTF HOA (Flag Comm)
Age:26(just turned)
Pins: EXW/SW/IDW(working)
Evals: EP(E-6 IA detach),P(first E-6), MP(E-5 new command), EP(E-5), EP(E-5), EP(E-5)
ACT/SAT: Don’t have current one
HS GPA: 2.5
Collage classes take: psychology B,
clep: intro to comp
Certs: Sec+
Awards: JCOM(2), NAM(2), Good Conduct(2), ACM, Overseas service, sea service(3), JMUC(2). Other unit and deployment awards as well.
LOR: Navy 0-8, Airforce 0-8, Navy 0-6(old CO)
PRT: All Good's

Im hopeing my navy accomplishments and the fact that I have done two IA's will off set my lack of classes. I almost have a associates just from schools and navy ceredits. Let me know what you think. Im in Norfolk.

The one thing that is going to destroy any chance of selection is the lack of ACT/SAT scores. There are plenty of reasource study guides out there for you and knocking the ACT/SAT out of the park can help offset some parts of the package and at least show the board that you have very high aptitude for college. What college are you close to you associates in? What college would you look at if you were picked up? I would look at that college and make sure that military credit transfers. For me, even though I have pleny of credit from my military schools, the University of Washington and University of Maryland DO NOT accept military training for credit, so they would just toss that leaving me with the college courses I have taken.

My advice is to study hard for the SAT/ACT and hopefully ou can knock out some college courses through NCPACE or if you are on a shore command it is the ideal time to go to school

 

[Paul A. Williams]

Don't forget CLEP and DSST even if the scores don't transfer it shows your atleast working on something. I've done 5 within my first year at my first sea command.

 

[A_Longo88]

Helllloooooo everyone .... Round 2 ... FIGHT !!! ... lol

I will be applying for SWO(IP) again this year. Hopefully my alternate selection last year will really help my chances this year. It seems like most the alternate selectees usually get it the following year considering they have made some good improvements to their packages. For some reason I dont fell 110% motivated like I was last year but I thinks it's just because I still have the bitter taste in my mouth. I tip my hat to those of you who are applying for your third+ times. I look forward to counting down the days with you guys once again.

V/R,
AS2(AW/SW) Longoria

 

[christobal1227]

How is your pin coming?

To be honest at a glance, if I were still a STA-21 adviser, I would like what I see. But without a warfare pin, I would be hesitate to route it to the Skipper. I would also need to see the written statements.

^

Unfortunately..... I am currently at a shore command. A blue side clinic in Yuma, AZ and my CO is at Camp Pendleton Hospital. I cannot earn a warfare device here.... unless I get deployed. Which I have asked many times to be deployed, however, being a smaller command and the deployments lessening, I have not been able to deploy. Is there something I could add to my package to help make it look a litte better. I am involved a lot in my command and the community. Thanks!

 

[Paul A. Williams]

Has anyone tried to write their senator or state representative for an endorsement? If you actually managed to get one think it would matter? It would just be fluff, but still. I'm debating if it is worth the try.

 

[A_Longo88]

Has anyone tried to write their senator or state representative for an endorsement? If you actually managed to get one think it would matter? It would just be fluff, but still. I'm debating if it is worth the try.

I think the best LORs come from those senior officers who you have actually worked for.

 

[BusyBee604]

Has anyone tried to write their senator or state representative for an endorsement? If you actually managed to get one think it would matter? It would just be fluff, but still. I'm debating if it is worth the try.

My opinion only: Seriously, only if I previously worked for a politician... or they were perhaps, a family friend who actually knows me, I wouldn't chance it! Public approval rating for politicians, especially CongressCritters these days, are in the dumper. I think your scout troop leader or a teacher/professor, or anyone in a leadership position who knows you, would impress much more than a politico who never heard of you.
*See Navy OCS Forum; thread: "Applying to the March 2013 Board", Pg. 12, Post #299
BzB

 

[Doc B-dorf]

^

Unfortunately..... I am currently at a shore command. A blue side clinic in Yuma, AZ and my CO is at Camp Pendleton Hospital. I cannot earn a warfare device here.... unless I get deployed. Which I have asked many times to be deployed, however, being a smaller command and the deployments lessening, I have not been able to deploy. Is there something I could add to my package to help make it look a litte better. I am involved a lot in my command and the community. Thanks!

christobal,

It is NEVER unfortunate to be at a shore command. If you cannot get sent on a deployment, do the next best thing, keep going to college! Get your math, physics and chemistry classes knocked out and maintain the high GPA you have, that will help with your package!

While it is nice to get a warfare pin, obviously if you are at a command with no ability for a warfare program, offset that with leadership. The advancement exam is right around the corner, start advancement training at your clinic. I have my HNs doing all sorts of things (advancement training, JEA, HM Ball, etc), IF they have time after their primary duties are done. I don't know what you do at your command, but I am assuming you have been in less than five years, so you have to find someway to substantiate WHY you would be a good choice for the STA-21 program.

Just my .02 cents.

Has anyone tried to write their senator or state representative for an endorsement? If you actually managed to get one think it would matter? It would just be fluff, but still. I'm debating if it is worth the try.

BusyBee64 and A-Long088 are correct, unless you have worked for a politician, I would not even bother. Do I know how the board would upon such a letter? No, I do not. One thing is, remember who is cutting the budgets, politicians so I personally do not think that a LOR from one would do a whole lot.

Just my .02 cents yet again.

 

[Harrier Dude]

^

Unfortunately..... I am currently at a shore command. A blue side clinic in Yuma, AZ and my CO is at Camp Pendleton Hospital. I cannot earn a warfare device here.... unless I get deployed. Which I have asked many times to be deployed, however, being a smaller command and the deployments lessening, I have not been able to deploy. Is there something I could add to my package to help make it look a litte better. I am involved a lot in my command and the community. Thanks!

Would getting aircrew wings help? I know that SAR is hurting bad for Corpsmen. It's a good desk, too. Beats sitting around at the clinic handing out Motrin.