OCS How competitive would prior pilot/flying experience make me for a pilot slot in OCS?

[BlueDog58]

The attitude I'm taking in regards to that is that I'm going to be excited to be an aviator no matter what aircraft I end up flying, but I'm going to work as hard as possible during training to maximize my chances of getting my first choice airframe. There are no guarantees (heck there's no promise I'll even be selected for OCS) but if I put the work in, and rank at the top of my class, then the odds of me getting to fly what I want are much much higher than if I just coast through training.

Hit the nail on the head. That's my mindset, you were able to say that better than I could've said that.

 

[GoldLeaf]

Gotcha. I'm not worried about getting into trouble, I'm secure in my morals and can make good decisions easily. I tell myself all the time, "whatever it takes" to get there, as long as I get there. Did you end up where you wanted, wherever that was? If so, what did it take to get there?

I played baseball through college made decent grades, and took up flying after college before applying to OCS. I wouldn’t change a thing it made me who I am today.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

My school's licensed trainer diagnosed me. I was showing pretty much every symptom, it was pretty obvious. I had to go to a licensed doctor both times to get cleared.

Depending on what the medical documents say will really depend on if they will grant a medical waiver, they will need all documents including documented follow up appointments at least a month after the injury. There will also probably be a consult involved after all the initial reviews and initial physical. A lack of proper documentation is what took the one nearly a year to get approved.

Technically a concussion is disqualifying which is why the medical reviews.

I have not seen a person with more than 2 documented concussions get medically cleared for OCS, that doesn't mean it can't or hasn't happened, just that I haven't seen it.

Don't get another concussion.

 

[Meyerkord]

Hi im new to this forum, im currently a Federal Contractor for the Navy and a full time night student. Last term, I had a lot of work and traveling I had to do for the navy, and I was struggling with my college classes because I was working long hours so my GPA dropped to the low 3’s. Would the Navy Recruiter take that into consideration versus a full time college when I apply for OCS?

I'm not 100% sure if they take this into consideration or not, so I don't want to give you bad information.

 

[BlueDog58]

Depending on what the medical documents say will really depend on if they will grant a medical waiver, they will need all documents including documented follow up appointments at least a month after the injury. There will also probably be a consult involved after all the initial reviews and initial physical. A lack of proper documentation is what took the one nearly a year to get approved.

Technically a concussion is disqualifying which is why the medical reviews.

I have not seen a person with more than 2 documented concussions get medically cleared for OCS, that doesn't mean it can't or hasn't happened, just that I haven't seen it.

Don't get another concussion.

My concussions were mild, and they haven't affected me outside of when I was concussed. What about ROTC?

 

[Flash]

So could you say USAF grads (Academy, ROTC or even OTS) get a better shot at flying?

From what I know, and reinforced by what some USAF folks have said in this thread, in the Air Force the USAFA gets the bulk of initial pilot slots for the service while the 'leftovers' go to ROTC. USAF OTS is their 'spigot' too but they often get few to no pilot slots at times from what USAF types have told me.

For the Navy they seem to spread out the pilot slots between the USNA and ROTC equally, with OCS again being the 'spigot' but it usually has a decent number of pilot slots that folks off the street can actually get.

So to answer your question, USAFA grads have probably the best shot at getting a pilot slot by the numbers but both USNA and Navy ROTC grads have generally gotten a pilot slot over the last few years, if they are qualified. That is a function of how the Navy spreads its billets more equally among the USNA and ROTC programs in addition to having a more diverse set of 'warfare' officer billets to include submarines and surface ships than the USAF.

 

[Gatordev]

My concussions were mild, and they haven't affected me outside of when I was concussed. What about ROTC?

I think you missed what @exNavyOffRec said. It doesn't matter if it was "mild," it matters what the paperwork says. You'll need to look at that first and see what the actual diagnosis (if there truly was one) says.

OCS, ROTC, and USNA all require physicals, which are essentially the same thing...an accession physical. All three will require you to get the physical at least twice, plus whatever nonsense NAMI wants to redo at Pensacola when you get there (it can vary greatly). So you want to be very sure what you actually were diagnosed with and then stick to that story as you start the process.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I'm not 100% sure if they take this into consideration or not, so I don't want to give you bad information.

I had a CEC accessions officer (they are the CEC board) that had this come up with a candidate, the response was that this just indicates they can't time manage or prioritize, they should have either taken less classed or cut back on hours. The person in question was rejected by the board so it really depends who reads it and their feelings, kind of a know your audience type of situation but in this circumstance you don't so it is really tricky.

 

[BlueDog58]

From what I know, and reinforced by what some USAF folks have said in this thread, in the Air Force the USAFA gets the bulk of initial pilot slots for the service while the 'leftovers' go to ROTC. USAF OTS is their 'spigot' too but they often get few to no pilot slots at times from what USAF types have told me.

For the Navy they seem to spread out the pilot slots between the USNA and ROTC equally, with OCS again being the 'spigot' but it usually has a decent number of pilot slots that folks off the street can actually get.

So to answer your question, USAFA grads have probably the best shot at getting a pilot slot by the numbers but both USNA and Navy ROTC grads have generally gotten a pilot slot over the last few years, if they are qualified. That is a function of how the Navy spreads its billets more equally among the USNA and ROTC programs in addition to having a more diverse set of 'warfare' officer billets to include submarines and surface ships than the USAF.

Yeah, from what I've read on separate threads it seems like Navy routes overall have the better chances, outside of USAFA of course. The only thing deterring me from the Navy is the chance that I get subs. That is my worst nightmare.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hi im new to this forum, im currently a Federal Contractor for the Navy and a full time night student. Last term, I had a lot of work and traveling I had to do for the navy, and I was struggling with my college classes because I was working long hours so my GPA dropped to the low 3’s. Would the Navy Recruiter take that into consideration versus a full time college when I apply for OCS?

Depends on the board. Aviation... probably not so much as long as you have a great ASTB score and no legal/drug waivers.

Other communities, like what @exNavyOffRec suggested, probably so if it's discovered or there's not some sort of explanation.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Yeah, from what I've read on separate threads it seems like Navy routes overall have the better chances, outside of USAFA of course. The only thing deterring me from the Navy is the chance that I get subs. That is my worst nightmare.

You have to volunteer for subs, there have been those that were nuke drafted and go surface. I haven't heard of people getting nuke drafted in a while.