I've been told 23 is too old for air contract?

[MIDNJAC]

There is no reason why he should be pissed. Being proactive, planning ahead, getting familiar with the process and setting goals are all things that you SHOULD be doing right now. Don't worry about not having flight experience, there are plenty of guys who did just fine in flight school with none coming in the door. Flight sims are not really going to be beneficial to you, so I wouldn't bank on that, but it is good that you are generally familiar with aviation....that will help to some extent. But there is no need to bribe anyone....just go there, tell him what you want to do, and make sure you get your questions answered as to the "hows". He may not be able to do much with you right now, but it's not wasted time for either of you.

 

[Boomhower]

The guy I spoke to was in fact an S Sgt. assistant OSO. I am very aware of the smoke he was bowing and I don't want speak with him again. In fact I think it would be beneficial in my case to drive the 40 minutes and speak with the Captain OSO himself.

Do you guys think the OSO would get pissed if called his office and asked to make an appointment to drive down to his office and speak with him face to face about my desire to become a pilot in the Marines, even though I will not be interested in OCC for another year, and will not be helping him fill the demands for this year? I understand he has assistants, but I know they only get around 3 air contracts a year for OCC people through his office. I want one and I want to make sure he remembers my name when another contract passes over his desk during the next fiscal year, after my PRK surgery ( I already did the research about waiting times and parameters)

Bypass the SSGT, all together. Anybody that is that wrong while trying to recruit people is either insanely ignorant or intentionally lying to you. Go straight to the source and if you don't like him, go to another Officer recruiter in another area. You may only have one shot at this, get it right.

...I have religiously played flight simulators since I was 10...

I don't know that I would bring this up during your meeting. It kind of gives off that 'World of Warcraft' vibe and I don't know that most Marines are into that. I could be wrong.

 

[TexasZJ1]

You're not too old, that guy was bsing you.



Hunter

 

[kylie]

To reiterate what everyone else is saying - you WOULD HAVE to be 22 or 23. A lot of people who were AE or ME often go into the military post graduation - & to go to OCS, you have to have a BA.

 

[cehw802]

Well first thing that you need to do is talk to an "officer" recruiter. My fiance is an O-2 in the Marines and I am going into the Navy to fly. I ended up having to call the enlisted recruiter to get the phone number for the officer recruiter. The enlister guy pretty much filled my ear with a bunch of crap.

23 isn't too old. I promise. You just need to talk to the right recruiter, take the ASTB, then go from there. They cannot really help you until you take the ASTB!

Good LUck!

 

[twobecrazy]

Well first thing that you need to do is talk to an "officer" recruiter.

As stated above he was speaking with an officer recruiter (OR).

 

[Bolsa]

Do you guys think the OSO would get pissed if called his office and asked to make an appointment to drive down to his office and speak with him face to face about my desire to become a pilot in the Marines, even though I will not be interested in OCC for another year, and will not be helping him fill the demands for this year?

NO. You are not too old, I believe that has been covered.
However, I am intrigued to Cron's reply for the age cut offs for USMC SNA... 27.5... really? Why the .5 ?

and

NO. If the OSO is the kind of person we should have in that billet, then he/she would be more than willing to talk to you about your interests. Your willingness alone to make an appointment and drive 40 min to meet, should show that you are serious about your intention to gain an aviation contract. Even if you are not shooting for a slot during this year, just getting name / face recognition will be good. Plus any and all questions you ask, will help you prepare for when you are ready to compete for a slot. Here are some other things to consider/remember:

- Will he be the same OSO that you would deal with when the actual time comes?

- Nothing is guaranteed

I have no flight experience, but I have religiously played flight simulators since I was 10, and I have collected a small library of aviation literature and flight manuals since a young age.

- I agree with Boomhower... don't mention this, most don't have any flight experience when they show up to flight school... plus, PC simulations are not really flight experience any way.

Although I am probably a dime a dozen in my recruiters eyes, I would appreciate any advice on how to approach this OSO and secure an OCC flight contract for next year, without bribing lol.

-Bribing in the form of beer never hurts...
-You don't necessarily have to meet in his office. He/she may prefer answer some questions over a beer, after a long day's hard work.

hmm... I must be craving a beer...

Good luck, and if you really want it... don't take no for an answer...

 

[SWACQ]

As stated above he was speaking with an officer recruiter (OR).

You are missing the point. The "officer recruiter" he is talking to is full of shit. He needs to talk to an OFFICER.

This same thing happened to me 15 years ago. Well meaning SSgt "officer recruiter" really wanted me to go to Paris Island more than he wanted me to go to Quantico. I got into the back office to talk to the OFFICER who saw my scores and suddenly its "how soon can we get you to OCS?"


Sent from my HTC EVO using tapatalk.

 

[twobecrazy]

You are missing the point. The "officer recruiter" he is talking to is full of shit. He needs to talk to an OFFICER.

This same thing happened to me 15 years ago. Well meaning SSgt "officer recruiter" really wanted me to go to Paris Island more than he wanted me to go to Quantico. I got into the back office to talk to the OFFICER who saw my scores and suddenly its "how soon can we get you to OCS?"


Sent from my HTC EVO using tapatalk.

Sir,

I am not missing the point and I couldn't agree with you more, however, to say he needs to speak with a OR is inaccurate because he was actually speaking to one. Should he speak with another OR the answer is definitely. Would it be better to speak with an officer OR over the original OR again I would agree with you. That being said many people have problems with an officer OR just as much as this guy has problems with an enlisted OR. Maybe the biggest thing we should take out of this is that we need to correct the information discrepancies in officer recruiting.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Great....another sea lawyer is born.....

 

[twobecrazy]

Great....another sea lawyer is born.....

Well I am hoping a pair of NFO wings will fix me, otherwise, I need to run for office so I can state things everyone knows but chooses not to fix them!

 

[Cron]

However, I am intrigued to Cron's reply for the age cut offs for USMC SNA... 27.5... really? Why the .5 ?

I wouldn't know, but it's just the way it is. Age cut-offs are 27 for Navy, and 27.5 for Marines (0.5 = 6 months). This is straight from HQMC.

 

[HAL Pilot]

I wouldn't know, but it's just the way it is. Age cut-offs are 27 for Navy, and 27.5 for Marines (0.5 = 6 months). This is straight from HQMC.

They realize it take Marines a little longer to learn stuff...... :icon_zbee

 

[Mdale]

Thanks for the replies everyone, they have been very helpful.

I recently received a follow up email from the Ssgt officer recruiter, asking me if I had any more questions. I asked him what I can do in the meantime to increase my chances of securing an OCC SNA or NFO contract, even though he told me before that only PLC people get SNA contracts and OCC people don't . In his response to my email, He completely ignored the fact that I am also interested in SNA, and told me there should be a few NFO contracts next year which surprises me since they don't see their recruiting goals until the next fiscal year. I also had specific questions about PRK and he said go to about.com to find out my questions, and stressed the fact that NFOs don't need PRK.I get the impression that this guy doesn't really care about any OCC applicants until they are ready to submit their applications.

He also told me to continue exercising but didn't offer any more information as far as seminars or tests that I can participate in the meantime to enhance my competitiveness. I was wondering if you guys know if myself, being a year off from submitting any kind of application, can take the ASTB?

I am a premed major here at my university and I know how competitive medical school is, as I am applying to med schools for shits and giggles. Even though I have the grades and extracurriculars to get in, I decided a while ago that's not what I want to do the rest of my life, and I will not be a satisfied old man on my death bed 60 years from now if I continued with that track. Anyways, Pre med majors know there is never enough one can do as far as volunteer work, research, and taking ridiculous classes to make oneself competitive. I have made it my mission to make my plate the past 5 years as full as possible and I am not comfortable with someone like this enlisted officer recruiter telling me to sit with my thumb up my ass until next year.

I'm going to take everyone's advice on this one and go right to the captain about my desire to serve my country as a Marine officer. Perhaps he can be more proactive in telling me what I can do to become competitive for one of these contracts.

On a side note, I don't want you people, or the recruiters to think I'm a whiny narrow minded brat who only wants to be a fighter pilot. I have a desire to become a Marine officer because I want to serve my country first and foremost. The pilot part is only secondary and even if I did not get a contract next year I will still apply for OCC as being a Marine officer is my foremost concern. I just view this whole process as playing a game of poker, with not much to loose, as the worst that can happen is me becoming a Marine officer, which is good enough for me. However, I will only play hands when I feel I am confident with the set of cards I have in my hands.

 

[Swanee]

Thanks for the replies everyone, they have been very helpful.

I recently received a follow up email from the Ssgt officer recruiter, asking me if I had any more questions. I asked him what I can do in the meantime to increase my chances of securing an OCC SNA or NFO contract, even though he told me before that only PLC people get SNA contracts and OCC people don't . In his response to my email, He completely ignored the fact that I am also interested in SNA, and told me there should be a few NFO contracts next year which surprises me since they don't see their recruiting goals until the next fiscal year. I also had specific questions about PRK and he said go to about.com to find out my questions, and stressed the fact that NFOs don't need PRK.I get the impression that this guy doesn't really care about any OCC applicants until they are ready to submit their applications.

He also told me to continue exercising but didn't offer any more information as far as seminars or tests that I can participate in the meantime to enhance my competitiveness. I was wondering if you guys know if myself, being a year off from submitting any kind of application, can take the ASTB?

I am a premed major here at my university and I know how competitive medical school is, as I am applying to med schools for shits and giggles. Even though I have the grades and extracurriculars to get in, I decided a while ago that's not what I want to do the rest of my life, and I will not be a satisfied old man on my death bed 60 years from now if I continued with that track. Anyways, Pre med majors know there is never enough one can do as far as volunteer work, research, and taking ridiculous classes to make oneself competitive. I have made it my mission to make my plate the past 5 years as full as possible and I am not comfortable with someone like this enlisted officer recruiter telling me to sit with my thumb up my ass until next year.

I'm going to take everyone's advice on this one and go right to the captain about my desire to serve my country as a Marine officer. Perhaps he can be more proactive in telling me what I can do to become competitive for one of these contracts.

On a side note, I don't want you people, or the recruiters to think I'm a whiny narrow minded brat who only wants to be a fighter pilot. I have a desire to become a Marine officer because I want to serve my country first and foremost. The pilot part is only secondary and even if I did not get a contract next year I will still apply for OCC as being a Marine officer is my foremost concern. I just view this whole process as playing a game of poker, with not much to loose, as the worst that can happen is me becoming a Marine officer, which is good enough for me. However, I will only play hands when I feel I am confident with the set of cards I have in my hands.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say. You want an OCC air slot. The OSA has basically told you that the OSO either A-doesn't have any, or B-the few that he has are already filled. You aren't going to bump a guy from a slot that was awarded to him. So what next? You wait until next year, or go to a different OSO that may have a slot.