Prior Service aspirations of flying.

[cfam]

Also on that link where does it talk about the ocs contracts? Am I overlooking something?

It’s all in the word choice. I would say you were being aggressively direct, and it came off as borderline rude.

In answer to your question: That’s what the PA covers. It’s the governing instruction for candidates who are looking for aviation contracts to OCS. You don’t go to Navy OCS and compete for a job, you are selected by a board for your desired job beforehand. In your case, you would contact a Navy officer recruiter and express your desire to apply for an aviation slot. If they don’t pick you for aviation, you don’t go to OCS.

Also, I’m not an expert on the USAF, but they offer aviation contracts as well. Their version of OCS is known as OTS. Here’s the USAF version of this forum so you can ask more specific questions there. https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/

The Army also offers aviation contracts (albeit primarily helicopters) , and in your case the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program might be a good call (the max age is 33). https://recruiting.army.mil/ISO/AWOR/Civilian_WOFT/ I’m not sure how their Officer aviation recruiting works though, so that’d be a question to pose to an army officer recruiter.

 

[daviscol]

It’s all in the word choice. I would say you were being aggressively direct, and it came off as borderline rude.

In answer to your question: That’s what the PA covers. It’s the governing instruction for candidates who are looking for aviation contracts to OCS. You don’t go to Navy OCS and compete for a job, you are selected by a board for your desired job beforehand. In your case, you would contact a Navy officer recruiter and express your desire to apply for an aviation slot. If they don’t pick you for aviation, you don’t go to OCS. That being said, you’ll need the age waiver, so your first stop should be to call the number on the website to nail down how old you can be to still apply. You’re on the verge of being too old as it is, but the prior service helps.

Ok well let this be my formal apology to the site. I just wanted a direct response as you have given. Thanks

 

[villo0692]

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Career/OCM/PA-106_OCS_Pilot_and_NFO_May-2022.pdf?ver=-ozpW_mJ0KOxwXaugU7uWQ%3d%3d

Here’s the program authorization. I did want to add thar even though you would have earned a flight school spot before going to Navy OCS, there is always the possibility of getting medically disqualified while at OCS and having to redesignate or DOR….happens not too often but enough to bring it up. I wanna say from when I went to OCS a good 4-5 had to eventually pick something else to do

 

[cfam]

Ok well let this be my formal apology to the site. I just wanted a direct response as you have given. Thanks

Sounds good. I edited my previous post to include USAF/USA information as well.

 

[daviscol]

It’s all in the word choice. I would say you were being aggressively direct, and it came off as borderline rude.

In answer to your question: That’s what the PA covers. It’s the governing instruction for candidates who are looking for aviation contracts to OCS. You don’t go to Navy OCS and compete for a job, you are selected by a board for your desired job beforehand. In your case, you would contact a Navy officer recruiter and express your desire to apply for an aviation slot. If they don’t pick you for aviation, you don’t go to OCS. That being said, you’ll need the age waiver, so your first stop should be to call the number on the website to nail down how old you can be to still apply. You’re on the verge of being too old as it is, but the prior service helps.

Also, I’m not an expert on the USAF, but they offer aviation contracts as well. Their version of OCS is known as OTS. Here’s the USAF version of this forum so you can ask more specific questions there. https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/

The Army also offers aviation contracts (albeit primarily helicopters) , and in your case the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program might be a good call (the max age is 33). https://recruiting.army.mil/ISO/AWOR/Civilian_WOFT/ I’m not sure how their Officer aviation recruiting works though, so that’d be a question to pose to an army officer recruiter.

Also looks like the age is 32. So I think I am good.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Regarding my question do you have any answers you would be able to provide? Good to know I am not among trolls. I am specifically interested in the idea of guaranteed contracts regarding aviation.

@cfam provided you good information and a great start to learning more.

Finally... you're going to eventually have to work with an officer recruiter, there's no work around with that. Kindly suggest you reach out to one. I get you may have seen negative experiences on the enlisted side, but officer recruiting isn’t as demanding and pushy as the enlisted side.

 

[cfam]

Also looks like the age is 32. So I think I am good.

Good catch. Keep in mind that that’s the max age for commissioning, not your application, so you may need the waiver if you don’t get picked up on your first few looks.

 

[daviscol]

Good catch. Keep in mind that that’s the max age for commissioning, not your application, so you may need the waiver if you don’t get picked up on your first few looks.

Awesome thanks!

 

[daviscol]

@cfam provided you good information and a great start to learning more.

Finally... you're going to eventually have to work with an officer recruiter, there's no work around with that. Kindly suggest you reach out to one. I get you may have seen negative experiences on the enlisted side, but officer recruiting isn’t as demanding and pushy as the enlisted side.

Thanks!

 

[daviscol]

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Career/OCM/PA-106_OCS_Pilot_and_NFO_May-2022.pdf?ver=-ozpW_mJ0KOxwXaugU7uWQ%3d%3d

Here’s the program authorization. I did want to add thar even though you would have earned a flight school spot before going to Navy OCS, there is always the possibility of getting medically disqualified while at OCS and having to redesignate or DOR….happens not too often but enough to bring it up. I wanna say from when I went to OCS a good 4-5 had to eventually pick something else to do

What was the process like to get the SNA. How long/how competitive was it for you? I'm assuming you went through OCS?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

First let me say that if I am doing this wrong or posting this in the wrong area please forgive me as I am new and just looking for answers.

Secondly, I am coming here because A: the internet is full of information, but it can be dated, or generally just be a rabbit hole and B: Recruiters have no idea most of the time or at least only have partial information. That is my experience with them and know that they are tasked with getting people in and not necessarily what they want.

Please refrain from answering my post if you don't know, or just want to generally degrade me for not "using the internet right". If you don't have the answer or a direct link with the answer I don't really have time for you. I've been down that trip with Reddit, recruiters, and the internet as a whole so I am growing impatient. No one seems to be able to answer a few basic questions. The internet is full of knowledge but nowhere that I have seen does it show how to get from point A to point B with specifics.

Ok to my question, I am a 27 year old with a 4 year degree in homeland security. I am a year out from ETS from the Army National Guard. Upon my completion of the Guard I will be 28 years old with 8 years of service (4.5 active Army, and 3.5 National Guard). I served in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a sniper for all of my time on active. My military schooling includes Airborne, Ranger School, RASP, two sniper courses. I don't guess any of that is actually relevant here, but I offer it to paint a bigger picture in the event it does matter. I want to fly fixed wing aircraft, preferably fighters. I understand everyone wants to be a fighter pilot etc, and that may not be realistic but this is my preference with the goal of flying fixed wing aircraft. My question is regarding my background how would I go about making this a reality? Is this even realistic, or merely a pipe dream? The crux of my question pertains to guaranteed opportunity. I've been around the military long enough know to that nothing is guaranteed. However, when I initially joined the Army I was GUARANTEED an opportunity to attend Ranger Assessment and Selection via my contract. Is there anything like this across the services regarding aviation. From what I can gather you have to go to OCS in any of the branches and there compete for an aviation slot. It's not like you can get the contract stating "upon successful completion of OCS go to flight school" before hand. Or is there, that is my question?

Up and to this point my whole perception of military flight has been "unless you go to an academy, play 3 sports, and major in nuclear engineering" you won't even have a chance. I don't know if that's true or not, but one thing I have learned in the military is that rumors and generally false information have a tendency to circulate. I'm no Bo Jackson with a nuclear engineering degree, but I think my background proves I'm not a complete out of shape Jackass.

So, Is this a realistic goal for me, and are there any such contracts that I was referencing? If no and no what is the best route for me to have a chance? aviation in general, but with a preference in fixed wing and fighters.

Thank You!

The only thing that matters is that you are under the age limit to submit (which you are) and that you have a very good ASTB (which you need to take). The stuff you did while you were in the Army is great for stories but none of it matters, a person that was a cook for 3 years who gets 9's on the ASTB would be a better applicant than a person with 5's who was a green beret.

Talk to an OR, take the ASTB and see where it goes from there.

 

[daviscol]

The only thing that matters is that you are under the age limit to submit (which you are) and that you have a very good ASTB (which you need to take). The stuff you did while you were in the Army is great for stories but none of it matters, a person that was a cook for 3 years who gets 9's on the ASTB would be a better applicant than a person with 5's who was a green beret.

Talk to an OR, take the ASTB and see where it goes from there.

Awesome, any idea where I can find a realistic practice ASTB?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Awesome, any idea where I can find a realistic practice ASTB?

There’s an entire ASTB test prep section on this forum.

 

[HuggyU2]

There’s an entire ASTB test prep section on this forum.

Maybe Daviscol will eventually use the Search function.

 

[villo0692]

What was the process like to get the SNA. How long/how competitive was it for you? I'm assuming you went through OCS?

I started my application October 2020, I was 28 at the time, I'm also a prior. I found out I got selected for pilot June of 2021, went to OCS Oct 2021 and commissioned in Jan 2022. Started flight school last December, I'm close to finishing NIFE. However, I only took the ASTB once (8/8/7 FWIW), had no medical roadblocks nor any other circumstances working against me (arrests, drug use, NJPs, etc) and all around my recruiters were all rockstars (shout out to Boston MEPS), and I applied at a "good time to apply", so needless to say, my process was very smooth. Right now as it was brought up, selections have gone down quite a bit and even for people who do get picked up, the wait to leave for OCS is very long, so your process might look a lot different than mine. As far as how competitive it was, so long you get a good ASTB (8s and 9s, if a recruiter tells you 6s will get you there....well I'd question their judgement a bit) and have a decent GPA (I had 3.95 in electrical engineering) then you got a good shot, I've even seen people with mediocre GPAs get picked if they had a good enough ASTB....so study for that shit, there's a really in depth and dedicated section in this website with everything you need to know and more