Recruiter JUST told me I didn't make August boards!

[sndyson]

Ok, my 2 cents which isn't worth that much...

I'm not going to tell you to chill out...I think that's been covered.

Feeling that something outside of your control is keeping you from what you want it not the best feeling.

Considering your DWI, I was sort of surprised you were given a waiver considering the abundance of qualified applicants without the waivers. I'm not saying that to be mean - it's actually a compliment that the CO thought that much of you to grant you a waiver. I'm sure it gave you a huge boost. Now as great as that was to hear that you were being granted a waiver, it however did not translate into his immediately dropping everything to call you. He's a CO. He commands a unit. He's got a bigger list of things to get accomplished that particular day other than your waiver for your DWI. The fact that you received a call within a couple of weeks is pretty good timing in my opinion (not that you asked for it). I'm also quite certain he was unaware of any deadline you had riding on his phone call.

You asked "so what am I to do now?" My best advice is to do everything you can to improve your package until you figure out when you can apply for the next board. Also, check with your recruiter to see which documents are time sensitive...meaning, ask when your LoR's, interviews, waivers, etc will expire so you can keep that in mind as time ticks away so you aren't faced with another deadline and all of these things to "handle" at the last minute (or even the last month). Because as you already have learned the hard way, if you waited until 2 weeks before the deadline to get something into your package....then you've already waited too long.

My other piece of advice is don't even think about pointing fingers at anyone...you are very right about that part. Even your phone call to NPC to get the OCS number is extremely tricky. Be very careful and proceed here with caution with tomorrow's phone call to OCS help desk. I would not contact them at all. It's a VERY SMALL Navy and everyone will remember the a-hole that called to complain because he didn't get his DWI waiver in on time to get picked up for OCS. Is that will what will be explained on the phone when you call, no, probably not. Will it matter? No, because that's what they will hear.

Best thing is to suck it up, accept what's occurred, and make sure you never let it happen again. Phone calls and bitterness won't cut it. Act like the officer you want to become, and take ownership of what's happened and make the best out of the situation and additional time you have been given. Do search other options, other branches, other programs within the Navy that may be compatible, etc - but do use all of your time to improve your package. Know that everyone else that didn't make this board will be doing the same and they will be your competition when the next board is scheduled.

Good luck to you,
Charlie

Thank you Charlie for the most useful comment yet, I didn't want to make the concession of sucking it up and waiting for the next go around but, short of a miracle, this seems to be the most likely case. I'm glad you were able to agree with me on a number of bases, everyone else seems to think I'm asking some grand favor of the Navy when I KNOW that at this point I pretty much don't even exist to them (which, at this point, is nothing short of expected). I will definitely try to incorporate your advice on other things, and I appreciate the actually genuine feedback. Thanks again!

 

[phrogpilot73]

...everyone else seems to think I'm asking some grand favor of the Navy when I KNOW that at this point I pretty much don't even exist to them (which, at this point, is nothing short of expected).

No. You came here asking for advice. It was given. You then suggested that our advice was not valid, and you needed suggestions for what to do.

Here's a clue. There's WELL over 40 years of military (active duty & reserve) experience that's told you to chill the fuck out and realize that sometimes you can't do anything other than be patient. You ever hear the phrase "patience is a virtue"? Officers are supposed to demonstrate that virtue among others...

 

[JMonte85]

Took me 2yrs of preparation to apply last August to the board, and another year, to go for it a second time (This August board).. Moral of the story, shit happens, learn from your mistake, press on and consider it an opportunity to better your package, since it seems like you threw it together last minute, I doubt you have anything other than average in your package.

With the more than usual competitiveness of the boards lately, high astb scores and a decent gpa probably doesn't cut it anymore.. But what do I know I'm on my second try... But my package was overhauled immensely. Had I've done it this way the first time, I'd probably be saddling up for OCS soon.

 

[BigIron]

OP,

Does your recruiter know you're going to call NPC? He/she is supposed to be your point of contact with NPC. If you haven't informed your recruiter, sounds to me like your jumping over them. I guess you don't like your recruiter.

BI

 

[MasterBates]

And your recruiter is NOT going to like you.

Acceptable to talk to NPC:
Recruiter: Hey OP, call Mr/LT/Mrs Soandso at NPC. Their number is (xxx)yyy-zzzz, it would be faster if they talked to you directly to clear up confusion on issue A-Z.

Unacceptable:
OP calling NPC because he feels he is not enough of a priority.

Master's no shit assessment:

You are FUCKING LUCKY you got the waiver for DUI. You won the fucking lotttery on that.

DO NOT PISS OFF THE MAN WHO GAVE IT TO YOU.

Or call his boss and call him to be shat upon. It WILL NOT go well for you.

 

[jbombs]

Not only are lucky to get that waiver, but someone I just graduated OCS with was selected as an SNFO and NAMI NPQ'd him and told him he had to take a 6 month alcohol course, so now he redesignated to another job. So just because you got that waiver doesn't even necessarily mean that you get to fly, because I'm sure the Navy knew that he had an alcohol incident, and it wasn't even driving related, just alcohol related. Down here at IFS/API, things are so competitive that ONE small incident involving alcohol (such as missing a 0700 muster) will get you attrited and sent home. So I would just keep that in mind that even if you make it into OCS, there are certainly no guarantees that you will make it even down to Pensacola.

 

[TXSooner07]

it wasn't even driving related, just alcohol related.

So what was the incident?

 

[NTXRockr]

Just FYI, I overheard this morning while at my NRD that the next board will be in January...they're sending applications in to that board now simply because of the backlog that this one has, and they'll be lucky if the applicants are even seen at that board. Supposedly back in May the wait list for this August board was 1400+ applicants, and that was before the Navy announced for certain that there would be an August board, after which the number jumped over 2000 applicants waiting to be seen at all. I had a friend who I helped tutor for the ASTB and he scored a 69/9/9/8 and had a solid application every other way he could without any hiccups from the past, but because his GPA was just below cutoff they STILL wouldn't grant him a waiver (even though many otherwise-stellar applicants in the past were granted one) and he's moving on to ANG or other avenues before he's too late to fly at all.

If you're serious about this, hurry up and wait (get used to that) and get everything else in your packet complete, then wait it out until January. My best advice: be scoring in the Outstanding categories on the PRT, get as high a score on the ASTB as possible, and do everything else in the meantime possible to make yourself a standout among thousands of other similar applicants. Give them a reason to keep you, not a reason to cut you. I debated the same logic you did (going up the Chain of Command) but reconsidered once I saw what my ORs were doing behind the scenes to keep me in the game, especially when it was ME who screwed the pooch and put myself and my OCS date in jeopardy.

 

[millsra13]

Supposedly back in May the wait list for this August board was 1400+ applicants, and that was before the Navy announced for certain that there would be an August board, after which the number jumped over 2000 applicants waiting to be seen at all.

You're info is WAY off. There are around 350 +- a few at board right now. Do you know how many apps each recruiter would have to send in to hit 2000? You are correct that there is an abnormally high number of apps this board (usually there are 150-200), but 2000 is ridiculous.

And to the OP, Calling NPC was stupid, they don't deal with recruiting. Calling is pointless anyway, the deadline for the board was last month and as you can tell, they don't need any new apps. Be patient, don't piss anyone off, and apply again. There is no way a quickly strewn together app could have been that great anyway, so improve it with LORs, volunteer work, and PRT scores and try again.

 

[wink]

For all the wannabes just passing through...there are consequences for your actions, sometimes unknown and years hence. I'd suggest that if the OP had been more serious about his future and applied for OCS when first eligible, like just before his senior year of college, and hadn't gotten a DUI, this thread would not exist. Even one year ago the board met more frequently and an early application allows for more reapplications before aging out. No DUI results in a MUCH more competitive app and no need to rely on the C.O. to do a favor and call for a waiver interview and supplement the app. We don't even know about his test score, GPA, major, employment history, PRT, age or medical history. It all matters. This just isn't about missing one Board.

 

[NTXRockr]

You're info is WAY off. There are around 350 +- a few at board right now. Do you know how many apps each recruiter would have to send in to hit 2000? You are correct that there is an abnormally high number of apps this board (usually there are 150-200), but 2000 is ridiculous.

You're right, 150-200 is the "normal" back when recruiting was smooth sailing and the military was actively picking up personnel and before the economic downturn. However, there have not been any boards in about a year (other than select communities like SEAL), and there are more than the average of 200 persons sending in applications now due to lack of jobs in the private sector and the turn to military that always happens with recessions. The 1400 was an accurate number in May, and if you do the math even at an average of 200/month over a year's time 2000 applications seems to be an understatement. Now, if they went through and culled out the pile with a large swath and narrowed it down to around 350 the past few weeks, that's something I haven't heard but could likely be true, and would make sense (I know they only have 121 pilot slots left to be filled, no need to look through a thousand SNA apps to find them). But I know for certain that when a friend of mine tried to put in his application in May that was the current count and it was climbing rapidly, especially with everything happening in Washington.

 

[millsra13]

You're right, 150-200 is the "normal" back when recruiting was smooth sailing and the military was actively picking up personnel and before the economic downturn. However, there have not been any boards in about a year (other than select communities like SEAL), and there are more than the average of 200 persons sending in applications now due to lack of jobs in the private sector and the turn to military that always happens with recessions. The 1400 was an accurate number in May, and if you do the math even at an average of 200/month over a year's time 2000 applications seems to be an understatement. Now, if they went through and culled out the pile with a large swath and narrowed it down to around 350 the past few weeks, that's something I haven't heard but could likely be true, and would make sense (I know they only have 121 pilot slots left to be filled, no need to look through a thousand SNA apps to find them). But I know for certain that when a friend of mine tried to put in his application in May that was the current count and it was climbing rapidly, especially with everything happening in Washington.

^^ That is how bad gouge gets started^^ Thanks for informing me how recruiting is going, I don't deal with it every day or anything. I'm not just giving an educated guess about the number of apps, or going by hearsay of a recruiter that was passed down and diluted. I work for CNRC in Millington and find it extremely annoying when people post numbers as "fact" just because "someone" told them. If you want to give opinions on how many apps you think are in Millington that is one thing, but many OCS hopefuls read this site looking for info and don't need to read about rumors. This is becoming a thread jack, so if you have any more statements about the recruiting process PM me.

 

[wink]

You're right, 150-200 is the "normal" back when recruiting was smooth sailing and the military was actively picking up personnel and before the economic downturn. However, there have not been any boards in about a year (other than select communities like SEAL), and there are more than the average of 200 persons sending in applications now due to lack of jobs in the private sector and the turn to military that always happens with recessions. The 1400 was an accurate number in May, and if you do the math even at an average of 200/month over a year's time 2000 applications seems to be an understatement. Now, if they went through and culled out the pile with a large swath and narrowed it down to around 350 the past few weeks, that's something I haven't heard but could likely be true, and would make sense (I know they only have 121 pilot slots left to be filled, no need to look through a thousand SNA apps to find them). But I know for certain that when a friend of mine tried to put in his application in May that was the current count and it was climbing rapidly, especially with everything happening in Washington.

In your original post throwing down the 1500-2000 number you qualified it with "supposedly". Now you are going to the mat defending it like you really know what you are talking about. On this forum, I'd be careful about sounding too expert on ANYTHING. Somewhere, we have a member who IS the expert, and several more far more expert than you. It matters not whether it is recruiting, F-18 vs F-16, the T-6 NFO syllabus or AR rifles. Millsra proves my point. Hell, I posted in this thread with a "former recruiter" title. I don't want to question your experience as a BDCP student, but you don't note any prior service as a recruiter or experience at BUPERS. So, I feel my experience might be instructive. These days there are only about 30-35 recruiters in the entire country working GEN OFF (SWO, avation, intel, etc). That means over 60 kits per recruiter sent to the Board, for avation only (they have other responsibilities). I am here to tell you, that is a lot. In the 1980s when recruiting to crew a 600 ship Navy Reagan was building to fight the Ruskies in blue water, standards were lower and the numbers much higher. My NRD alone put in nearly 25% of what the national goal is today. I know, 60 kits to the board is a lot. Now I don't know the actual number that went up this time around either. But barely a week ago I thought I heard the recruiter in my former NRD say the number was around 200. It's OBE now. I just wanted to impart a little wisdom. Don't be so sure about things you don't have reason to be sure about.

 

[sndyson]

And your recruiter is NOT going to like you.

Acceptable to talk to NPC:
Recruiter: Hey OP, call Mr/LT/Mrs Soandso at NPC. Their number is (xxx)yyy-zzzz, it would be faster if they talked to you directly to clear up confusion on issue A-Z.

Unacceptable:
OP calling NPC because he feels he is not enough of a priority.

Master's no shit assessment:

You are FUCKING LUCKY you got the waiver for DUI. You won the fucking lotttery on that.

DO NOT PISS OFF THE MAN WHO GAVE IT TO YOU.

Or call his boss and call him to be shat upon. It WILL NOT go well for you.

Agreed. I have come to the conclusion that there is no point in making any phone calls myself. Other than getting the OCS help desk number, I won't be calling them or anyone else, period. Not only do I not want to go over anyone's head, but I'm more than sure that my OR does plenty behind the scenes work on setting me up for success without my own misguided efforts getting in the way. Thanks for the post, as brash as it was. If it comes down to waiting 'til the next board comes around, then so be it. The focus now will be on improving my package as much as possible in the meantime in order to make this happen.

 

[NTXRockr]

@wink and millsra13 - I never attested at being an expert on the subject or to have direct, inside knowledge of CNRC's inner workings and operations, I was only responding with the most accurate information that I have been privy to. I'm in the NRD about 2-3 times per week and have been helping several applicants in the process, and those numbers were exactly what was being told directly from OR's, processors and OPO to myself and the other guys. Their embellishment of the numbers may have been due to them trying to send the message of how competitive the application process has become, and not necessarily reflective of actual board numbers.

I'm glad that both of you clarified your knowledge of the situation and brought a better light than I did. My intent was to express the serious competition that exists between applicants seeking a board, and how thousands of potential candidates without waivers would kill to be in a position to be considered by a board. I never meant to spread any bad gouge or inaccurate info, but only to help the OP realize just how lucky he is to receive the waiver and be considered for a board with his prior record in the first place. Thanks for the clarification!