OCS Seeking opinions: Decline AF OTS commission for Navy OCS?

[graduatechunk]

Ok so here it is.
I was selected way back in Nov 2014 for AF OTS as a CSO. Unfortunately I got dq'd for my vision (waiver declined, it was on the border of being of being waiverable). They then offered me an RPA (drones) slot, this all happened within the last couple months.

Long story short, time is getting closer for me to report to OTS and I'm having second thoughts...

My dream is to be in the air, and although I'll do a little bit of flying initially for RPA in training, I'll obviously spend the rest of my time on the ground. Although it is possible to apply to UPT and change over to manned, it's pretty difficult.

I'm considering applying to Navy/Marine OCS for aviation, here are the caveats:
I'm turning 25 at the end of July and I need Lasik/PRK (so 6 month wait period before I could see a flight doc).
My record is clean except for a public intox ticket from 2013 that I had dismissed in court, although I know I would still need to disclose it.

I believe I could be a solid package together, I just don't know if I'm getting too old for it to be possible. Is it 26 that is the cutoff age for entering pilot training? That's what I've read and if that is indeed the case, not sure I'd have enough time to; get lasik, put a package together, attend ocs, start pilot training by my 26th birthday.

I really appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Spartan43]

What is your vision? Are you correctable to 20/20?

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

You have to commission before your 27th birthday for pilot, so you should be OK as long as you get LASIK within the next few months.

You just have to make your own decision as to whether the risk is worth it or not. If you turn down the AF that door is effectively shut for you, so at that point it would be Navy or bust. I was in a similar position, I had bad eyes, but still good enough for NFO, so I had to decide if going pilot was worth the risk or not. I decided I wanted to fly, so I got LASIK a month and a half ago and I'm seeing 20/15 now. For me the risk was worth it, but everyone has to make their own decision. I would also check with the AF; in the Navy there are opportunities to go in as a NFO, get LASIK on the Navy's dime, and transfer to pilot. It is not a guaranteed thing, but it could be an option for you if you decide being commissioned is more important than getting to be a pilot.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

The key thing is going to be what is your vision now and is it in limits to get lasik.

if you decline you will have to explain that in your OCS application, but a good recruiter can work you through that.

 

[croakerfish]

Ok so here it is.
I was selected way back in Nov 2014 for AF OTS as a CSO. Unfortunately I got dq'd for my vision (waiver declined, it was on the border of being of being waiverable). They then offered me an RPA (drones) slot, this all happened within the last couple months.

Long story short, time is getting closer for me to report to OTS and I'm having second thoughts...

My dream is to be in the air, and although I'll do a little bit of flying initially for RPA in training, I'll obviously spend the rest of my time on the ground. Although it is possible to apply to UPT and change over to manned, it's pretty difficult.

I'm considering applying to Navy/Marine OCS for aviation, here are the caveats:
I'm turning 25 at the end of July and I need Lasik/PRK (so 6 month wait period before I could see a flight doc).
My record is clean except for a public intox ticket from 2013 that I had dismissed in court, although I know I would still need to disclose it.

I believe I could be a solid package together, I just don't know if I'm getting too old for it to be possible. Is it 26 that is the cutoff age for entering pilot training? That's what I've read and if that is indeed the case, not sure I'd have enough time to; get lasik, put a package together, attend ocs, start pilot training by my 26th birthday.

I really appreciate any thoughts.

My personal opinion is you'd be pretty crazy to pass up that RPA slot. I got selected for AF CSO while waiting on OCS board results. It was the most tense week of my life while I sat on that voicemail from the AF, holding out against my better judgement for Navy Pilot. At that point, I was 25, working at Lowe's with a master's degree, and I had been trying to get picked up by both the AF and Navy for almost 2 years. Luckily for me I got selected and was off to OCS in a couple more months. If I somehow lost that CSO slot while screwing around and didn't get picked up by the Navy, who the hell knows what I'd be doing right now.

If you need surgery, possible waivers, AND you haven't even started the Navy OCS board process, it's not a question of a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush. Those birds haven't even hatched yet. Plus, as NavyOffRec pointed out, passing up a chance at a commission doesn't necessarily play well with the boards.

 

[graduatechunk]

The key thing is going to be what is your vision now and is it in limits to get lasik.

if you decline you will have to explain that in your OCS application, but a good recruiter can work you through that.

My vision is correctable to 20/20 in both eyes, uncorrected: 20/200 in one eye, supposedly 20/400 in the other (personal eye doc said they're both 20/200). I have an astigatism, and my axis numbers are -2.25 and -2.75.

So I would have to tell the Navy board that I declined an AF commission? I knew I'd have to tell the AF if I applied to them again, but I did not know that I'd need to tell other branches I hadn't previously applied to.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

My vision is correctable to 20/20 in both eyes, uncorrected: 20/200 in one eye, supposedly 20/400 in the other (personal eye doc said they're both 20/200). I have an astigatism, and my axis numbers are -2.25 and -2.75.

So I would have to tell the Navy board that I declined an AF commission? I knew I'd have to tell the AF if I applied to them again, but I did not know that I'd need to tell other branches I hadn't previously applied to.

What are the diopter numbers on your uncorrected vision?

Have you looked at if you are ok for lasik?

yes you would have to tell them.

 

[swerdna]

Ok so here it is.
I was selected way back in Nov 2014 for AF OTS as a CSO. Unfortunately I got dq'd for my vision (waiver declined, it was on the border of being of being waiverable). They then offered me an RPA (drones) slot, this all happened within the last couple months.

Long story short, time is getting closer for me to report to OTS and I'm having second thoughts...

My dream is to be in the air, and although I'll do a little bit of flying initially for RPA in training, I'll obviously spend the rest of my time on the ground. Although it is possible to apply to UPT and change over to manned, it's pretty difficult.

I'm considering applying to Navy/Marine OCS for aviation, here are the caveats:
I'm turning 25 at the end of July and I need Lasik/PRK (so 6 month wait period before I could see a flight doc).
My record is clean except for a public intox ticket from 2013 that I had dismissed in court, although I know I would still need to disclose it.

I believe I could be a solid package together, I just don't know if I'm getting too old for it to be possible. Is it 26 that is the cutoff age for entering pilot training? That's what I've read and if that is indeed the case, not sure I'd have enough time to; get lasik, put a package together, attend ocs, start pilot training by my 26th birthday.

I really appreciate any thoughts.

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but if you're considering declining your opportunity to commission with the Air Force because you can't fly, then it sounds like you care more about being a pilot and less about being an officer. If you do decide to go this route and apply for the Navy, the board is probably going to see it the same way. Unless you can come up with a better reason for declining that spot than "I want to be a pilot", you should think twice about it.

 

[Recovering LSO]

At this point, after all I've read on the RPA shortage, I don't think I would count on being let out of that community for a spot in manned aircraft. My guess is that if you take the RPA slot, you probably ought to get your head around the idea of being an RPA guy for quite a while. Then again, if the shortage is as bad as it sounds, maybe they'll throw a truckload of money at you...?

 

[graduatechunk]

What are the diopter numbers on your uncorrected vision?

Have you looked at if you are ok for lasik?

yes you would have to tell them.

Not sure what my diopters are but my contact prescription is as follows : OD -2.25, -.175 x 180 OS: -2.75 -.75 x 180. OD 20/200 - OS 20/400

Yeah I got checked out for PRK a couple years back but did not end up getting it. They said I was a good candidate.

 

[graduatechunk]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but if you're considering declining your opportunity to commission with the Air Force because you can't fly, then it sounds like you care more about being a pilot and less about being an officer. If you do decide to go this route and apply for the Navy, the board is probably going to see it the same way. Unless you can come up with a better reason for declining that spot than "I want to be a pilot", you should think twice about it.

No that's a good point, I appreciate the thought. Just tough to work at getting in for 2.5 years, almost have a flying position, and get DQ'd for vision when I was told my waiver should've been good. But that's just the way it goes I guess.

After a lot of thought I'm sticking with it. When all is said and done, it's a great opportunity and I have to make the most out of it.

 

[graduatechunk]

At this point, after all I've read on the RPA shortage, I don't think I would count on being let out of that community for a spot in manned aircraft. My guess is that if you take the RPA slot, you probably ought to get your head around the idea of being an RPA guy for quite a while. Then again, if the shortage is as bad as it sounds, maybe they'll throw a truckload of money at you...?

Yeah I'm hoping by the time I'm operational that the shortage will be somewhat quelled?

I know that it is POSSIBLE to go to manned, just tough. But who doesn't like a good challenge?

 

[wink]

I am a bit concerned that if you were a vision DQ for CSO that you could make pilot work for the Navy. Just why were you NPQ? Was it uncorrected visual acuity, not correctable to 20/20, or something else more exotic? Since you applied for CSO in the first place, why not NFO, if you can PQ for that?

 

[graduatechunk]

I am a bit concerned that if you were a vision DQ for CSO that you could make pilot work for the Navy. Just why were you NPQ? Was it uncorrected visual acuity, not correctable to 20/20, or something else more exotic? Since you applied for CSO in the first place, why not NFO, if you can PQ for that?

Well I know that the limit for uncorrected visual acuity for CSO is 20/200. One of my eyes measured at 20/400. However I know of people with the same issue whose waiver was accepted.

It wasn't really clear why my waiver was declined. From what I've heard, decisions from AETC on waiver approval vary for quite a bit.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but if you're considering declining your opportunity to commission with the Air Force because you can't fly, then it sounds like you care more about being a pilot and less about being an officer. If you do decide to go this route and apply for the Navy, the board is probably going to see it the same way. Unless you can come up with a better reason for declining that spot than "I want to be a pilot", you should think twice about it.

of all communities the aviation is most forgiving for things like declines, law violations, etc.... especially when a person has a very high ASTB (8's and 9's) I could tell you about all the people I have seen picked up aviation and what they had or didn't have, but the list would be too long....