Transition to FTS

[bert]

The statutory requirement is DOPMA (Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-513). Promotion opportunity is supposed to be consistent over a 5 year period. The CBO did an interesting (if a little nerdy) study on the last couple drawdowns and how the services handled them - it helps explain the process if you are really interested. This all goes back to the "up or out" argument and the effect it has on how the military does personnel business.

NPC really does calculate opportunity the "correct" way, but that number doesn't mean anything to the guy a few years out trying to figure out what his chances really are since there is no way to know if your in-zone year is going to have a board that picks up a lot of folks above zone (though it seems boards have figured out that below zone picks just fornicate the system all around). Another problem to me is that they don't provide meaningful board statistics like breaking out 1310/1320 promotion rates by community. Go back in the archives if they are still up and you can see that what community you are in really does matter (though at the O-5 level that is partly due to the way the squadron's are organized and the number of DH's in competition).

 

[HooverPilot]

Here is a link to the remaining statistics on the NPC website. Looks like they stopped breaking it out by community after the FY08 boards, so not much of a statistical sample.

Is it just me or has NPC been taking a lot of good info (like this) off the website?

 

[FlyBoyd]

I looked pretty far back and I couldn't find a similar FTS breakdown. I would love to show everyone what the VT FTS selection rate was/is. Until recently, having a VT 1310 or 1317 on the board never happened. It was always some fleet 1310 dude and a VR 1317. No one would know that the VT guys were doing exactly what they were supposed to be (told to) doing. Needless to say, the VT selection rates have been very low. They missed some quality dudes.

IMO, I think too many community's smart dudes brought solid arguements to the table after a trend was identified so NPC stopped advertising the breakdown in an effort to cut down on having to justify the results to every community.

 

[DiceC2]

Does anybody know what the chances are of getting released from VP to apply for FTS?

 

[MAKE VAPES]

Look at the bupers website, there is a excel file that tells how many from each community will be released per each YG. Think its under a transition/redesignation tab...

found it... nothing posted but here is the link:
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-n.../reserve/fts/pages/ftsredesignationboard.aspx

 

[MAKE VAPES]

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-n.../reserve/fts/pages/ftsredesignationboard.aspx

 

[Gatordev]

And once you drop your letter, your chances go up to 100% to be released. That may be more common knowledge now, but a few years ago, that wasn't as easy to hear about.

 

[BigIronToTexanDriver]

Gatordev,

I heard that if your community placement officer at PERS says he will release no-one from your community, the FTS selection board cannot even look at your package. Does an FTS package fall into a different group if you drop a letter prior to submitting the package?

 

[Jim123]

Yes to both questions.

For the first question, your active duty community "owns" you until your MSR (normally your initial winging commitment, the PRD on your orders, or additional payback for accepting a bonus, education benefits, etc.). The placement officer gets to play the the "bad guy" on whether or not anyone might be released.

For the second question, note that until only a few years ago the FTS community would not pick up aviators with a pending letter of resignation. The FTS community changed that rule (it's own rule) for the last several boards... I don't know the whole story why that used to apply only to aviators but I also don't see why the rules for this next board would be any different than recent boards.

Dropping your letter is a gamble (calculated risk, right?). So is going to your dissociated tour and hoping to get picked up for FTS from there (but that worked for me and at least one of my friends). So is going SELRES and hoping to get picked up for FTS from there (I can think of at least three friends who did it this way).

 

[Gatordev]

What Jim said. If you're set on not staying Regular anyway, I'd drop a letter. If you don't get picked up, the next thing I'd do is affiliate and then apply as a SELRES. I haven't seen the TRACOM numbers, but the Operational side has had good luck with SELRES pickups the last few years, at least on the helo side.

 

[DiceC2]

I've heard two different things about getting released from the detailer. First one is to call him up and ask to be released. The second is that with the just released FY12 numbers out, with VP releasing 2 for example, I don't need to talk to the detailer since it's already worked out between him and the FTS board that 2 will go. That makes more since in order to give the board the chance to find the best candidates, instead of the first two in line to get released. I've never heard this one before, so which is true?

 

[FlyBoyd]

I've heard two different things about getting released from the detailer. First one is to call him up and ask to be released. The second is that with the just released FY12 numbers out, with VP releasing 2 for example, I don't need to talk to the detailer since it's already worked out between him and the FTS board that 2 will go. That makes more since in order to give the board the chance to find the best candidates, instead of the first two in line to get released. I've never heard this one before, so which is true?

Each community sets a number per year group they will let leave. Once that limit is hit at the board, all other packages with that same community/YG are removed from the rest of the board. It is not name specific with the detailer prior to the board...just a maximum number. Go back to page 1 and read post #12 for a longer explanation.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I don't know about VP specifically - all the CNAFR communities are wired a bit differently - but the gouge I always heard was it was easier for a reserve squadron to make their selres into FTS, than pick up directly from AD. I know a few guys who went selres and affiliated with a squadron in order to become FTS, with the understanding and blessing/connivance of the skipper.

 

[HvrNavy]

Which HSC squadrons could a FTS officer be assigned to? I imagine it's 84/85, but just checking to see if there are other HSC FTS squadrons out there.

 

[Gatordev]

Which HSC squadrons could a FTS officer be assigned to? I imagine it's 84/85, but just checking to see if there are other HSC FTS squadrons out there.

Don't think of it that way. The method of applying/selection has changed and now you're requesting FTS HELO. There's HSL guys at HSC squadrons and HSC/HS guys at the HSL squadron. That said, the HSC squadrons (84/85) are going to be interested in the HSC/HS pilots. The HSL squadron likes HSL guys because it's easier to train, but they're more interested in having a decent guy than what community their from. And for what it's worth, HSL-60 isn't really a LAMPS squadron. It's the diet LAMPS of the community.

To answer your question though, there's HSC-84/85, HSL-60 and HTs. Those are your helo FTS options right now. If you're SELRES, there's one or two more obscure options (SAUs).