I have a quick question for those who know about transfering from one mos to another. If someone has already gotten accepted to the Ground option how hard is it to switch to Air, is it just a matter of taking the ASTB and passing the flight physical, any imput would be helpful, thanks
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USMC OCS Ground to Air Switch
- Thread starter sjd7960
- Start date
cWood30
PLC Sr's Candidate
From what my OSO has told me, yes. Those are the steps to become qualified for a Flight Contract, and then your OSO will have to fill out a few papers and the rest of the transfer is in his hands. I'm going this same route hopefully, when I have the money for PRK next year.
Sundown
Eight-year-olds, Dude...
Everyone's replies sound dead on. I might be headed to OCS as a ground contract if all the air contracts fill up before my package goes to the board. The OSO told me that it is not a big deal at all and that he has sent canidates to Juniors as a ground contracts switched them to air when they came home.
MAKE THE SWITCH!!
Let the OSO know that you are %100 serious about this and be persistent.
I went to Jr.s AND Srs as a ground contract because my OSO had some problems submitting my air contract package (so he said). Then when it came time to commission the OSO office "misplaced" my flight physical and the OSO suggested that I just commission as a ground contract while I'm waiting for the air contract to "iron out" and at the very least I could compete for an air contract slot during MOS selection at TBS. I told the OSO I'd wait as long as I had to to get the air contract. Once he saw that I was serious he jumped through hoops and finally got it straightened out nearly 3 months later. I'm still a little skeptical about the whole thing and not really sure if the OSO office needed a ground contract or my paperwork was legitimately in disarray. Whatever the case.....point is, stick to your guns, be persistent, be professional and most of all, be communicative!
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Let the OSO know that you are %100 serious about this and be persistent.
I went to Jr.s AND Srs as a ground contract because my OSO had some problems submitting my air contract package (so he said). Then when it came time to commission the OSO office "misplaced" my flight physical and the OSO suggested that I just commission as a ground contract while I'm waiting for the air contract to "iron out" and at the very least I could compete for an air contract slot during MOS selection at TBS. I told the OSO I'd wait as long as I had to to get the air contract. Once he saw that I was serious he jumped through hoops and finally got it straightened out nearly 3 months later. I'm still a little skeptical about the whole thing and not really sure if the OSO office needed a ground contract or my paperwork was legitimately in disarray. Whatever the case.....point is, stick to your guns, be persistent, be professional and most of all, be communicative!
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Yeah. If you wait until TBS to switch, you have a REALLY good shot of staying a ground contract. Especially because there might be a surplus of pilots soon. (There was a shortage, so they threw perhaps too many bodies at the problem. You'd think they would learn from the Navy...)
Before TBS, it will not be a big deal as long as they still need more air contracts than ground contracts, which is usually the case. 3 days before my commissioning my OSO told me my flight physical paperwork had gotten screwed up and my options were to delay commissioning or commission as a ground Officer and have it switched as soon as they straightened out the paperwork with the physical. I got switched back to air a few weeks later when they found the paperwork.
SemperGumbi said:
I doubt we will see a surplus for a long time...the MC has been below their "numbers" for a LONG time now and are working up to those numbers not up to the number currently in the fleet. Besides from what I hear retention is not looking so good right now or in the foreseable future.
do you think that a switch from NFO contract to pilot contract (all still pre-OCS or during PLC stuff) is any easier than a Ground to Pilot? Or is it really a matter of if it can be done, it will? Just wondering if being an "air" contract has any bearing on switching to pilot (aside from already having a flight physical and ASTB etc...)
cWood30
PLC Sr's Candidate
Good job on spotting that samadma. You are correct, and just to add to the gouge here from the info I've recieved from my OSO, I'll pass it on.
For PRK, you need to have full medical documentation of your eyes pre-surgery, why you'd make/not make a good candidate for the surgery, post-surgery, as well as a 3 month post-op checkup. This goes against what I've heard for the post-op, that being that it was 6 months, but my info states a 3-month check up.
For the contact lens waiver, you again need full documentation pre-contacts, uncorrected, then documentation of use of a list of pre-approved models of contacts. There's a good amount of contacts approved under each brand, so be sure to get that list and look it over to see if your current contacts match it. Then, you'll need a 6 month post-"op" eye exam to approve that the contacts are working sufficiently with your eyes and that your eyes have had no drastic changes since wearing them.
Again, this is all the info I've received in a direct packet from my OSO as of December 2005. This information could change, and it might not. If you'd like to say, "No, you're wrong, THIS is how it is." feel free to do so, but know that this was the information supplied to me from my OSO. But as always, your best bet is to just talk to your OSO and see what the grade A beef is.
As for me, I've badly wanted to get rid of contacts for as long as I can remember. So whether or not I go air, I'd like to have eye surgery anyway, if I meet the requirements for it. The money is not a huge issue, as I'll have a steady 2nd LT's pay coming up soon enough! Heh, but until then, that's what nice little low interest student loans and financing is for. Also, most places I've talked to will offer some type of discount seeing as how it's military related.
For PRK, you need to have full medical documentation of your eyes pre-surgery, why you'd make/not make a good candidate for the surgery, post-surgery, as well as a 3 month post-op checkup. This goes against what I've heard for the post-op, that being that it was 6 months, but my info states a 3-month check up.
For the contact lens waiver, you again need full documentation pre-contacts, uncorrected, then documentation of use of a list of pre-approved models of contacts. There's a good amount of contacts approved under each brand, so be sure to get that list and look it over to see if your current contacts match it. Then, you'll need a 6 month post-"op" eye exam to approve that the contacts are working sufficiently with your eyes and that your eyes have had no drastic changes since wearing them.
Again, this is all the info I've received in a direct packet from my OSO as of December 2005. This information could change, and it might not. If you'd like to say, "No, you're wrong, THIS is how it is." feel free to do so, but know that this was the information supplied to me from my OSO. But as always, your best bet is to just talk to your OSO and see what the grade A beef is.
As for me, I've badly wanted to get rid of contacts for as long as I can remember. So whether or not I go air, I'd like to have eye surgery anyway, if I meet the requirements for it. The money is not a huge issue, as I'll have a steady 2nd LT's pay coming up soon enough! Heh, but until then, that's what nice little low interest student loans and financing is for. Also, most places I've talked to will offer some type of discount seeing as how it's military related.