What can I do with a 4.0 Engineering degree and a big oops

[rodburner]

Hey fellers I got a question...

I spent 6 years AD as a Hull tech and it was real sucky, my contract finally ended last year and I have been going to school at erau full time since I got out and I have a flat 4.0 in aeronautical engineering.

I have a few nams from when I was AD and an honorable discharge of course, never got in trouble while I was in.. I had a perfect record aside from a few drbs and COmasts that never went anywhere. No NJPs. Oh, and I only had MP and EP evals... They wanted me to do sta21 but I didnt want to do it because I wanted to get out and be free to make the decision to go back in if I wanted. I dont know if that stuff even makes a difference now though...

A little over a year ago I got arrested for a DUI but then it got reduced to a reckless driving. I told my command what was happening and they never pursued it because I was a .08 when I got arrested and never got convicted of anything until after I was discharged. I have never been in any trouble in my life until that happened.

Anyways, my question, do I have a shot in 3 years at OCS to fly or applying to a NG squadron if I maintain the 4.0 and stay outta trouble? Or is everything so awfully competitive now that Im an idiot for trying? Even if yall say Im an idiot Im still gonna try haha If they offer me a chance for a waiver I think I could get an admiral to sign it but will a selection committee even care? Does it matter which admiral haha.

Thanks alot for your input guys.......

 

[exNavyOffRec]

A DUI is one of those things they now just push people to the side, in the past several years never seen a person with one get picked up with one exception NUPOC.

NRC doesn't care if it was reduced, they have to process it based on the original offense.

A waiver is run through NRC, most are automatically approved for non felonies but the board doesn't care who signs it, most are approved by civilians or PO's who have by direction authority.

Now there are two things that help with bad info, high GPA and time since offense, but how much time do you have? If you already spent 6 years on AD you are going to be getting close to the age limit.

 

[rodburner]

Thanks for the reply... What is the current age limit? I thought its around 29... so in 3 years I will be 28 maybe chance to apply once and get shot down and re apply again... 3 years from now will make 4 years since the arrest. So basically you are saying a waiver doesn't mean shit eh? Do you think 4 years will be long enough that they will give me a shot?

 

[rodburner]

And what did NUPOC have that got him in?

 

[rodburner]

Oh nevermind I see what nupoc is now... well im def not into that they tried to get me to go nuke when I enlisted also... So youre just saying its still easy to get accepted into nuke stuff

 

[exNavyOffRec]

NUPOC is generally more forgiving, mainly because they look specifically at the grades.

A waiver is just the clearance to apply.

The commissioned by date for Pilot is 29, so to account for OCS go back 3 months, then allow about 6 for board and such, so as long as you apply about your 28th birthday you should get at least one look.

Between now and then continue with good grades, do volunteer work, become involved in student organizations, etc...

Did the court require any evaluation or anything?

 

[rodburner]

The court had me go to a driving school counseling thing which I did in a weekend.. and then a MADD thing which was like an hour long.. and of course pay a fine. When they arrested me I spent a few hours in jail. This was over a year ago now. Are these the kind of things NRC looks at? Do you see people come in with a 4.0 gpa with one incident like this and they get shot down just like that? I thought that as long as I have a 4.0 and everything else looks good I might have a good chance...

 

[exNavyOffRec]

They just look at the overall offense, MEPS and N3M will look at the other items such as counseling, and the offense.

I would tell you to apply but I would tell you everything I just did so you know what you are up against. I have seen several good applicants with high GPA that due to past issues I believe were not selected, one even had close to 10 years since the offense.

 

[rodburner]

Well thanks for the info even though I don't like what Im hearing. Do you know anything about applying to specific NG squadrons? Isn't that more of a personal process or is it all the same. What would you recommend that I could do over the next 3 years besides maintaining GPA and school involvement that would make them want to take a look at me?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I can't comment on other services, especially with the proposed cuts in the next several years.

A real good ASTB score is the only other additional thing.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

I thought the commissioned by date for pilot was 27? Did something change recently?

 

[eas7888]

I thought the commissioned by date for pilot was 27? Did something change recently?

For prior service, it bumps the age up two years, assuming you spent at least two years on active duty. So, if you're a prior service applicant, you just have to be commissioned by age 29.

 

[Brett327]

29 factors in the 24 months of waiverable enlisted time.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Oh yeah, that's right

 

[andrewreuther1]

A DUI is one of those things they now just push people to the side, in the past several years never seen a person with one get picked up with one exception NUPOC.

NRC doesn't care if it was reduced, they have to process it based on the original offense.

A waiver is run through NRC, most are automatically approved for non felonies but the board doesn't care who signs it, most are approved by civilians or PO's who have by direction authority.

Now there are two things that help with bad info, high GPA and time since offense, but how much time do you have? If you already spent 6 years on AD you are going to be getting close to the age limit.

NavyOffRec,
I had a question about items that usually get your application "pushed to the side." I was arrested this year for a" drunk in public" but the charges were dropped once the district attorney read the police report and realized I was not breaking the law. Although I have no criminal record I do have an arrest record now due to a misunderstanding on the police officers part.
Is an arrest record just as bad as a criminal record?
Will a board take there time to look at the details of someone's case or do they just simply set it aside once they realize the applicant has any sort of record?
thank you for your help