pcola

It is very low threat, unlike the FC1. Relax, you'll be fine.

The stupid thing is that AF pilots that go through phases I and II at Pcola/Whiting aren't allowed to do water survival training in API. It's part of API, all the Navy and Marine studs and AF Navs go to the pool, the dunker, the helo hoist out of the bay, and the mile swim, but AF pilots don't participate. They make us come back after UPT to do the training. Retarded.

I was in the same situation as you a year and a half ago. I was barely 28 and it seemed that all the guard units that were having a board had a 27.5 age limit. I ended up with one interview and didn't get the job. I decided that flying was the most important thing so I applied for OTS and now I'm in UPT and don't regret a thing. If you find yourself running out of time with little to no prospects, consider going AD. Cheers!

Along those same lines, if someone serves 20 AD, but goes guard or reserves instead of retiring, how does that effect retirement eligibility? Can you retire from AD, draw a pension, and serve in the guard? I assume the answer is no. If you serve 10 more years in the guard, then retire, would you start receiving your pension immediately based on your 20 years AD, or your 20 years AD + your guard/reserve points?

I know in the past they didn't investigate people for a TS until they were in a position that required the clearance. However, when I was in OTS, we (pilot candidates) were told that all pilot candidates would be investigated for the TS. I'm pretty sure this is a recent change in the process (w/in the last year). I don't know why they made the change, as M2 said, it is costly and most pilots don't need it. All I know is that I've definitely been interviewed for a TS and I'm not even close to getting wings.

If your orders say RNLT 3 Jan you may not be able to get ahold of anybody at the phone numbers I gave you. They may not be back from xmas break until the 3rd or the 4th. Regardless, all you'll need to do is get your orders stamped at the Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC) quarterdeck sometime before midnight on the 3rd. The quarterdeck is manned 24/7, and once you get your orders stamped, you will be covered as far as your RNLT date is concerned. You can go in wearing civvies if you are just going to get your orders stamped (like if you get there after normal business hours), but if you are going to go into the API office to check in, you should be in SS Blues. If you want, you can pm me your email and I'll send you a .pdf map of the base. You'll need to go to bldg 633. Park around back (across from the bowling alley), then walk around to the front and go in the main doors. This will make sense once you get the map. The quarterdeck is a little office on the right. The person in there, (generally an O-1 student waiting to class up) will tell you how to get to the API offices. As for checking in to the BOQ, go to the Officer housing office, bldg 600 when you get there. You might want to call in advance if you can find a number for them. If you arrive at the base after COB on the 3rd, just make sure you check in to BOQ (actually you can just rent a hotel off base if you want) and get your orders stamped at the NASC quarterdeck in bldg 633. If you arrive early, you can check in to BOQ and put blues on then go to check in to API, but they will most likely just tell you to get your orders stamped and when to come back for the inprocessing brief. (Usually Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 0900) Hope I didn't muddy the water for you, there really isn't much to it. To sum it up: Show up, find a place to stay (on or off base but keep your receipts), find bldg 633, get your orders stamped (blues or civvies depending on the time), walk back in to the API offices (in blues, during business hours on the 3rd or the 4th) tell them you are checking in, they will tell you to go home and when to be back and what to bring. Cheers!

OK, I know this isn't an aviation question, but considering the vast experience on this board I figured it would be a great place to get a good answer. I've always wondered why AF officers never wear ribbons on blues. I know there's no reg against it but that it's generally frowned upon. Anybody know the history or reasoning? I'm mainly curious because I'm tired of not having a good answer when all the Navy/Marine studs ask me. "I don't know, nobody does it" just doesn't seem to cut it.

You have to take a couple of Navy PFT's. The first one is pass/fail, the second one counts towards your NSS (a very miniscule amount, nothing to sweat). I'll look for the phone number of the MSgt. that handles all of the Pilot and Nav inprocessing and PM it to you. Call him and he'll tell you exactly what to do and when/where to show up. Good luck and look for that PM within the next day or so. Cheers

At pcola we got an extra flight suit, a cheapo hand held stop watch (in addition to the G-Shock), a ginormous flight gear bag, and a crazy orange switch blade knife, but only one coat, no green hat (duh, it's Florida), no flask, and no leather gloves. BTW, Rocker, I can definitely picture you wearing those sweeeeeet sunglasses.

Before I was selected fot OTS I had an interiew with a C-130 ANG unit. I didn't get the job, but the DUI never even came up. They didn't ask about any incidents in the interview and it wasn't on any of the paperwork they required. I thought that was strange, because I thought that would be the main thing that would burn me. Just a unique perspective, I'm definitely not advocating that anybody press their luck. A message to all the kiddies, just don't do it, life was so much simpler pre-DUI.

Out of curiousity, is that still the case? I know when I took it a few years ago they made us sign something saying that we couldn't disclose the contents of the test, but that was when you could only take it once. Now that people can take it twice, what's the point of the secrecy?

Unless the burning when you pee becomes unbearable... hehe. Seriously, though, there are good recruiters out there as well. Mine bent over backwards to help me out, as my application had more than a few bumps along the road. He was extremely helpful and stayed on top of things well. His boss (an O-5) had already told him specifically that she wouldn't approve any morale waivers, but he had the sack to bring my case to her attention anyway and now I'm here. Sometimes the system is just slow, and there is not much that a SSGT can really do about it.

I'm about to cry just reading about it. Damn.

I had a DUI on New Years eve, 1997/1998. I was selected for OTS last year and am now at pilot training. It can be done, but it takes a lot of persistance, luck, and maybe even a good word from the right person. A few details: I had a pcsm in the high 90's, all AFOQT scores in the mid to high 90's, EE degree, a year of professional work experience as an Electrical Engineer (civilian DOD employee, GS-11), prior enlisted, NCAA Div 1 Track athlete, and 4 years ROTC in college. Even considering all this, the recruiting commander in the region where I applied initially refused to grant me an interview for the moral waiver. Luckily for me, my former ROTC det. commander (O-6) put in a good word for me, I got the interview, and the rest is history. Just thought I could give you a perspective from someone who's "been there, done that." I feel incredibly lucky to have been given this chance in spite of my youthful indescretions, and if I can do it, anybody can. Keep knocking on the doors, they don't just open on their own.

I live in the married base housing, so I don't know much about where to rent. Most guys live in apartments in North Pensacola, either near I-10 or Highway 90. This makes it about 20-25 minutes to either NASP or Whiting. Your first 10 weeks or so will be at Pensacola, after that you'll rarely go back there. Milton sucks, single folks avoid living here like the plague, but even in Milton, you're only 30 minutes from the beach (Navarre), so I think it's ok. I also like only having to drive 10 minutes to get to base. Good gouge for the T-34 can be found at www.Navygouge.com or https://www.brimble.com/index.html I wouldn't worry much about studying now, you'll have plenty of time off when you get here. If you must, start looking at the API stuff first. That's the 6 weeks of general aviation stuff you get to muddle through at NASP. You won't even start learning about T-34 specific stuff until after API. Good Luck!

The deal right now with Marines and jets is that if you have a high enough NSS score, you will go jets, regardless of what you want. I know of more than a few Marines that wanted helo's but are going to jets because their NSS was too high. So, basically, there is a jet draft for the Marine aviators that have shown the potential to be able to learn to fly one. If you're Navy and you want jets, you better have an NSS of 65 or above, Marines that get over 50-55 are forced to go jets, and AF with over 55 get whatever they want, including T-38. BTW, the NSS scale is 80 is perfect, and 35ish is about the minimum "passing" score. You have to be pretty good to get the 55 mark, so it's not like any Marine that wants jets will get it, it just sucks for those that want helo's but have high scores. Another thing to remember is that this is the current trend. Things change from month to month around here. Oh yeah, yes, there always Marines that want jets, and not all of them get a high enough score, but those that do are in luck right now. If any of you wonder why so many Marines want helo's, just look at what they get to fly. Almost all of them shoot something, and look at the Cobra. That thing can bring the pain.

motivation to spend less time reading this board and more time studying...back to work

I've also been here since late may, and have a slightly different take. The Navy definitley has a different approach to training than the AF does. If you are one of those dudes that can read something once or twice and know it, then yes, you can sit on the beach. If you are like the majority of the world and have to study alot to learn all of the stuff they throw at you, then you won't spend much time at the beach, not if you want to do well. You have to know your sh1t, no way around it. If you are self-motivated and enjoy learning about flying and are motivated to be the best and safest pilot then Pcola is for you. Additionally, if you have the ability and the desire, then you will get a T-38. At least that's the latest word. The good thing about Pcola is that you don't really have to worry about "the drop" (at least not presently). The deal is that if you get jet grades (an NSS of 55 or greater) which is not easy to do, then you will get a 38 if you want it. You don't have to worry about competing against everybody else in your class or about how many 38 drops your class gets. It's as simple as that, make the grade, get the jet. Now, that doesn't mean that anybody that wants a 38 will get it. You have to make the grade, which means you have to do pretty well in the program, which goes back to the whole motivation thing. Nobody here will make you study. I know some dudes (who are much closer to selection than I am) that really want the 38, but may not get the grades to get one. It's all about ability and desire, not so much chance like I've heard about the AF UPT bases.

If you want to be a dg from ots just ace all three academic tests, be good at giving speeches, get high sat or above on your graded leadership evolutions (LRC etc), max out the wussy pft test, and get a good upper class job. Lower flight commander is one of the best. Of course, if you really want to prepare for a successful OTS experience, just do four years of ROTC first. You wouldn't believe how much it will prepare you. Seriously, Rocker is right about OTS. Don't sweat the small stuff, and don't forget, it's all small stuff. None of it is that hard, and pretty much everybody graduates. If you do manage to graduate DG, about the only thing it's worth is a pat on the back - probably from yourself. It certainly doesn't mean jack sh1t in pilot training, and the only way anybody will even know how well you did is if you tell them. Man, I wish I had been a slacker like Rocker! PS mike murph really did max out the run. Man, that guy is fast. Especially in the 400. His golf game needs some work, though.

Talking about the incident mentioned above, it's obvious from the recording that the backseater was the one with the problem. It also appears that they are in Germany, since at the end the backseater says "Talk to Frankfurt." I was under the impression that the only two seat F-16's are trainers, correct? I'm just wondering why there are trainers in Germany. Also, would the pilot in the back most likely be the instructor? If so, that would make the incident even more humiliating, especially since the person up front was laughing at him. The situation would be bad enough, but to have it happen to an IP on a training sortie, ouch.

Echo what john said, with a few additions. Your wait time will depend largely on your age and whether or not you are coming from active duty. For the AD types, I think that they generally have a certified FC1 before applying to the OTS board, so they tend to get class assignments faster. Additionally, they get their follow-on assignment before reporting to OTS, so they will already know when and where they are going to UPT. If you are not currently on AD, then your scenario will mostly depend on your age. Once your FC1 is approved, the time to be notified of a class date is usually in the range of 2-8 weeks. Just to give you an idea: I was notified of my selection on 9/11/03, took my (second) FC1 on 10/15/03, was notified that it was stamped on 12/22/03, and am now expecting to hear of my class date any day now. I am also nearly 29 years old, so I expect that my class date will be Feb or April. Those that are less age critical will usually have a longer wait between class date notification and actual departure for OTS class, but of course, there are always exceptions. Also, for civilian OTS selects, you'll learn your UPT date and location about midway through OTS, or so I am told. You'll be able to apply for ENJJPT in the first couple of weeks, and you'll also fill out a dream sheet for the other bases. Edit: Gil, I just read another of your posts concerning PRK and see that you are AD. All of the AD applicants that I've read about on airforceots.com have their FC1 approved before the OTS board, hence my assumption that having a certified FC1 was required for AD folks. I'll leave this post for anybody else with similar questions, though. [ 09 January 2004, 08:39: Message edited by: determined ]

That would depend on what is causing the murmur and on how slight it is. If the murmer is greater than mild, or if it is caused by a mitral valve prolapse or a bicuspid aortic valve, then you will not be flying class 1 qualified.

Am I the only one who remembers signing a statement agreeing NOT to disclose the contents of the test or repeat anything that could give any unfair advantage to anyone who hasn't taken it yet? There is a reason you can only take it once, and that is because if you are prepared for it then it will no longer be an accurate guage of your potential to succeed.

In ROTC, you apply for a rated slot before ever applying for non-rated AFSC. During your AS300 year, you'll apply for pilot, nav, or ABM. If not selected, then you'll apply for your non-rated job during AS400. Don't worry about your major, choose something that interests you. For one thing, a degree that interests you will be easier for you to excel in, making you a better candidate. Also, have something to fall back on in case you don't get to fly. There are a number of things that can keep you from flying, even if you are selected. Just something to think about, though: if you think you might like to go to TPS in the future, you'll need an engineering degree, or something math and physics intensive. Best of luck.

I stand corrected. I remember a guy from ROTC who had braces and was worried about his FC1. He had said that he was going to have to get them removed before the SG would certiby his FC1. I never found out what happened to him, and I don't know about UPT req's. Good luck.