CharlieHotel47

Asking for a friend who talked to a recruiter recently. It the past, if you went unsponsored and required no waivers, you could attend UPT w no unit sponsorship. You would have to find a unit by track nights or get sent to a unit. Recruiter said chief pilots at critically manned units complaint about the quality of pilots.... whatever that means and AFRC board has decided not to send anymore unsponsored applicants to UPT. You can still submit to the board and get a pre approval type. can anyone confirm?

Your numbers seem similar to mine. I am a prior Army 47 pilot. Most squadrons, the competitive ones, will want your PCSM score to range in the mid 80s. Don't take no for an answer and for sure retake the AFOQT if you can. Cast a wide net. Most chief pilots will tell you the same. Priority should be in getting in the seat. Once your a season rated guy you can study other possibilities to get hired at other locations. I was rejected plenty of times before getting hired. I was 29 then similar numbers like the ones above. Most units would be quick to send a rejection letter due to my age. But there are over 200 ANG and AFRC squadrons out there, and all you need is one "yes". You want to look good on paper with good numbers and what not, but you also want to be able to sell yourself as the right fit for the squadron. Good luck. PM if you have anymore questions. Cheers

Where do I sign up for this scenario??? For sure not in Army Aviation. Its a warrant officer's world.

You should really plan for 2 yrs worst case scenario from the day you get hired. However, there are always plenty of possibilities of a short fall slot to open up for you to jump in. Also, if your squadron is part of a list of critically maned units for pilots, they will have priority in picking UPT slots earlier than other units. Anyone else, please correct me if the above info is not accurate.

I recently followed up with couple of guys trying to go the unsponsored route. The regulation has recently changed and the AFR no longer allows candidates to attend UPT without sponsorship from a squadron. From what I understand, squadron chief pilots complaint to the AFRC board that not knowing what type of candidate they would get frustrated seasoning and overall progression process. Whatever that means, many squadrons are selective as to whether or not your a the right fit, not so much on where you can fly or not. Anyway, that was my experience. you can still present yourself to the AFRC board as a unsponsored candidate. They can grant you a pre approval to attend UPT But can’t actually send you until a unit can sponsored you. Theres another topic here about the unsponsored route. Read it, get some gauge about it. Good luck. 🍻

I’ve never heard of the 3.0 requirement. I have a guard pilot slot with a 2.6 ( engineer.... don’t judge lol ). A friend of mine got picked up 3 yrs ago by the active duty UPT board with a 2.5. If your new to the military, you must learn not to trust everything a recruiter says. No one cares about your career and your money more than you. Do your research and don’t be afraid to ask questions (like you are doing now). Whomever might be telling you might be basing the 3.0 requirement based on a static it of previously accepted candidates. I do know that rotc scholarship require you to maintain a 3.0 to keep the scholarship help. Hope that helps. Cheers 🍻

I always thought Army aviation was selective and competitive until I started rushing Air Force units. Didn't realize I was dumb and that anyone can fly Apaches. Anyway, If I could do it all over again I would for sure go Blue at a young age. I am sure most Army pilots would agree. I am thankful for getting my foot int the door of Aviation as a pilot, but I have had enough of Army. I love the CH-47 and the cargo community, but I simply can't stand the Army. I did the opposite of what you did. I was a W2 first then went commission. Worst idea/decision I could have ever done. Army aviation is a warrant officers world. I had crappy scores as well. I went into the test thinking "I am a pilot, I should smoke this thing" but it wasn't the case. Don't let your numbers discourage you. Unfortunately you will have to wait 180 days until you can re-test but for sure take the TBAS asap so you can get a PCSM score. Numbers are important, but I think more important is for you to be able to present yourself as the right fit for the squadron. At least that was my experience when I was rushing multiple heavy squadrons. I had one chief pilot tell me, after I told him how many hours I had and deployments, that most of the guys didn't care about your flying experience. They can teach you how to fly, but they cant necessarily teach you how to be a "cool" guy to go drink beer with. This translates to you being a tolerable guy to sit next to while on a 8 hr sortie across the pond. During visit to another squadron, I meet a guy that was selected with scores in the 50s at age 31. Everyone just liked the guy and he kept hanging around during every UTA and squadron happy hours. Your age shouldn't be an issue as well. There is a new MFR out pushing the age limit to 33 with waivers up to 35. The process is long so don't wait to contact other squadrons. I was hired about a year ago and I probably wont make it down to UPT until next year. I would also recommend casting a wide net if your really want to make the jump. I have a list of contacts I could forward to you of squadrons I rushed a few years ago. Most chief pilots will probably tell you the same thing. Cast a wide net with priority in getting a UPT slot. PM if you have anymore questions. Lastly, don't take rejection personally. I was constantly rejected by squadrons because of my age or the pain in the ass that comes with transferring to the Air Force. The process is long but not impossible. Good Luck! Cheers

The WP folks only know what you tell them. I would have kept it to my self unless they somehow got their hands on your records from 10 yrs ago... They are super helpful based on my experience there last year and will try to help to get you in and out as fast as possible. Good luck

your numbers look solid. As far as applying, don't put all your eggs in one basket. When I was applying around, every single chief pilot I spoke with told I should cast a wide net. Take priority in getting in the seat you want prior to location. Cold call squadrons and talk to people. Also don't be a tool. We had a guy stop by not to long ago to visit the squadron. He seem to be more worried interested about office-ring crew dawgs and boomers around instead of figuring out if he would be a good fit. Good luck. Also, I have a list of Chief pilots I contacted while in search of a military home. PM is you want it. My list is mostly heavies but there are some fast movers in there. cheers

your numbers look good. Its never too early to contact chief pilots around to start the dialogue. I remember rushing a few units way before I was able to get a packet put together to submit. At UTAs visiting the unit I would get chat not just the pilots but crewdawgs and maintainers. Get their contact info and be sure to always follow up with them if you can. The guys will remember. Keep getting more flight time. Don't worry so much about the instrument rating. Its good to have but flight hours (total time) will count more towards your PCSM score. Good luck Cheers

Seems like you you’ve put some hard work in to setting yourself up for success. Don't be a tool and Don’t obsess over the size of the ride (135s to F1s), they are all great. Overall, looks promising, keep us informed!

Wonder if I could get this bro to write me a good LOR... fighters here I come!!!

Does anyone know when the next un-sponsored AFRC board is?

If you are AFRC or ANG follow the above.

Not sure. Some guys move faster than others. If your unit can somehow put your name to a UPT slot, your process will move quick. Regular bums like myself get assigned to the end of the line. WP doesn't allow off the street guys with no unit association to get an FC1 anymore. I think I was one of the last ones. Anyway, I went to WP on my own dime thinking it would speed up the process instead of waiting on my unit to assign me orders and what not. The FC1 is just a fraction of the big picture the squadron has to paint for NGB to put your name to a UPT slot. At least that's how It was explained to me. I know of other bros out there that had a totally different timeline that moved faster. Stay persistent with your squadron and with whoever is pushing your paperwork up the chain.

Ha that's funny. Well, here's to 10 years of hurry up and wait. Cheers

Also interested in word on 135's... asking for a friend.

https://youtu.be/NMLe734lHFo The clip is from a Colombian news cast. It's in Spanish but looks pretty wild. Towards the end you can see the right seat pilot gets hit, and the medic in the back has to work on him while in mid flight. As a prior army rotor head, I had the pleasure of running into plenty of Colombian pilots at Fort Rucker. Very humble and also very professional group of pilots. Also, this is why we prefer Night Red Illum del ops over day time shit. Cheers

It’s an awesome community but a lot of folks (the non Air Force candidate types) think we just do circles in the sky. I was one of them until I started Rushing tanker units along with other heavies. Yes that’s part of it but there’s more to it. The people and the place make a big difference as well.

I second the boozing part. Your numbers look solid I don’t think you’ll have issues find a home in the guard or reserves. if it all fails, go the army helo route. They have an Apache slot with your name on it. Cheers 🍻

Congrats on the interview. I was in you situation a year ago in Kandahar. Go to the standard interview questions on this forum and think about your answers. I found that thread super useful. Also, not sure what kinda of timeline you have to prepare yourself. I would seriously recommend reaching out to the bogidope guys. The interview prep program is awesome in preping for knowing what to say or how to spin difficult questions in your favor. We did a few mock interviews via phone. I recorded our mock interviews and made note cards... (yes, note cards). For the interview, I found a closet and had one of the IT guys put a DSN phone in there. I had a table looking all the different note cards. At the end, the interview prep with the bogidope guys and mock interviews are all the prep I really needed. Try to connect with the board members anyway you can. For example, one of the board members stated that they were wearing blues. I told them I didn’t have any of my fancy uniforms in the OAR but I hoped it would please the board to know I was wearing a brand new flight suit. Good luck and PM me if you have any questions. Cheers 🍻

Don't get discouraged by less than stellar numbers. There's more to it than that. I had crappy numbers when I was rushing. It took me a while but eventually I learned to focus on the positives that I could bring to the unit. I was too quick to talk about my age and college GPA during my introductions. Every squadron is different in what they want to see in folks that are rushing. It’s good walk the walk and back the talk. Making sure you will be the right fit for the squadron is also just as important as looking good on paper. my $0.02 Cheers 🍻

I can confirm this rumor. Or at least I can now say I’ve seen a guy move to another unit after getting hired. I am in a heavy ANG squadron and for some reason there has been tons of delays at the NGB level to process packets in a timely manner. One day I had a bunch of squadron CC folks calling to tell me to stay motivated during the slow process and constant delays. Turns out they were calling because a particular candidate that was selected before I go hired got picked up by a reserve unit on a short fall slot to UPT and was asking to be released from the squadron. I might not have the full story on how he did it or what unit. Long story short, he didn’t have school dates in my squadron, got school dates with another squadron and he was gone. Good luck. Cheers 🍻

Your scores are somewhat near mine when I got started. Had the same age as well and for the most part most of the heavy units wanted to see mid 80s PCSM score and age no more than 27.5. Your luck has changed since the new MRF, from what I understands covers all AD, AFRC, ANG. Furthermore, all you need is flight hours to increase your score which is awesome. Something I wish I would have done when rushing units was not focus so much on the bad (age, scores, GPA). I would always be quick to talk about the stuff I am still trying to work on (test scores, ppl, etc). Focus on the good that you have and how you will be a good addition to the squadron. Its easy to get worked on requirements and what makes you look good on paper. However, at least in my experience when I was rushing multiple heavy units, was that most of the bros cared about you been a "cool" guy to go drink beers with. This translates into you being the type of bro that other pilots will be able to tolerate during a 8 hr trip across the pond. Be sure to show them that you will be able to fit in with the guys... or gals. Anyway, I get its easier said than done, but your scores are good in my opinion and your chances of finding a home look great. Get after it!! Cheers