BeerForMyHorses
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Everything posted by BeerForMyHorses
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From what I've heard, guard squadrons are incredibly competitive. Based on everything I've heard, the most common guys that get picked up are former active duty pilots preferably in that airframe with a ton of flying hours and cool/fun personalities to be around. Read into that how you want. Definitely not requirements as I've heard of guys without that resume get in. I would say the personality is probably a requirement though lol I was the guy that accepted the CSO slot in hopes of eventually reapplying to UPT. I kept my mouth shut about it, worked hard and ended up starting an awesome career in the strike eagle. 10/10 I would recommend to anyone that wants to fly fighters (yes we fly the jet too). Viper pilots see us as second class citizens but those guys are bingo-ing out halfway through the VUL while we're doing the heavy lifting so I don't really listen to them anyway. All that to say, if you get offered a CSO slot not all hope is lost. I'm still applying to UPT, this is my second year applying. I was an alternate last year. I have a lot of reasons to be hopeful this time around, should find out any day. Fingers crossed
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If you are only interested in interacting with pilots, I recommend AFE and maybe Intel. If you interested in applying to pilot training, I recommend ATC.
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I recommend Air Traffic Control. You get to work in the control tower, talk to pilots on the radio, and watch them takeoff and land. I would also guess ATC would be better for eventually applying to UPT because you get good at talking on the radio and already understand a lot of local flying operations. Anecdotally I know several enlisted ATC guys that were picked up for pilot but don't know any AFE guys.
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Last years scores? Highlights were 88 PCSM, 99 pilot AFOQT, 25 flying hours, 100 on the PT test (lol), #2 Wing ranking, and wing commander letter of rec. Lowlights were I was a newly promoted captain with not much on my resume yet. Some minor awards and accomplishments but nothing substantial to showcase my leadership or potential. My leadership knew I was a great applicant but I ultimately wasn't able to prove that to AFPC. Also had a 2.9 college GPA. I'm not sure if that's a huge problem but it's worth noting. I majored in civil engineering and consistently worked 2 part time jobs plus a year-round internship throughout college to make ends meet so it was tough balancing school work, studying and paying the bills (I was very poor and did not come from money). AFPC just sees a GPA though, not the back story. I mentioned this in a previous comment either in this thread or last years thread: AFPC really cares about leadership. The "quantifiable numbers" like PCSM, AFOQT, etc make up only 30% of how they score an applicant. They care much more about what you've done as an officer and what you're capable of doing. This last year I focused on improving my application in those areas. In some ways, I didn't have to do anything other than continue doing a good job at my job, and based off natural career progression for my AFSC in a year's time I would have a lot to showcase. In other ways I actively looked for opportunities to include on my application (volunteer work, projo, queep, etc). Fingers crossed I did it right this time. I figure if I don't get selected, I still set myself up for success otherwise
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Same here! Was an alternate, ultimately not selected though. Now for a not-so-fun story: I know a current pilot that was an alternate his first time applying. His second time applying he wasn't even an alternate 😬 then on his THIRD time applying he wasn't selected AGAIN even though he was like ACC WSO of the Year and #1 push from his Wing. His leadership called and ultimately changed their minds on that third try.
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Yeah I guess my question is what constitutes a perfect score vs how do they subtract points? I noticed the starting point is 7.5, so what are the thresholds for adding/subtracting. I.e. I assume Wing ranking of #1 is worth a certain amount of points, I assume a certain AFOQT/PCSM scores equates to a certain amount of points, etc etc. Or am I assuming incorrectly? Also, how do they score subjective things such as letter of rec and personal letter?
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Just submitted mine. Here's my stats: - 88 PCSM - 99 AFOQT - 25 Flight hours (No PPL) - Gp/CC (O-6) signed my letter of rec - 1 out of 5 Wing ranking on AF215 For perspective, I applied last year, was selected as an alternate but ultimately not picked up. I was given feedback by the AFPC board that 40% of what they look at is leadership qualities and 30% is potential. So this last year I focused on improving in those areas and made sure I included them in my letter of rec, personal letter, and bullets in the AF215. I believe it helped me earn the top Wing ranking. The main thing I did not do is get more civilian flying hours/get a PPL. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars if I don't need to. Fingers crossed I make it this time, and good luck to everybody else. Edit: for the curious, AFPC said the remaining 30% of what they look at is the quantifiable numbers (gpa, fitness test, test scores, etc)