Help with AF215

[Hound47]

Ok everyone so I am putting the finishing touches on my 215 for the upcoming AD board and had a quick question. I have been told in the past the 215 is not an OPR so it should not include a great deal of OPR type information. That it should be written more towards what’s going to make you a better pilot not just how good you are at your job. As a navigator the majority of the things that I excel at in my current job are things that will help make me a better pilot. Well my question is where does one draw the line on what information to include or exclude.

Any help is greatly appreciated...Just trying to give my package that platinum touch needed to achieve the desired results.

Thanks

ShadowNav

[ChkHandleDn]

I was confused on that as well because my job doesn't exactly have to do with flying. However, I used some bullets similar to OPR stuff on my 215 and I was fortunate enough to get picked up last board. So obviously you can use some. If you want, I can email you my 215 and hopefully it will help you make a better determination on what you can use. If anything, yours should be easier to write since your bullets could carry directly over to how well you can fly.

[Login Name]

i used some from my opr but i didn't get picked up this past year. i know dudes that did use a lot of opr bullets and got picked up. i say go with your gut. best of luck.

[Jon - Trident Home Loans]

I used OPR bullets on the back side and wrote not OPR style bullets about my desire to fly on the front side for last year's board and got picked up. I looked at a bunch of good 215s before writing mine and that seemed to be the general style. Just my $.02

[Guest slim]

I did something similar to flyaf05. Just style to OPR bullets to have sort of an "ops" twist, if that makes sense. Try for strat on the back too.

On the front, its all about desire and what qualifies you to fly.

two pennies for ya

[WheelsOff]

I did something similar to flyaf05. Just style to OPR bullets to have sort of an "ops" twist, if that makes sense. Try for strat on the back too.

On the front, its all about desire and what qualifies you to fly.

two pennies for ya

What does "OPR" stand for and what exactly is the 215? I am currently putting my app together for pilot as well, and haven't heard of either of these things. Anyone have an example 215 that they might be willing to share as a good example? Thanks!

[stract]

I think the rest of these folks are already in the AF, trying to get picked up for pilot. Completely different than a civilian looking to do the OTS -> pilot thing.

OPR = Officer Performance Report

[spaw2001]

I also think writing bullets that show what you bring different to the pilot world. For example, I had a small amount of joint experience that I tried to highlight in my application by virtue of me going to US Military Academy. If you want a sample 215, you can pm me with a personal e-mail

[susansfather]

Anybody out there willing to share their successful active duty 215? It would be awesome if someone had a CE to pilot example but any would help.

My 215 has read mostly like an OPR in years past and it’s been about as successful as Gary Busey. I’ve made some changes for this last time and it would be nice to have something to compare it to, PM me if you’re willing. Thanks!

[Guest momann]

Anybody out there willing to share their successful active duty 215? It would be awesome if someone had a CE to pilot example but any would help.

My 215 has read mostly like an OPR in years past and it’s been about as successful as Gary Busey. I’ve made some changes for this last time and it would be nice to have something to compare it to, PM me if you’re willing. Thanks!

"2"

[Hacker]

Over on WANTSCheck.com, I have posted a PDF file with scans of 37-ish successful AF215s.

https://www.wantscheck.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qqnvQCs7A48%3d&tabid=66&mid=623

Not sure if that link works properly, but it is on the page called "Getting a Pilot Slot from Active Duty", and is a link on the left side of the page. This is a link to the page: https://www.wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResources/ActiveDutyPilotSlot/tabid/66/Default.aspx

Here are the details about the 215s that are in that PDF:

Back in the 90s internet forums and websites on becoming a USAF pilot simply did not exist. Resourceful Lieutenants and Captains instead used the basic networking skills and tools they had -- people, phones, and fax machines -- to gather data about how to be successful on the active duty UFT selection board.

In my case, a friend from another ROTC unit whom I'd met at AFROTC field training also wanted to go to UPT, so he and I swapped ideas about how to get selected and lessons learned about the process. I also had a couple friends from my own AFROTC unit who were a year or two senior to me and had obtained active duty pilot slots or were in the process of re-treading from WSOs/Navs to pilots.

So, I asked the guys I knew to fax me copies of their successful 215s...and those guys usually had one or two that they'd gotten their hands on to help them write theirs. Eventually the collection grew and grew and grew.

After I got selected, my buddy from Field Training still hadn't, so we continued to swap faxes. I collected more when I went to Brooks, and even when I started SUPT myself. One day I realized that a I had a ton of these things. Unfortunately, they have been sitting on my shelf for the better part of 10 years gathering dust when they SHOULD HAVE been available for others. So...here they are.

There are three different categories of applications in the bunch presented for download on this site; first up are the Navs/WSOs, followed by a couple AWACS controllers, and then the non-rated dudes last.

Most of the forms you see in the collection were written and submitted between 1995 and 2000, but don't let their age or difference in format phase you -- "Air Force" writing hasn't changed during that time. Of course there are style differences -- if I were to write one today, I'd format it like a PRF and use as much stratification, etc, as possible, but the core basics behind successfully writing in the USAF have not significiantly changed in decades. I know as a Lieutenant I had no idea about the secret to USAF writing. I'd never seen an OPR, awards application package, or PRF in my life so I had no idea what is was supposed to look and smell like. It was quite a surprise to see what these were like when I first laid eyes on them -- the classes in AFROTC that I'd had on Air Force writing never said anything relating to the writing style these were written in.

Unfortunately, the collection I have here is only about half as many as I used to have -- I loaned out this big binder I had of the collected forms to several guys in my squadrons who were trying to apply to the boards, and many of the ones I'd collected were borrowed and not returned. Hopefully this group of 215s is still enough to be helpful.

One thing I will add to reinforce the point: stratification is the rage right now, and it is as close to being "required" as possible. Your raters on the 215 need to stratify you (preferably HIGH, of course!), so make sure they find a way to make that happen. Either strats among your fellow UPT applicants, or among other people in your career field, or your rank, whatever...gotta have it. That's what's going to make a difference between an average 215 and one that grabs the attention of the board.

In addition, search this board for the posts Dupe and I made a year or two ago after our Commander participated in the active duty selection board. His observations were worth their weight in gold, IMHO.

EDIT: Here's the link to that thread. https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/index.php?/topic/12904-active-duty-upt-board-selection-brief/

Edited August 5, 2009 by Hacker

[susansfather]

I had seen the post on the brief and agree, that is definitely the best info out there. Thanks for the info, I definitely appreciate it.

[Guest onetwopi]

Thanks for all of this gouge. This thread is great for active duty hopefuls.

Cheers!

[H-10btr]

I was picked up for an F-16 slot by an ANG unit. My recruiter had me fill out AF-215 to be submitted to the NGB. Line 17 is for "Applicants Remarks". Should I use this room to sort of outline my resume?

Edited January 22, 2011 by H-10btr

[HerkNav]

I was picked up for an F-16 slot by an ANG unit. My recruiter had me fill out AF-215 to be submitted to the NGB. Line 17 is for "Applicants Remarks". Should I use this room to sort of outline my resume? My recruiter wasn't sure but he seemed to think I should just leave it blank?

Try to use that section to explain what you have accomplished that makes you competitive for the pilot slot. It's basically the "I love me" section of the form. Any civilian ratings, accomplishments that show leadership potential, awards, certifications, etc.

Any of you other guys can back me on it but I'm pretty sure that's what they are looking for...

Cheers,

Matt

[PK...]

I was picked up for an F-16 slot by an ANG unit. My recruiter had me fill out AF-215 to be submitted to the NGB. Line 17 is for "Applicants Remarks". Should I use this room to sort of outline my resume? My recruiter wasn't sure but he seemed to think I should just leave it blank?

Take a look (3 or 4 posts above) ... Hacker shared a link where you can get to a bunch of previous/successful 215s; they should give you a relative idea on the kind of stuff that goes in block 17.

Congrats on the Viper slot.

---

PK

[H-10btr]

I saw the examples from the link above. I just wasn't sure if I should use this section being that I got an ANG slot and was not applying for the AD board. However, I'm definitely gonna go with what you guys said and use the space for accomplishments, awards and whatnot. Thanks for the help!!

[mikestoermer]

Does anyone have any updates to this? I'm in a non-flying AFSC, but I'll tailor the  bullets to be geared towards Ops. I haven't met a single person who is trying to apply to UFT at Andrews and I'm stuck writing this in a closet.