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Posted

I've received conflicting guidance on this. If you are in a formal school (UPT/CSO, etc) and are meeting a board, do you get a narrative-only PRF (no bullets/blank PFR) or a full up PRF?

Posted

I've received conflicting guidance on this. If you are in a formal school (UPT/CSO, etc) and are meeting a board, do you get a narrative-only PRF (no bullets/blank PFR) or a full up PRF?

You get a narrative-only PRF and go to a student MLR where DPs are allocated.

Posted (edited)

First time poster here, but I was a non-rated guy from '91 to '98 and can give a bit of history on the 95% promotion rate. In essence, not having to compete for promotion to captain since 2002 has been a direct result of the botched RIF in the 90s, it just took another few years for the low number of remaining officers to undercut the number of required slots at senior ranks. So many CGOs got out that there weren't enough to fill all the Maj slots at normal promotion rates, so the rates went up (and so on for each higher rank). And it wasn't just the RIF that caused it. Life in USAF in general in the 90s was such that guys were getting out in record numbers just to escape the bullshit and ever-reducing budgets. And that was before the wars!

I'm sure there's a formula for manning which means that, in order to sustain that promotion rate to major, you have to promote all your Lts to Capt.

When I was in, promotion rates were (IIRC):

Lt to Capt - 95%

Capt to Maj - 85%

Maj to Lt Col - 75%

Lt Col to Col - 65%

and PRFs had to be done for each board. Meeting passed-over Lt Cols was not uncommon. So, really, your experience of automatic promotion to Capt has been an anomaly used to solve a medium-term manning problem, it's just that you young guys have never known any different. You are now returning to normal mode. Yes, there is, and in normal times always was, a PRF for the Capt board, but I don't remember it being any more a pain in the ass than an OPR. What IS a pain in the ass is the politics of who gets DPs (not that important for Capt, but I do know guys who have been screwed over at senior levels), but that's got nothing to do with writing the PRF.

Now, to add some perspective on this, in my 7 years and 4 bases, I never heard of, never mind knew, an LT not making Captain; meaning it happens but the numbers are so small that, for all intents and purposes, the promotion is automatic. Just keep breathing long enough, don't get a DUI, and don't get caught banging the WG/CC's daughter in the back of his own staff car, and you'll be there.

How this "new" requirement fits into what, from the outside, seems like an increasing amount of bullshit, I can't say, but I'm sure it's no picnic for you guys today. It probably just seems like one more item designed to increase the suck factor but, really, it's just reverting to a previous level of suck.

Edited by pitts2112
Posted

...Just keep breathing long enough, don't get a DUI, and don't get caught banging the WG/CC's daughter in the back of his own staff car, and you'll be there.

Uh oh... I am batting 2 for 3.

  • 10 months later...
Posted

So there's a dude in my class who was passed over on IPZ board to Captain. Any idea what the promotion rate is for APZ to Captain? If he's about to be kicked out of the AF maybe he could get some advance warning...

Posted

So there's a dude in my class who was passed over on IPZ board to Captain. Any idea what the promotion rate is for APZ to Captain? If he's about to be kicked out of the AF maybe he could get some advance warning...

Which was it?

1. Knocked up a GO's daughter

2. Kiddy porn

3. DUI

4. Previous FEB

Posted (edited)

So there's a dude in my class who was passed over on IPZ board to Captain. Any idea what the promotion rate is for APZ to Captain? If he's about to be kicked out of the AF maybe he could get some advance warning...

Seriously? You really need to even ask that question? Tell him to sharpen up his resume.

When I was in, I'd never even heard of an APZ for Capt. Being passed over for Capt was an automatic out, if not by official policy, certainly by reality.

Edited by pitts2112
Posted (edited)

So there's a dude in my class who was passed over on IPZ board to Captain. Any idea what the promotion rate is for APZ to Captain? If he's about to be kicked out of the AF maybe he could get some advance warning...

Short answer: I'd get my resume in order and cut expenses.

Edited by nunya
Posted

What training is he in now? CSO?

That's the thing, he graduated UPT, got wings and is now a copilot. It doesn't matter the training he's in right now, don't want to give away too much on the poor dude.

Posted
I figured that was the answer, he hasn't said much, just that he got a less than stellar TR from UPT.

I call BS on the training report, he did some crap in UPT that most of us wouldn't.

Posted

Why do you care about this dude so much?

Posted

2. UPT training reports are rather generic.

I looked at a half dozen from my class and the only change was a 2 or 1 in the rank and the names.

Posted

Why do you care about this dude so much?

I'm sure the interest is purely academic. Lloydbraun and this LT are definitely not the same guy. Just a "dude in his class." (Hypothetically speaking, of course). :thumbsup:

Posted

I don't care about this dude, I've known him for two days. If I were in his shoes I'd appreciate the candor of someone who's been around a bit longer, in telling me that I should plan for the worst, i.e. "Dude, you're on your way out, if you haven't started planning for this yet, you're wrong".

I'm assuming from the lack of responses, that there hasn't been an APZ board for Captain in a while. Drawing conclusions from dudes passed over to Major, I'd say his chances at making Captain APZ are around the same 5% or so as those hoping to be selected to Major APZ.

Posted

Ok. Here's the scoop:

There hasn't been less than 100% opportunity to O-3 in the AF for a long fucking time. Last year was the first 95% opportunity to O-3. Therefore, there is no recent precedent. Expect that he will have some sort of PRF done up this year and if he is passed over again to be sent packing ~6 months after the board results.

I suspect anyone who was in the bottom 5% their first time will likely have not fixed their problem in the past year.

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