Considering Joining ANG / AFReserves

[smith78]

Hello all, this is a non aviation question; I hope that's Ok.  I am 37 and am considering joining the ANG / Reserves.  In HS I completed 4 years of AFJROTC and in College 2 years of AFROTC.  (I had a couple of poor grades prior to field training)  I elected at that point to take some time off.  I didn't think it would be 15+ years...

 

So My 37th bday was in December and I had the thought that If I am to do this It needs to be now.  So far I have dropped 15LB, and I have about another 10 left.  All of the recruiters tell me there is no way to get an age waiver to join as an officer, is this true?  I have friends that are prior and they all say that it is possible, I just need to connect with the right people.  I have a bachelors (computer science) and have been fairly successful in my work.  I currently manage a department of 11 in a growing company.  We had 150 employees when I started 8 years ago and now have over 350.

Any thoughts you all may have are appreciated.

Edited March 10, 2016 by smith78

[menachem]

When I was at OTS about a year ago, there were prior service members who received an age waiver.  There were no non-priors with an age waiver.  So it is possible to get an age waiver theoretically, but it seems like it is more likely for prior service members.  It would probably be good to look into the level at which the waiver is given (Wing level, NGB/AFRC level) and maybe query the waiver source for better information.

[herkbum]

No commission past 35 or 37, forget which one, unless a medical officer. We were told to not even attempt to ask for a waiver, as it would be denied. Not sure what the enlistment age limit is.

[menachem]

35 is the age

[herkbum]

Also, you are not considered prior service.

[smith78]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.  I was aware that (J)ROTC would not count as prior service.

 

Does anyone know if E3 is the highest enlistment grade?

[jcollins]

E3 is the highest grade you can get in the Air Guard.  If you really want to get commissioned you might want to look at Army Guard OCS, the age limit might be higher.

[smith78]

Thanks, I will check that. I'm concerned with the financial side.

I have been told, (but have yet to see the policy) that my company pays the difference in salary for annual field training (effectively there's no pay lose during this time.)  With Basic and Tech school lasting 4-9 months +, I'm not sure the company will cover that time frame. My wife is mostly at home with 4 kids, (home schooling) and picks up a few hours a week at the local YMCA. 

Hopefully HR will get back with me soon as this may be a go/no go issue.

[bb17]

I'm a newbie so take what I say with a grain of salt. My understanding is that the max age for a non-flying officer position is 35, however I remember seeing an e-mail from my recruiter last year encouraging them to keep processing applications for general officers up to age 40. Don't know how many, if any, of the candidates in that age group got selected but it should be reassuring that at least they were keeping that door open. Also I got selected for a UPT slot at age 31 after many people told me it could not be done. So if you really want to make this happen don't give up on it. Just make sure you have your personal affairs sorted out because I doubt anybody will care about your finances or family situation. 

Edited March 12, 2016 by bb17