Pilot Selection Board w/o Enlisting in Air Force

[solowing367]

Gents,

I'm talking to a recruiter about becoming a pilot for the USAF. He told me that my eligibility for UPT could be considered without committing to the USAF. This seems a little too good to be true. Anybody know if he's exaggerating or just flat out lying? (I meet all requirements of becoming an officer).

Thanks

Leon 

[cmdro]

He is telling the truth, if you apply to OTS on a Rated board you have no commitment to the AF. You will know what you have been selected for (Pilot, Nav, ABM, RPA), and can accept or decline with no commitment. I might be wrong (it's been a while since I was in you shoes), but until you go through MEPS on the way to OTS is the first time you sign anything connecting you to the AF. If you have any questions let me know.

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[Lawman]

Leon,

Just to be clear on this...

There is no requirement for any branch of service to Enlist conditionally as part of an application for Officer Candidate School.

If you hear the guy you are working with from any Branch (especially the Army Warrant program) walk out of the room he/she is trying to F you over.

[touro]

I love this post...because so many aspiring military personnel are swindled by recruiters (some are good, some are bad) and it sounds like you stumbled across a good and honest one.

In order to put things into perspective a little better...

I wanted to go aviation in either ANG or AFR and was told by both enlisted and officer recruiters in 3 different states that it's better to enlist then to apply for the deserving airman program after basic/tech school.  BTW, I had all of the requirements and 4 years ROTC under my belt too.  So, I sat on this info for 6-10 months while emailing and connecting with as many rated AF Officers as possible in order learn what was out there/what they were looking for.  I received a few responses but nothing concrete.

Fast forward...I ended up enlisting and taking a HUGE gamble because I'm over 30, my time is limited, was really anxious and if I didn't get a good shot as a rated officer...ultimately I'd still get to serve which is most important.  Also, I knew that I could rush BMT and Tech school, get back home and apply for Officer positions and still make the age cutoff although I'd be cutting it close. On the other hand if I wanted to delay enlistment I'd have 12 months before leaving for BMT so I'd planned use that time to complete my SF-86 and getting into DEERS, study for AFOQT etc. (all admin type things) and making connections from the inside.  Ultimately, the email from a year ago that I blasted out to rated officers got into the hands of an officer in my unit and I just got picked up for a C-130 Nav spot.

So...could I have applied without enlisting?  SURE THING but I had little time to wait because of age!  Would I have had a rapport with the Lt. Col. without enlisting...possibly but less of a chance had I waited.  Would I have people in the unit to vouch for me somewhat?  Not at all.  Could I have enlisted, gone to BMT/Tech School and gotten stuck with a 6 yr enlistment and been too old to apply for Nav after enlistment...HELLS YEA!  In conclusion, I say: do your research and know what YOU want out of the experience.

You can choose to do this anyway you want but be fine with the outcome whatever you choose. Whether it be waiting and applying from the outside or going in and working it from that angle.

 

I hope this helps you or some other person who's struggling with a similar issue.

 

[2016UPT]

As others have stated, it's all about which commissioning source you're looking into. Pilot selection boards are also extremely dependent on personal situations; look up the current order of merit for selection and you'll get a good idea what we're looking for. I was ROTC, I knew most my order of merit scores before I had to contract (enlist until commissioning -- which comes before rated selections) so I had a somewhat good idea of where I stood in comparison to past year selectees. The bad (and inevitable) factor is that rated selections are entirely based upon FY budget. My year got shafted pretty hard with sequestration and total force recall. For both field training (our officer school equivalent) and rated boards it was about 40-50% selections nationally, it was literally, "if you are in the bottom half of your class (rankings) you are out." 

As for OTS you still have the big factor of budget and big Air Force manning algorithms, but you will know before committing to OTS if you have been selected for a rated position. This process is quite lengthy, but OTS in itself is the quickest commissioning route. OTS is also a lot more competitive for rated, they receive far less slots than ROTC and the academy and it is highly subjective to your professional network, civilian flying experience and much higher than average aptitude scores (AFOQT, TBAS, PFA, etc.). 

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.