Conflicting information from recruiters about hearing and vision retesting

[admdelta]

Hello everybody. I'm trying to become a pilot either in the Reserve or ANG. I'm planning on spamming out lots of apps to different units, but have also been working with an enlisted recruiter for the ANG as a backup plan (their unit does nearly all their UPT recruiting internally from people already enlisted with them). My recruiter sent me to MEPS to get my physical last week and I didn't really understand the results until a Reserve officer recruiter pulled my physical and told me I'd failed both depth perception (weird since I've never had an issue with that in my life) and hearing (but just barely, I'm 5 db over the limit at 2000HZ in my left ear and everything else is passing)(also fml). He told me he wanted to get me set up to visit a base to get retested and gave me some tips to help me do better.

I informed my Guard recruiter about this who has been pushing to have me sign up with him in a hurry, and also told him that I need to get retested before I'm willing to make any commitments because why would I go enlisted if I'm not gonna qualify to fly anyway? He went into full damage control mode and made it sound like in order to this, the entire application process has to be purged from the Guard and transferred to the Reserve, at which point it will be the end of the line for me and that Guard unit. I asked him if he could do something similar and send me to a base for retesting himself, and he said he couldn't because my record is owned by San Diego MEPS.

I'm super confused by all this. Why is it that the Reserve recruiter is able to send me to a base for retesting but not my Guard recruiter? And if the Reserve recruiter does it, is it true that the Guard has to give up my application and records to the Reserve? And lastly, since waiverability might be a key in my decision to continue pursuing this or to just try and become a regular officer, what are the odds of these things being waiverable if I fail one or both of them again? 

Thank you!

[PilotPitts]

Hello everybody. I'm trying to become a pilot either in the Reserve or ANG. I'm planning on spamming out lots of apps to different units, but have also been working with an enlisted recruiter for the ANG as a backup plan (their unit does nearly all their UPT recruiting internally from people already enlisted with them). My recruiter sent me to MEPS to get my physical last week and I didn't really understand the results until a Reserve officer recruiter pulled my physical and told me I'd failed both depth perception (weird since I've never had an issue with that in my life) and hearing (but just barely, I'm 5 db over the limit at 2000HZ in my left ear and everything else is passing)(also fml). He told me he wanted to get me set up to visit a base to get retested and gave me some tips to help me do better.

I informed my Guard recruiter about this who has been pushing to have me sign up with him in a hurry, and also told him that I need to get retested before I'm willing to make any commitments because why would I go enlisted if I'm not gonna qualify to fly anyway? He went into full damage control mode and made it sound like in order to this, the entire application process has to be purged from the Guard and transferred to the Reserve, at which point it will be the end of the line for me and that Guard unit. I asked him if he could do something similar and send me to a base for retesting himself, and he said he couldn't because my record is owned by San Diego MEPS.

I'm super confused by all this. Why is it that the Reserve recruiter is able to send me to a base for retesting but not my Guard recruiter? And if the Reserve recruiter does it, is it true that the Guard has to give up my application and records to the Reserve? And lastly, since waiverability might be a key in my decision to continue pursuing this or to just try and become a regular officer, what are the odds of these things being waiverable if I fail one or both of them again? 

Thank you!

I wouldn’t sweat the MEPS depth perception test. I failed it at MEPS and passed it for my flight physical. I know many in the same boat.

Can’t speak to the hearing issue. You can find the waiver info (for the flight physical at least) in the Wright Pat Waiver Guide

[mp5g]

On 5/21/2018 at 1:07 AM, admdelta said:

I informed my Guard recruiter about this who has been pushing to have me sign up with him in a hurry, and also told him that I need to get retested before I'm willing to make any commitments because why would I go enlisted if I'm not gonna qualify to fly anyway?

Dude I get it. I started out with the dream to fly as well but I want to make sure you understand one thing first, if you don’t already. Your number one priority for signing up should be to serve, not strictly to make a means to an end. The reason I say this is that the path to wings and even to an operational squadron is an arduous journey, filled with plenty of pitfalls. What if you get picked up to fly fighters for a Guard or Reserve unit, but don’t qualify in T-6’s for the fighter track because your class ranking is so low? What if you fail out of IFF, or an RTU? Would you be willing to work a different job that isn’t a pilot position within that unit if you couldn’t be a pilot in that unit? 

I get that you may not want to enlist if you don’t medically qualify but apply that to what could happen if you weren’t able to make it back to the bros with wings on your chest if you got commissioned.  You need to know if you’d be happy, and still have job satisfaction if you were serving in the military even if it’s not what you originally envisioned yourself doing.  Nobody likes working with the dude who hates his life everyday and is counting down the days until he can leave the base in the rear view for good. 

[GDAL]

20 minutes ago, mp5g said:

Dude I get it. I started out with the dream to fly as well but I want to make sure you understand one thing first, if you don’t already. Your number one priority for signing up should be to serve, not strictly to make a means to an end. The reason I say this is that the path to wings and even to an operational squadron is an arduous journey, filled with plenty of pitfalls. What if you get picked up to fly fighters for a Guard or Reserve unit, but don’t qualify in T-6’s for the fighter track because your class ranking is so low? What if you fail out of IFF, or an RTU? Would you be willing to work a different job that isn’t a pilot position within that unit if you couldn’t be a pilot in that unit? 

I get that you may not want to enlist if you don’t medically qualify but apply that to what could happen if you weren’t able to make it back to the bros with wings on your chest if you got commissioned.  You need to know if you’d be happy, and still have job satisfaction if you were serving in the military even if it’s not what you originally envisioned yourself doing.  Nobody likes working with the dude who hates his life everyday and is counting down the days until he can leave the base in the rear view for good. 

I agree that your first priority should definitely be to serve, but I think it's somewhat typical (at least in the Guard) to setup your contract such that it explicitly states you are enlisting/commissioning for the sole purpose of becoming a pilot with that particular squadron. I've seen guys wash out of UPT and given the option to take a non-rated job or just give up their commission entirely and move on with life. 

[admdelta]

8 hours ago, mp5g said:

Dude I get it. I started out with the dream to fly as well but I want to make sure you understand one thing first, if you don’t already. Your number one priority for signing up should be to serve, not strictly to make a means to an end. The reason I say this is that the path to wings and even to an operational squadron is an arduous journey, filled with plenty of pitfalls. What if you get picked up to fly fighters for a Guard or Reserve unit, but don’t qualify in T-6’s for the fighter track because your class ranking is so low? What if you fail out of IFF, or an RTU? Would you be willing to work a different job that isn’t a pilot position within that unit if you couldn’t be a pilot in that unit? 

I get that you may not want to enlist if you don’t medically qualify but apply that to what could happen if you weren’t able to make it back to the bros with wings on your chest if you got commissioned.  You need to know if you’d be happy, and still have job satisfaction if you were serving in the military even if it’s not what you originally envisioned yourself doing.  Nobody likes working with the dude who hates his life everyday and is counting down the days until he can leave the base in the rear view for good. 

Well what I was getting at was why would I go enlisted when if all of this doesn't work out I can still go in as a non-rated officer instead. The enlisted route is a means to an end in terms of becoming a pilot, but I don't see joining the military that way on the whole. I'd just rather be an officer than enlisted.

That said I ended up getting my eyes and ears checked by private doctors and everything checked out fine. My 2000HZ hearing is good (though just barely) and my depth perception is perfect. While I'll still need to have them redone later by the Air Force, I ended up deciding to take the job and enlist. I spoke with some people in the unit, including my future boss as well as the pilot who heads the UPT board, and decided that I absolutely want to be a part of this unit whether I fly for them or not.

Edited May 30, 2018 by admdelta