Letter of Recommendation (LOR) questions

[Guest chrarm80]

I don't know for active duty, but I had some that were a little over 1 year old and the guard unit that I applied for didn't care. They accepted them and I got the Nav slot. AD might be a totally different beast.

[Guest pavesooner]

You can use a yellow sticky to cover up the date and burn a copy...

works great and wont show up on the copy at all

[Guest Liger]

sean, where did you hear the 6-month rule? this would totally kill me... one of my letters is from a four-star, and it's dated Dec of 2004-- i was supposed to meet the may board, but the tards in the surgeon general's office won't let me submit my package until 1 year after my prk surgery. i know i could make a (white-outed date) copy of the letter, but it won't look nearly as nice as the original with the fancy letterhead and all.. and i would hate to ask him to write another, since he's not exactly sitting around the office with nothing to do. also, any you guys heard what the board date might be for august? thanks so much.

[Sean00xj]

It is from my recruiter. I know that recruiters do not carry much weight around here but he has not led me astray yet.

Gosh it seems like everyone was planning on the next two boards? Maybe the rumor of only 50 applicants for 30 spots on the 0505 board is accurate

[Guest guidoverduci]

okay I'm in the same boat. I have a letter dated 3/25/04 on fancy letterhead w/ signature. Should I send that, or change the date? I actually have the electronic file so I guess I could just print it on nice paper. Only problem would be it doesn't have a signature- any suggestions on which method to take? should I just send the original?

[Guest Paceman]

Can anyone clear up a Letter of Recommendation question for me? My BESO is telling me that I can only have one LOR and it can be signed by no-one higher than the Wing commander. Is this true? I see that some guys have multiple LORs, with signatures as high as General.

[Guest bargiel20]

For active duty applicants, you can only have one LOR, fro as high as the senior rater, which is usually the Wing Commander. Non-Active applicants can have 3 I think. Did your BESO give you the application guide?

[Guest Lcc959]

Are letters of recommendation really helpfull in seeking a slot at a guard base? And if they are what sort of stuff should be introduced in those letters to better help owns chance to get a slot? Thanks (And yes I searched this before posting)

[Guest dustanas]

IIRC, CAVOK has posted a lot of good general information about letters of recommendation.

If you know someone in the unit, I think you just found the best letter of recommendation you can get when applying to that particular unit.

[Bergman]

I would say they're very important. Both of my ANG units actually contacted all of my references and former supervisors via phone and talked to them at length. Other units may vary but I imagine with BRAC looming, unit will be getting more selective not less.

[Guest comanche]

I searched and there are a ton of things on LOR's but how long are they good for? If it is a little over a year can I still use it or should I track the person down and get them to redo it.

Thanks

[Guest comanche]

Bumping up because I'm about to apply to a couple of units any my LOR's are just over a year old. Was wondering if they were any good.

[Bergman]

I would issue you the fence walking "It depends" answer. If a LOR is from your flight instructor, and talks about your aviation ability and how you ble through the PPL program...then I don't think a year-old LOR would be a problem. Same thing for a general character reference letter.

If it was from a "current supervisor" or something of that nature...probably not the best idea to use one that old.

In general, I would value quality over recency.

[Guest Sessy]

I had about 5 applications set for the guard and they included the same LOR's. I did make sure however, that they were written specific enough to address to each guard unit that I wanted a guard pilot slot, but also general enough to send to any guard/reserve unit. Recommend you tell whoever you collect letters from who you intend to give the letter to, and have them write it accordingly. My case was moot because I wound up not applying for a guard slot when my AD slot came through. But that was the advice I received from all the rated dudes I talked to when I was applying.

good luck

sessy

[Buffaloman]

I have a couple of letters that are approaching a year old now. They are very good letters, and I would like to continue to use them. Should I ask the writers to write an updated letter, or can I continue using the originals? Thanks for any help.

[Guest Fuse]

Couple things...

Make sure they are not dated. They are only good for a certain amount of time, but if not dated they can be reused.

I had my guys sign 2 different copies of the letters. I then went to kinkos as wella nd got digital pdfs fo them. Now I have versions with thier signatures in a digital medium so I can print them at will, and it's also a lot safer in case you lose the hard copies - just keep in your email box.

[Guest Miclhstrase]

I've never dealt with this application process (not yet at least), but for everything else I've applied to in my life, recommendations always had to be sealed. Is this not important for the OTS/UPT board?

On a side note: Is it okay to get recommendations from your congressman for this kind of thing?

[Guest knights]

I was wondering if it would help to have a letter of recommendation from a retired Lt Gen because he offered to write one for me but I do not know if I could even use it, does anyone know if I could put it in my file that goes to the board?

Thanks

[Jenkspaz]

I was wondering if it would help to have a letter of recommendation from a retired Lt Gen because he offered to write one for me but I do not know if I could even use it, does anyone know if I could put it in my file that goes to the board?

Thanks

What board? Rated board, scholarship board...

[Guest brknmach]

I was wondering if it would help to have a letter of recommendation from a retired Lt Gen because he offered to write one for me but I do not know if I could even use it, does anyone know if I could put it in my file that goes to the board?

Thanks

If you meant rated board then here you go.....

Having a letter of recommendation is not going to help you out at all, the board does not have the time to read a bunch of letters from all of the applicants. Its all about the OM, not letters of recommendation. Personally if you are working hard enough in ROTC you should not have a problem getting a pilot slot. Just my opinion.

If you meant scholarship board....(in college scholarship)

The only letter of recommendation that the scholarship board saw was from my commander.

Edited September 29, 2008 by brknmach

[Guest knights]

Rated board,

Thanks for the replys I didn't think it was going to help but I thought i'd ask.

[Jenkspaz]

If I remember correctly, you're not even allowed to send an LOR to the board through ROTC. I had the same question my junior year and asked my NCO about it. She said that they won't even accept them in the packets.

[Guest Justshootme]

Gents,

I'm putting my package together for the next board. My former SQ/CC has offered to write me a recommendation letter if I send him a shell from which to work from. Anyone have something I could use? FWIW, I'm an AD nav-type.

Thanks for the help.

JSM

[Guest IncompletePete]

My former SQ/CC has offered to write me a recommendation letter if I send him a shell from which to work from. Anyone have something I could use?

One I found kicking about a while back:

https://www.geocities.com/msgt_white/z_LOR_Example.pdf

[Guest boredwith9to5]

Just curious what you all thought would be the best recommendations. I currently work as a contractor on an Army post. I will have been here for 9 months when my package goes before the board. I work very closely with 2 MAJ, 2 LTC, and 2 COL. Due to the shortness of time involved, I wasn't sure how a LOR from a COL I've worked with for 9 months would compare to a LOR from a pastor and friend of mine who has known me for about 6 years, was the pastor at my wedding, and was a mentor to me in areas of leadership over those years. I know that I'll get strong LOR from at least 1 of the MAJ, LTC, and COL. My question I guess is how much more pull would an Officer have over a civilian who has known me longer?