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Loadmaster trying to get a slot
23 years old just graduated college Been a c-17 load in the reserves for 3 years now, my squadron is super overmanned on the pilot side and my scores are kind of meh. 74 pilot 69 PCSM 114fh ppl helicopter and fixed wing pursuing instrument rn. Also I work my civilian job at a major airline as a line maintenance mechanic working on airplanes with my A&P license. Have really good letters of Rec from Stan eval, a commander and my lm training supe.
Question is what do I do from here? I want to retake my afoqt but I have so much going on it’s hard to find time to study diligently and consistently. Also my squadron is being weird about hiring me with low scores because they had people washout recently and we are super overmanned. I don’t really want to wait around for them because my goal is to be a pilot not a load I joined with the sole intention of being a pilot and being super well rounded and using my mil benefits for school and training.
Does anyone have any advice for me? I feel like the wheels are spinning but I’m getting no traction.
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4 Replies
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what’s up load. what aircraft in your unit are you hoping to fly, fixed wing or heavies?
in regards to your scores and the military wasting you time, that is solely on you. the reason reserve squadrons are very picky with their hiring is because its their money going into your training, and it ain’t cheap. you’ve got a leg up with being enlisted in your unit for 3 years, but if you want your unit to take you seriously, retake the AFOQT.
getting your scores higher should be your #1 priority right now, whether that means taking some time off of your commercial maintenance job, or hitting the pause button on your instrument rating.
you may feel like your stuck with no progress being made, but this process takes a long time and you won’t see results everyday. the reserves interview a lot of enlisted folk, so you have potential; just get those scores up.
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We fly heavies. It’s frustrating because I can see all the packets for the civilians they’ve sent to UPT and they have hired people with lower scores than mine off the street with zero experience. I’m contemplating submitting apps to other units but they probably wouldn’t like that. I’m trying to be patient and wait my turn. Yes it’s true your advice on focusing on studying is 100% spot on I will be doing that. I just feel frustrated because I know I’m qualified I know I work hard and I know I’m super qualified I just don’t know what the hold up is.
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if like you said, your unit has been hiring people with lower scores that aren’t succeeding in UPT, its quite obvious why they would want to veer away from that mistake again. I would apply anywhere you’re interested in. units like to see if the applicant is shooting their app to a wide variety of places; it shows them that you want it.
anecdotally, since pilot slots get so many applications, one of the ways they narrow it down is who has an 80+ PCSM/ pilot score, and who doesn’t. you being on the short end of the stick, you should definitely shoot for higher scores.
best of luck!
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That’s a fact. ThT helps me a lot I will get that PCSM 80+. Thank you for giving me your perspective. Super insightful.
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