Recruiters Not Available

[Travis]

I’ve had a very similar experience to you. Started by reaching out to the local air force recruiter in my town who informed me that they only handle enlisted recruits. He gave me the contact information for 2 officer candidate recruiters who I couldn’t get a hold of. My luck changed when I was introduced to a co worker of mine who has been in the ANG for 20 years. I explained my situation and he said don’t worry about it. He knows the people to talk to, and when I’m ready to take the test he’ll arrange it no problems. I’m still studying, but in the next couple of weeks I’m going to call him get the ball rolling. Moral of the story, is there anyone that you know who is currently serving in any capacity, or that a friend might know? Seems like knowing someone on the inside is extremely helpful. And most will be happy to point you in the right direction. Not coming from a military family, I have no idea how the machine works, nor did I have any help… Until now. It makes a difference. Good luck to you in your quest.

[Chris-Carlson]

I’d start with calling/emailing all the AFROTC detachments you are willing to commute to and see when they are planning their next test. Same goes for the TBAS. They don’t have to be at the same school either.

[Jeremy_Hicks]

FWIW, a few years back I was able to schedule an AFOQT date by myself through the Reno 152d ANG location. I believe there is a number in their application packet to contact the testing center there directly.

It was during COVID, and it was worth the out-of-pocket cost for the flight, hotel, and rental car—was on the ground in Nevada for less than 24 hours. May not be the best option for you (if they even still offer direct scheduling), but sometimes it’s absolutely worth the cost to expedite the process, especially if you’re trying to meet a board date for a dream squadron.

[ckelley444]

Took me about 6 weeks and 8-10 different people who would say “oh you don’t want me, you want Sgt. ____”. Eventually I got to one of two Officer recruiters in my state who then set me up with test dates. It’s very frustrating, but you HAVE to be annoying.

[SOC]

I second the AFROTC detachment idea. I ran into the same issue trying to deal with recruiters…usually they won’t go out of their way to help someone who isn’t a part of their own numbers. Nothing on them, it’s just business.

Go to the ROTC contact with everything you need ready to go. Follow up to make sure you don’t fall off their radar.

I managed it back in 2018 – they weren’t really helpful but willing to let me in the building if I didn’t ask too many questions or make them do more work than necessary.

[Patrick_Krueger]

This is very challenging I agree, I only found the Navy Officer recruiters because of a career fair when I was working on a master’s.

[Reagan]

I had the same issues last year. Eventually, you’ll find the right person who can sign you up. Just keep asking around and calling/emailing recruiters. I eventually lucked out by calling my local Air National Guard base and talking with one of their recruiters who was able to sign me up to take it through MEPS. Your mileage may vary though so don’t limit yourself to just the closest base.

While the ROTC attachment idea works, I believe most of them only offer the test once or twice per year, usually during the end of the Fall and Spring semester. It’s worth a shot, but it may be a challenge during the summer. Good luck!

[John_C_Miller]

I completely understand how frustrating it is trying to schedule an AFOQT and TBAS, especially as a civilian. While calling/emailing AFROTC detachments is a solid place to start, I finally had a breakthrough by calling the Testing Offices at local Air Force Bases.

I had to call multiple times and leave multiple messages. I never got any calls back, but a lady in the office finally picked up the phone when I called one time and got me scheduled. I recently got my TBAS scheduled through the same lady once I had her email address.

Don’t be afraid to look at a base several hours away. My testing center was about 2 hours away, but I was willing to drive over 4 hours to a different site if that’s what it took. The websites for the different bases should have a directory somewhere on the page that will give you the phone numbers to the different offices in the installation.

Also, see if you can follow this link. As far as I can tell it’s just a bunch of testing locations for various Air Force tests; either AFOQT, TBAS, or others.

https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/Testing%20Locations.pdf

Best of luck!

[Cameron_Robertson]

It’s a tad bit comforting to know that others have had a hard time going through the recruiter for stuff. I’m pretty late to this and the others have already given excellent advice that I’d second. The ROTC seems like your best chance. I’ve also heard of some MEPS that will just let you schedule it and come take it. Keyword being ‘some’; unfortunately with all these options it still comes down to just who you happen to run into. Certainly a headache but the good thing is that there’s a lot of people.

[SimpleJack]

A lot of people think they have to go local when in comes to officer recruiters… FALSE! the officer recruiter I worked with was out of Las Vegas while I was living in Salt Lake City and Bozeman. She is a baller and got me scheduled for MEPS, AFOQT, and TBAS. All I needed to do was be close to an AFB, ROTC, or MEPS facility that she could schedule me with. If you’re still having issues, send me a message and I’ll get you in contact.

[Snip]

Chasing down recruiters for this is misguided IMHO. As many have stated on this forum, track down nearby AD or ANG/AFRES base personnel offices that can put you in touch w/ their testing centers and schedule with them. ROTC sometimes will work but some universities will only provide testing services for their own cadets. The problem with recruiters is you are never their first, second or third priority so the “give a shit” factor isn’t always aligned with your interests. Good luck!

Snip

[bryangros2020gmail-com]

I couldn’t get help from my local recruiter despite the whole website pointing to him. Then I found out it’s not technically his job with UPT packages, which is why he wasn’t prioritizing it. So, I took it on my own to contact a local ROTC unit and took the AFOQT and TBAS there.

Don’t go through a recruiter. They’re absolutely useless unless they aren’t. I had one recruiter help answer a lot of side questions for me, even though he wasn’t a part of that process. When I went to the interview, I made sure I went and shook his hand. But everything was done on my own.

[Nelly19]

Just wanted to reply to everyone. Thank you for all your advice. Just wanted to update with what worked for me if anyone come across this thread later on. I called the Education Center at Travis AFB and was able to schedule the test. I am currently a reservist so I was able to get on base, however they can arrange permission for civilians to sign up for the test.

I was able to do the same thing for the TBAS. There is a list of locations that offer the TBAS so call the number or find the email that is responsible for the test.

Thank you everyone that helped me out so far. I really appreciate it.