Randy_N
Ace
Master of Strategery
Exam Ready
Forum Replies Created
Hey thanks for sharing your story! I’ll probably go on a rant as well, cause misery loves company too.
I copied and pasted the wavier guide PDF thats online. Im not a doctor or anyone special, just some person on the internet so don’t take my words as medical advice. I wanna help in some kind of way. It sucks you were hired by a unit only to get DQ’ed medically. I got medically DQ’ed at MEPS too, for a bad knee. The PDF says getting a wavier is possible for your situation, but is unlikely anytime soon and you have to wait 2-years to increase your chances of getting a wavier and for your situation to stabilized. If you could the wait the 2-years, a wavier is LIKELY to be granted. I’m assuming this is for a I/IA medical. This information is found on page. 658 inside the table.
I wished I could have gotten as far you did. I was at an air show in Marine Base Miramar. I had a chance to talk to one of the pilots from 144th Fight Wing. I always wanted to apply to the unit, but I was told at age 32; I was too old to apply . It was always a dream of mine to be an eagle driver for the 144th FW, but that is no longer a possibility now. Thus Im hoping to get pick up by active duty Air Force, but Im not too confident about that too. I agree with having the mindset of “Make them tell you no” but when do you quit? I know in my situation I’m kinda short out of luck and I am financially drained from taking flying lessons. There will be no more flying for the foreseeable future. I’m just a security guard, so the money isn’t great at all. I haven’t gotten much traction with any guard/reserve units. As now I am completely pivoting away and looking into other options; the Army might be one of those options.
If I were in your shoes, I would wait until your hiring unit gets an answer for you. Even though you might already know the answer. Just my 2 cent. I hope that helps.
Pay it forward if you can.
I personally would have gone to Navy OCS if I had the chance, I’m 32 so that option is no longer viable for me to take since I’m already at the age limit to be a pilot.
Getting in touch with a recruiter on the Air Force side was difficult and a waste of time. If you are serious and want to fly in the military; go Navy. The Air Force has too many applicants applying to OTS. DEFINITELY try applying to Air Force OTS first if you don’t get picked by Air Force, then full send to Navy OCS. That’s my two cent if I had to re do it over again.
From my own experience with talking with enlisted service members, most would agree that the Air Force is #1 branch for quality of life. I wouldn’t know myself because I’m a civilian applicant, but I trust the opinions of the enlisted to get an honest overview of what to expect or pursue.
Personally I shoot for the top, and see where the arrow lands and go from there. Hence why, I say try for OTS then Navy OCS. That’s just me tho😎. I might be applying to Army OCS if I don’t get picked by the Air Force. I hear the Army is little bit more easier to commission as an “older” applicant.
If you haven’t watch this podcast yet, its pretty insightful in what a board is looking for especially if you are looking at fighters. From what I gathered from the podcast, if you are not a nepo baby or a USAFA graduate. Getting into a guard unit as a civilian is going to be very hard, almost impossible. They mentioned in the podcast they prefer hiring rated applicants over off the street applicants, for obvious reasons. Basically I would relate this to joining a fraternity/sorority (or even dating); very subjective unfortunately. In the podcast, they mentioned going either Active Duty or enlisting with the unit you are interested in to help boost your odds.
As far as your test scores goes, no one can really answer if your scores are good or bad. Unfortunately, everyone likes to compare their scores like a dick measuring contest. There’s alway going to be someone who will have a higher score or a lower one. On the bright side you already have your PPL, so good on you! I would recommend reaching out to a recruiter or a ROTC detachment commander on getting a wavier to take the TBAS again.
bogidope.com
How to Get Hired to Fly Fighters in the Guard/Reserve [Hiring Board Debrief] | BogiDope
How to Get Hired to Fly Fighters in the Guard/Reserve [Hiring Board Debrief] | BogiDope
Were you able to get an answer to your question?
If you haven’t already, you could work with a recruiter to have them schedule you to go to MEPS to see if you are medically qualified. I got disqualified for having a sore knee 🤣, working on getting a wavier for it.
Randy here. I recently received a voucher code from the Air Force Reserve Officer recruiter in Temecula. Im now waiting for my test results to get back to me; hopefully soon. If you get a voucher code from a recruiter, you can schedule the AFOQT at your discretion including the testing location. No need to go on base.
It took me about 4-months to receive a voucher code to take the AFOQT from the recruiter. I wish I could help out more with the situation, but just be persistent. I know it can be pretty frustrating. Your experience with scheduling the AFOQT is identical to mine.
Also, contacting a ROTC detachment wouldn’t help either since they require you have a voucher code in hand to test with them. I’m assuming you have no affiliation with the Air Force, just an off the street applicant?
Message me if you have any questions for me.
use this
If I were in your shoes, I would contact an active duty officer recruiter and a reserve officer recruiter at the same time. Tell them you want to take the AFOQT, but require a voucher code (you need the voucher code to take the AFOQT through Pearson Vue).
It took me about 4-months to get the voucher code. I had to call, text, and email the recruiter for them to respond to my request. It is a frustrating process for sure.
If you know anybody personally who could sponsor you, taking the AFOQT on base might be a quicker process.
Thanks for the response guys! I think I’m going to wait a lil bit longer for the recruiter from Temecula to get back to me. Hopefully, then I can get a voucher code.
I was able to get in contact with the education center at Nellis Air Force Base. Since I am a civilian, they said they could not help and that I should talk to a recruiter.
Im kinda at a lost now, because Im going in circles at this point 🙃
The education center at Vandenberg Space Force Base got back to me as well, they are not able to help.
I am in the same boat for being an older applicant (I’m 31). Speaking for myself and only myself, what are the alternatives if I can’t get hired on by a unit to fly due to age? <font face=”inherit”>Is it even possible to get an age wavier to fly for the Army if you are not </font>prior-service with low flight time<font face=”inherit”>?</font>
<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>I know applying for a RPA is an option, but </font>I<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> feel it </font>isn’t<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> a one-to-one </font>opportunity in terms of prestige, benefit, and fulfillment. I filled out an interest card for the 144th Fighter Wing, but they stated they did not want me as an applicant. I suspect it was due my age
I am in the same boat for being an older applicant (I’m 31). Speaking for myself and only myself, what are the alternatives if I can’t get hired on by a unit to fly due to age? Is it even possible to get an age wavier to fly for the Army if you are not prior-service with low flight time?
I know applying for a RPA is an option, but feel it’s not a one-to-one opportunity in terms of prestige, benefit, and fulfillment. I filled out an interest card for the 144th Fighter Wing, but they stated they did not want me as an applicant. I suspect it was due my age
Hello everybody,
My name is Randy I am 30 and currently working as a security guard in the Seattle Area. I graduated from University of Washington with a Physics degree, class of 2020. I am working on completing my Private Pilot’s License and have about 15 hours of flight time. Hopefully, sometime in the nearby future I want to apply for a pilot slot for the Air National Guard.
I don’t have a cliché story on how I wanted to be pilot. I share the same passion for Aviation with many on Bogidope. I don’t want to self-eliminate myself, but I know I have a snowball’s chance in hell in succeeding. Just like everybody else here, I just want to roll the dice and see how far I can go. No harm in trying, right?
I wouldn’t mind serving in other capacities in support of our warfighters, if anybody has information on becoming an officer in the Air National Guard. Please send it my way! To those who will succeed in becoming a pilot, Congratulations!
-Randy N.
Hey Kevin, I’m glad you asked! I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge and I’ll be leaning heavily on my experience, I might sound a little bitter in my response. I also had a VERY hard time in contacting a recruiter.
You can try reaching out to a recruiter specific to a guard unit, over on Mil Recruiter there should be a point of contact for a recruiter. Also, it should have a link with the unit’s website page. You can usually find a phone number or an email under “Contact Us”. From my experience, it’s a crap shoot if you get a response at all; but try nonetheless.
The other options are: contact an Active Duty Officer recruiter or an Air Force Reserve recruiter. This is the path that I took, but it was not the most straight forward path unfortunately. A lot times I would call, text, and email a recruiter only to be ignored or misdirected, definitely a waste of time. I persisted until I got an answer from the recruiter. Usually the Active Duty recruiters will host a zoom “Questions and Answers”, you might want to reach out to different offices around the country if you are interested in asking some questions that you might have.
BOTTOM LINE: just keep trying 💪 until you exhausted all your options. I know this shit it ain’t easy.
I also posted the link for the active duty application board if you are interested in throwing your name in the hat. This is how I got assigned a recruiter.
Hey Kyle if you are like me (A Civilian), You have two options to take the AFOQT:
1. You get sponsored by a unit/recruiter/ROTC Detachment to go on base to take the AFOQT at an education center on a military installation.
OR
2. You take the AFOQT at a third-party testing site of your choosing, but you will need to make a Pearson-Vue account and will also need a voucher code to schedule the AFOQT (This is the step I’m taking)
I’m pretty positive you have to take the AFOQT first in order to do the TBAS, if I’m not mistaken. Also, if you have any flight hours those hours count towards your TBAS score.
Thank you CAGE for the response, but I think I might have to just bite the bullet and accept the fact I might not make it as a military aviator.
