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WOFT general questions


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Hello everyone, Im a 27 year old civilian with a wife and two kids that is extremely interested in and highly considering enlisting in the Armys street to seat WOFT program. My wife is supportive of my dream to become a Army helicopter pilot but is understandably skeptical of a few things/questions that I havent been able to provide her answers for yet. I would like to thank everybody on this forum first and foremost for any members for their past or current service to our country and secondly because Ive already learned so much from all the previous posts. I apologize for any stupid questions due to my lack of knowledge, but any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

1. If I do the WOFT enlistment and sign a contract for 6 years and then I am disqualified for any reason do I have to still serve the full 6 years?

 

2. If Im disqualified from the WOFT path do I just get stuck with whatever job they Army assigns me with for that 6 years or do I get a choice based off my ASVAB scores?

 

3. Is it possible to get your WOFT packet approved before you sign a contract?

 

4. Ive read through other posts and have seen that the vision requirement is 20/50 correctable to 20/20. If its worse than 20/50 but still correctable can you still qualify? Does the board/superiors frown upon LASIK enlistees?

 

5. If youre already enlisted and something in the process drags out, what do you do in the meantime?

 

Please note: I dont have any reason other than my vision that Ive researched so far that could possibly cause disqualification, Im just curious of what the repercussions are if your rejected or not qualified and have already signed a contract. Im going to get an eye exam next Monday and should know for sure what my vision is.

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1. Based off my enlistment contract is looks like my initial contract was 3 years of Active Duty. Saw another number involving 5 years reserve for a total of 8 but I don't know the finer points of all that... But definitely see 3 years Active Duty in multiple spots. Then upon completion of flight school you also have the 6 years Duty Obligation. (Some debate in my circles on if that is from when you pin W1 or when we graduate flight school)

 

2. Most people who don't make it through flight school due to like DUIs or medical reasons end up just getting discharged from the Army from what I hear. But I do believe the Army retains the right to send you based off the "needs of the Army" to wherever they want. However most times they just don't want to deal with the extra paperwork I think.

 

3. You will finish your packet have it sent to the board and either accepted or denied before you sign any paperwork.

 

4. According to what I could find on AR 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness), the standard for a class 1 flight physical involving vision is "Distant visual acuity. Uncorrected distant visual acuity worse than 20/50 in each eye. If the distant visual acuity is 20/50 or better in either eye, each eye must be correctable to 20/20 with no more than 1 error per 5 presentations of 20/20 letters, in any combination, on either the Armed Forces Vision Tester (AFVT) or any projected Snellen chart set at 20 feet. (See ATB, Distant Visual Acuity Testing and APL, Decreased Visual Acuity.)" (No idea what most of that actually means but its what it says on page 44) Personally I had 20/20 so someone else may be better qualified to answer that. Rumor has it their is a waiver for just about everything though. Also heard of folks paying upfront for LASIK or PRK to get to the eyesight they need.

 

5. The Street-to-Seat program allows you to stay civilian until you are selected. So short answer is don't enlist first unless you are fine being in the MOS you choose if you don't get selected but the application process is also slightly different for current military than for civilian.

 

Sorry if any of my answer cause more confusion, I just wanted to try and research answers rather than respond based solely on speculation I had seen or heard.

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Gideon - six year ADSO starts on your graduation date from flight school. Your ORB might never change from your W1 appointment date but HRC wont approve a UQR if you try to submit it based off that. AR 350-100 2-6(e).

 

All initial enlistments are for eight years with the time split between active duty and inactive reserve time.

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Gideon - six year ADSO starts on your graduation date from flight school. Your ORB might never change from your W1 appointment date but HRC wont approve a UQR if you try to submit it based off that. AR 350-100 2-6(e).

 

All initial enlistments are for eight years with the time split between active duty and inactive reserve time.

 

That's what I had always heard but some of my friends tried to say it was the other way around. Thanks for the info!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Sorry to thread hijack but I have a question.

 

I damn sure do not want to give up. That being said I will not make excuses. I took the SIFT today and barely passed. When I say barely, I got a 40. The test just kicked my butt. No doubt about it.

 

What are my chances of being picked up? I etsd in 2014 and am now trying to do the street to seat program but I no longer feel very competitive. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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4. Ive read through other posts and have seen that the vision requirement is 20/50 correctable to 20/20. If its worse than 20/50 but still correctable can you still qualify? Does the board/superiors frown upon LASIK enlistees?

 

This is the only question I am qualified to answer. I had PRK and technically this disqualifies you, but as long as the surgery went well you’ve done all your follow up appointments, and no issues/changes to your eyesight have occurred there is a waiver for it. I got my waiver and was subsequently selected for WOFT.

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Sorry to thread hijack but I have a question.

 

I damn sure do not want to give up. That being said I will not make excuses. I took the SIFT today and barely passed. When I say barely, I got a 40. The test just kicked my butt. No doubt about it.

 

What are my chances of being picked up? I etsd in 2014 and am now trying to do the street to seat program but I no longer feel very competitive. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

I have not submitted yet but from what I've read -- Aim for the highest APFT score possible, write a solid essay, and get some quality LORs to be the most competitive you can possibly be. Don't disqualify yourself before you submit, it's up to the board to decide. Take everything thats in your hands and do the best you possibly can with it from here out. From what I understand, your SIFT is not as important as the rest I mentioned in the eyes of the board. Good luck!

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Thanks for the response. I am still 100% committed to attempting to become an Aviator. The SIFT score was just a bit of a kick in the nuts. The funny thing is that it felt like I was doing a pretty good job. Aside from Mathmatics and Hidden Figures.

My biggest mistake so far was rushing into the SIFT. 50% cockiness. 30% unpreparedness. 20% test anxiety.

That being said. I feel my LORs are solid. Active O-7 Armor Branch, Reserve CW4 (maybe... sift score mess up), Active O-4 Armor Branch, Active E-8 19K, and a USAF RET B-52 Pilot.

 

APFT will be cake. In 8 years I have always been >290. Might be a bit lower now due to the Corona ha.

 

Good Luck to you Sir!

 

We will see what happens. I will remain hopeful. If I don't get picked up I will have no one to blame but myself. I learned a valuable lesson.

 

I have not submitted yet but from what I've read -- Aim for the highest APFT score possible, write a solid essay, and get some quality LORs to be the most competitive you can possibly be. Don't disqualify yourself before you submit, it's up to the board to decide. Take everything thats in your hands and do the best you possibly can with it from here out. From what I understand, your SIFT is not as important as the rest I mentioned in the eyes of the board. Good luck!

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Thank you everyone for all your information! I apologize for the time between responses but I wanted to give an update for myself. Ive had my eyes checked and my vision is 20/400. I have to wait a year with an unchanging prescription to be an eligible candidate for LASIK. I was wondering if anyone had any information on the pros and cons of the Gaurd?

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