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A Couple More WOFT Questions


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Hey all,

 

After talking with a CW4 about starting my packet (civilian WOFT) he told me to just hold out and work on my physical fitness until Im eligible for the MEPS physical (March 1, 6 months after LASIK) before talking to a recruiter. Totally okay with that because Im taking 21 credit hours this semester to finish undergrad. Ive made some connections for LORs. Just need some clarification on a few things.

 

1) Most of my connections for LORs are 3 retired West Point 0-6s from my church, and then one CW3 aviator. Would those be sufficient?

 

2) What forms should I be able to fill out in my own to at least have a leg up when I go to talk to the recruiter? I figure if I walk in with my packet partially put together, theyll be more willing to work with me.

 

3) Local ROTC battalion doesnt offer ASVAB or SIFT testing, even though they utilize Ft. Sill for everything else. But the testing center at the university offers ASVAB. Should I take that ahead of time? Ive done a few practice runs with study guides and am pretty confident about getting a good GT score.

 

Thanks in advance!

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Sounds like you are already on a good path. I wouldn't worry too much about the ASVAB. You will have two chances at it (PiCAT and then ASVAB if you didn't do well). I would focus on the SIFT. You can only take it once if you make over a 40 so you want to get as high as possible. You will be able to take the ASVAB and SIFT @ MEPS. I agree with the CWO, wait until March and your LASIK time is up. If you have had any other medical stuff done, go ahead and track ALL of your medical records down. This will save you a TON of time. The enlistment packet is pretty basic and be filled out in a couple of hours so no worries there.

 

All in all I would say, get a head start on your letters of recommendation and your essay for wanting to be an Army Aviator. After that, study for the SIFT and work on PT! Good luck!

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1. The first piece of advice I always want to pass along when it comes to LORs is remember that the board only has a handful of minutes to look over your packet. Quality is better than quantity. If the board member only grabs 2 of the 6 LORs you put in and it happens to be a weak LOR that you tossed in just to push for the max. That would be less helpful than only sending in the minimum 3 but only allowing them to grab from the best three. For me personally I sent in a variety of LORs. As a civilian it is great to secure a senior aviator or officer for an LOR. But I also didn't want 3 generic LORs from folks who I met just for the packet. So I ended up with one from an active CW5, a retired CW3 whose family I am good friends with, my boss for the 5 previous years, and the President of the Christian College I had attended and worked for. Each of these LORs offered different perspectives for the board as to who I am. But that last portion was just my personal thoughts on selecting LORs. If you do request letters from people with no military experience, don't be afraid to coach them on what kinds of things the board is looking for so they can focus what they write.

 

2. The main thing I can think of is just compile a list of the places you have lived since you were 18 or the past 10 years and find someone who knew you while you lived there. Also someone for each school you attended and 3 character references. That was the most annoying part for me. Don't be too worried about if a recruiter will work with you though, because if they drag their feet just find someone else who will be more helpful. It is their job to help you join the Army after all even if it won't help their numbers. There are plenty of stories on here of folks who have had to go to multiple recruiting stations because a recruiter tries to get them to commit to enlisting if they are not selected. Granted the CW4 you know may be able to help you if you run into any issues.

 

3. Definitely talk with a recruiter before you attempt to take the tests at other locations. I tried to take the SIFT at the ROTC battalion but my recruiter said that testing facility was only authorized for ROTC so I had to go to MEPS for that. Also I wouldn't worry too much about the ASVAB. It is pretty straight forward for the GT score you only need to worry about these 3 sections: Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension and Arithmetic Reasoning. If you have already used some of the online materials and feel confident you should be alright.

 

The best advice I can give is remember that your plans and the Army's plan may not always line up. So patience is a virtue and apply pressure if things seem to stall but most times it will be hurry up and wait.

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I disagree with waiting. Meet with a recruiter ASAP so that you can set up appointments and get the paperwork out of the way. It may take a month or more before you can get some of those appointments so scheduling them sooner is better than later. The process is going to take you at least a month or two just to get everything put together, and if all goes well that should set you up nicely for a board towards the end of your semester.

 

Paperwork wise there's a checklist on the warrant officer recruiting website you should be using to gather your information. I have included the link below.

https://recruiting.army.mil/ISO/AWOR/Civilian_WOFT/

 

Stuff I recommend doing now is gathering your education transcripts, high school diploma, get together your work history dates, places, supervisor names, phone numbers, previous addresses, etc. You're going to want to have contacts for every place you've lived, school you've been to, and place you've worked. Build yourself a little binder with all that stuff and it will make filling out the paperwork with your recruiter SO much easier. Particularly the security clearance portion.

 

Track down your medical records if you are going to answer yes to any of the questions on the medical background.

 

You can also start working on your essay and gathering your letters of recommendation. Use your contacts you said you have, but make sure you have at least one person that knows you well.

Edited by SBuzzkill
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Thanks, everyone. Im gonna get in contact with the pilot for an interview and LOR within the week along with the O-6s and my pastor, get my transcripts and contact info together, and try to study for the SIFT in what little spare time I have.

One more thing - I looked at the checklist and it didnt mention anything about a written essay. If I recall correctly, there was a handwritten Why I Want to be an Army Aviator essay along with the typed one. Is that still a thing?

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Yes, a typed and handwritten copy of the essay.

 

It is one of the most important parts of your packet next to LORs.

 

Now that civilians have no more battalion board, it is our only real way to qualitatively present ourselves to the USAREC board besides our photo.

 

The forum has many posts on pointers for writing the essay. Lots of great info to be dug up.

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