WOFT Letters of Recomendation

[R2t2RHead]

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of putting my warrant officer packet together and I have a few question for the knowledgable members here. I apologize for the long post by my recruiter is not very knowledgable and I have lots of questions.

 

1. I am a civilian and I am trying to decide who should write my LOR's. I have a private pilots

 

license so I feel that the chief flight instructor at my flight school would be a good choice. The boss

 

at my current job was a sergeant in the Air Force so I was thinking that he would be helpful also. I

 

played four years of college baseball so I am going to ask my coach to write a letter for me. I have

 

a very good friend who is an officer in the Navy on active duty and although it might be a little

 

difficult to get a letter from him, would this be worthwhile to pursue? I do not know any Army Heli

 

pilots except the person who gave me my private pilot checkride but I feel that might be a bit

 

awkward asking him since he does not really know me that well. How many letters should I have?

 

2. I saw on the warrant officer website their was a format for the military LOR of about three

 

paragraphs. Should the people writing my letters stick to this format somewhat or would a general

 

letter be okay.

 

3. Who should the letter be addressed to? I am assuming Warrant Officer Review Board but I am not sure.

 

4. Do I need to write a personal narrative explaining why I am the best choice for WOFT?

 

5. What are the qualities in a civilian that the review board looks for the most for this position? I need to know which aspects of my life I need to emphasize the most.

 

Thank You all very much for your input I appreciate it greatly.

[dankaten]

Three or four letters are all your going to need. If you can find a field grade officer it would be better and yes your Navy Officer would be a great choice. The letters can be addressed "To Whom it may Concern". They are mainly looking at what people think of your personality.

Hope that helps. I have been out a long time so things may have changed. Maybe someone with a little more recent experience can help you a little better.

Edited August 24, 2009 by dankaten

[1badz32]

3. is "To whom it may concern"

4. is "why i want to be an Army Aviator" i just did mine about a month ago, it must be hand writen on normal tablet paper, and they want a printed copy with it.

 

If i understood my recriuter right, you need 5 LOR's, the battallion review board gives you your 6th LOR. I rounded up 5 on my own.

Edited August 24, 2009 by 1badz32

[NorCalHeliKid]

I'm in the same process and by no means am I am expert but I am a little further along, also Civilian WOFT Applicant.

 

The LOR should be from people who can testify to your character, have known you long enough to vouch for your intergrity, honesty, work ethic and abilities as a pilot, etc. Some people will say otherwise...like go get a letter from every Senator you can set up a meeting with, but in my opinion that is filler garbage and they dont know you for squat. There is something to be said for having a letter from a CW3 Aviator but like in my case, the only one I know does not know me very well, so Im doing what you are doing and using my Primary flight instructor.

 

Second, almost everything on the WO website is for active duty, including the LOR format, you can use it if you choose to, but it is not required.

 

Finally, num 5. I had this same feeling about interviews, catering to what they may be looking for. The fact of the matter is that if you have "it", they will get it out of you, or you will put it out there for them like you should be, sell yourself, sell yourself, be YOU, be honest and to quote my retired WO freind, "Dont act like you know everything, but act like you want to learn it."

 

I've been using a few websites to help me out with my packet. My recruiter is also a bit clueless.

www.kiowapilots.com

There is a wanna be aviator forum with lots of help.

Most questions have already been asked.

 

So, give us an update, where are you at in the process? AFAST, Flight Physical?

 

Arthur

[R2t2RHead]

I am studying for the ASVAB and AFAST right now. I want to get that stuff down before I go take it. I have a feeling those scores are going to be extremely important coming from a civilian applicant. I currently have a class 2 medical so i am not very worried about the class 1 physical I will recieve. The class 1 just adds an ekg and some bloodwork i believe.

 

I have one question,

 

Does the WOFT board look at your driving record when considering you? the army background check looks for this I think but does the board get a copy? I have a few speeding tickets on my record, the last one is four years ago. will this hurt me? I can understand them not wanting to give me a multi million dollar aircraft to fly if they feel I disregard traffic laws.

anyway thank you for the help.

[1badz32]

The 1A flight physical does alot more with the eye's, they do an EKG, and blood work. I had an FAA flight physical, the physical the army give's is much more intense. A couple of speeding tickets "should" be fine (or i'm in trouble too) much more then that, i'd start to worry.

[Linc]

Letters of Recommendation for civilian applicants. You are allowed up to six LORs to submit with your packet. It is recommended that they be people you know, or more correctly, who know you, and that they be leaders in the community, as high in position or prestige as possible. So, a congressman may go a lot further than a local car dealer you worked for one summer, washing cars. Unless, the car dealer knows you better.

 

I recommend you don't limit yourself in how many people you ask to write for you. You simply need to pick the six that sound like they know and represent you the best. Ask them to describe with specific details about how they feel you perform in three specific areas:

 

1. Responsibility

2. Accountability

3. Leadership

[R2t2RHead]

Do they check driving records in every state that you have ever lived in? is the review board going to have a copy of my driving record? I do not want to lie but I do not want to admit anything that I do not have too.

[NorCalHeliKid]

Do they check driving records in every state that you have ever lived in? is the review board going to have a copy of my driving record? I do not want to lie but I do not want to admit anything that I do not have too.

 

Dude, even Law Enforcement jobs are 2 years clean of minor infractions or accidents. Chances are good that unless you just recently ran from Police while being caught trying to score some smack on the street corner after a race at the stoplight that you are just like everyone else. Who doesnt have a speeding ticket or 3 a few years back? Oh, and withholding information is a form of lying and grounds for DQ from.. trust me, its not a good idea. Be honest, have integrity, traffic accidents arent a big deal as long as you can prove that you have grown and learned from your mistakes. Like has been said, if it is anything more than that...you are not technically eligible to enlist. Sorry if this sounds harsh, its hard to tell tone on here, Im not trying to sound arrogant, just helpful.

 

Arthur

[schoonyman]

I got letters from a civilian pilot, a former marine pilot(also my lacrosse coach) and an active duty WO4 pilot. I just graduated from high school, got a 106 on my afast, no college. I'm leaving for basic on 1 oct and then off to WOCS in jan. Don't give up, even if you recruiters don't think you'll pass (like mine did), you have a shot. Just make sure you know about helicopters and aerodynamics when you go for your Battalion interview, and also be mature and present yourself as if your life depended on it.

[FLHooker]

schoony,

 

Awesome man! Congrats.

 

 

CHAD

[USAR153D]

I got letters from a civilian pilot, a former marine pilot(also my lacrosse coach) and an active duty WO4 pilot. I just graduated from high school, got a 106 on my afast, no college. I'm leaving for basic on 1 oct and then off to WOCS in jan. Don't give up, even if you recruiters don't think you'll pass (like mine did), you have a shot. Just make sure you know about helicopters and aerodynamics when you go for your Battalion interview, and also be mature and present yourself as if your life depended on it.

Impressive dude, congrats!

[ErOk_OnE]

Congrats...see you at Mother Rucker