A BIG Thank You EDIT: NC-NS

[rmiller]

Hello Everyone!

 

I've scoured (okay, maybe lurked) these forums for months now (5 months, to be exact) and I'm finally coming to a close on my WOFT packet (after 6 LONG months of working on it). I am a 24 year old (civilian!) female who is getting ready to board on November 15th (hopefully). I'm crazy nervous, don't know what to expect and doubt myself every now and then - but thanks to all of you members I'm reminded that I do ACTUALLY have a shot at this! All of you have been a WEALTH of information and I cannot begin to thank you enough. But let me start by just saying thank you.

 

If you guys have any words of wisdom (especially concerning the board), suggestions or questions, I encourage you to inundate me with them! God knows, I need all the help and encouragement I can get!

 

Thank you thank you thank you!

 

Sincerely,

Rachelle

Edited March 15, 2011 by rmiller

[SBuzzkill]

Good luck. My advice if you get selected is to take every step and get the most out of it that you can. Don't just check the blocks to get to the flight line.

[Lindsey]

Good luck!! I'd like to board ASAP but I've got to work on PT a whole lot more before that becomes realistic. If you don't mind me asking, how is your PT and do you have any tips?

 

And of course I'm gonna have to do the obligatory stats-request (i.e. scores, college, flight time, etc) after you board.

[rmiller]

Good luck!! I'd like to board ASAP but I've got to work on PT a whole lot more before that becomes realistic. If you don't mind me asking, how is your PT and do you have any tips?

 

And of course I'm gonna have to do the obligatory stats-request (i.e. scores, college, flight time, etc) after you board.

 

Lindsey, I've been following your progress since I started lurking these forums and I really can't wait for you to board. I know you'll do great!

 

As for PT, my score was 280, I think? I did it a couple months back so I don't really remember the exact number. But I did what my recruiters said - any breaks in between TV shows or any free time I have, I'll just get down and start doing sit ups and push ups. I think those are pretty easy to achieve max scores. It's really the running that improving on is tough. It's so much easier to increase your distance at the same speed than to increase your speed. But I would run (still do!) almost 5-6 days a week. Whether it's a mile on my lunch break or a 2 mile run around my neighborhood. I would just run and run for as long as I could. Intervals are a great way to increase your time too.

 

But remember, come test day you'll ALWAYS do better than how you were testing on non-test days. Good luck!

[rmiller]

Good luck. My advice if you get selected is to take every step and get the most out of it that you can. Don't just check the blocks to get to the flight line.

 

You're not the first person to tell me this, I'm starting to see a trend here. Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to do it!

[rmiller]

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm scheduled to go in front of the board with two Captains and a Major. I'm last to go - I think I'm pretty happy about that. I'm beyond nervous but I've been preparing as much as possible. I'm going to give it my best shot!

[TmqWard]

Best of luck with the board today!! I'm sure you'll do fine.

[theprofessor]

How did your board go? Also just curious which USAREC Board dates your packet will be on? I am on the November USAEC Board right now and my recruiter stated we should hear something this week or next week.

 

Good Luck!

[shawn1985]

Good luck!

[rmiller]

How did your board go? Also just curious which USAREC Board dates your packet will be on? I am on the November USAEC Board right now and my recruiter stated we should hear something this week or next week.

 

Good Luck!

 

I did well at my board! I was the only female and the only one going for WOFT. Everyone else was there for OCS. Thankfully, I was right in the middle of the group. I was scared to death to go first! But I walked in and the SGT who was sitting in the room came out and told my recruiter that I handled myself with more confidence than any of the other boys and that they were grilling me harder than any of the other boys. He said they were pounding me with questions because WOFT is much more difficult than OCS; you're handling a lot more and you're responsible for a lot more as well.

 

Let me tell you! I was REALLY grilled! I had never had a more difficult interview than this one and I really had to think about the things they were asking me. But at the end the two CPTs shook my hand and the MAJ (who was the board president) pounded me and they all wished me good luck.

 

Overall, it was a great experience! One of the more difficult experiences but something I'll never forget. I took away a lot from it.

 

I just got a call from my recruiters yesterday that USAREC convenes for civilians every month but only every other month for people currently in service. I was told that USAREC convenes on Dec. 13th for civilians and that my packet will be looked at then. I know a lot of people heard their results the day of the board but my recruiters told me that I might not hear until maybe 1 or 2 days later.

 

My fingers are crossed and I know a lot of people are hoping for the best for me. I can't even express to you guys how excited I am to hear the results!

[rmiller]

Got my call today that I was FQ/NS for this month. I'm pretty upset about it but I'm trying to do my best to keep my head up for next month and not get too down.

 

I really feel like just about my entire packet is mediocre and looking at my scores compared to others is getting me even more down.

 

My recruiters tell me that there is no way to update your packet after a FQ/NS. But I'm hearing from a retired CW5 that you CAN. Is this true or not? Because I'm about to pull some strings and see if I can get another recommendation added to my packet.

 

If anyone can shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it.

[akscott60]

I was FQNS on my first board too. I rewrote my essay for my recruiter, and that was it. Good luck for the next month.

[TmqWard]

Don't quit. Nothing worth having is easy to get. A large percentage of selectees are second-time looks. Good Luck.

[theprofessor]

I was FQ/NS my first time around as well when I initially boarded in october, but was selected in november on the 2nd look. You CAN update your packet. As a matter of fact the updates and improvements you make will be looked at by the board. When your packet goes up for the 2nd look and you haven't made any improvements, it could hurt you. Ask your recruiter to find out from the Battallion what were some areas that hurt you. They should have this info. From there make the updates and changes to your packet.

 

When it is all said and done, regardless of the outcome, you should feel like you did everthing possible to get selected. Good Luck

 

Got my call today that I was FQ/NS for this month. I'm pretty upset about it but I'm trying to do my best to keep my head up for next month and not get too down.

 

I really feel like just about my entire packet is mediocre and looking at my scores compared to others is getting me even more down.

 

My recruiters tell me that there is no way to update your packet after a FQ/NS. But I'm hearing from a retired CW5 that you CAN. Is this true or not? Because I'm about to pull some strings and see if I can get another recommendation added to my packet.

 

If anyone can shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it.

[rmiller]

First off, I just want to thank all of you for your support after I was a "non-select." But after a weird (and by weird, I mean REALLY weird) chain of events, I got an e-mail from a woman at USAREC explaining to me that I was actually not a FQ/NS.

 

In fact, my packet had never even seen a board, it's just been sitting up at USAREC.

 

So my recruiters called and e-mailed USAREC today and they discovered there was a miscommunication. There was an "administrative error" that caused my packet not to be boarded. The "error" was that my DA photo was not bright enough. So they scanned my photo in again only this time they did it in color.

 

Unfortunately the holidays caused a delay in my packet so it won't be seen for the January board. But it's ready to be boarded on February 7th!

[akscott60]

Good news to hear.

[mrjibbs]

Im not surprised. Thats the way the army rolls. They will lose your sh*t over and over and if you dont have copies or dont follow up on stuff like this you will never get anywhere. The army has the most organized but completely chaotic way of doing things. Just prepare yourself, cause for the rest of your career you will go through things like this, like every time you in-process somewhere, its ridiculous how bad at that stuff they are.

 

BUT KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!! Dont let that stop you if its what you really want!! It will be worth it in the long run!

 

Sorry, i didnt mean to come off so negative, its just this happens to so many people, it didnt surprise me. As long as you stay on top of your stuff you'll be ok!

 

Good Luck!!!

Edited January 6, 2011 by mrjibbs

[gary-mike]

Mrjibs

 

It is not negative, the man has to know what to expect and is now going to shine above the rest when he pulls out his spare copies next time something like this happens. I can't speek for every branch but your comments mirror my experience with the AF. Funny, what is the militarys fix for this? Brief you at in-proccess/out-proccess "keep copies of everything! And I do! Seems the paper pushers are the ones that are never held acountable for their actions. Think if I forget or lose a wrench in an engine bay they say "oh well snap should have a copy we'll just have them send a new one"! NOPE!

 

Rmiller

 

Good news, sounds like they are trying to do you right. Are they going to remove the FQ/NS from your record so you can qualify for the next board if for whatever reason you don't get selected this go around?

[rmiller]

Good news to hear.

 

It certainly is! I'm happy! A little more waiting won't kill me.

 

BUT KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!! Dont let that stop you if its what you really want!! It will be worth it in the long run!

 

Sorry, i didnt mean to come off so negative, its just this happens to so many people, it didnt surprise me. As long as you stay on top of your stuff you'll be ok!

 

Good Luck!!!

 

You definitely did not come off negative! I keep on top of my stuff and I'm so glad I e-mailed that woman otherwise I would still be thinking I was a NS! I wonder what would have happened when the January board (my "second" look) came?

 

Rmiller

 

Good news, sounds like they are trying to do you right. Are they going to remove the FQ/NS from your record so you can qualify for the next board if for whatever reason you don't get selected this go around?

 

Well according to the woman from USAREC I was never a FQ/NS. So my recruiters are trying to get my packet ready for the February board.

Edited January 6, 2011 by rmiller

[rmiller]

So my packet finally sat on a USAREC board and I was not selected. My packet will be seen on March 14th though and hopefully I will get picked up then!

[zVo]

Hang in there, different boards look for different things - don't get too discouraged. My packet is going in for its first look on March 14th, so hopefully we both get selected.

 

Let the anxiousness begin...

[rmiller]

It looks like I was a NS for the second board. This past Monday was my second look. I'm a little upset but what I'm trying to focus on is the next steps I should be taking to get me where I want to be - flying in the Army.

 

I really believe that my AFAST score was holding me back from being selected and I'm being told by my recruiters that there is absolutely NO way to retake the AFAST after passing it the first time. On the other hand some people are telling me that I should be able to get a waiver to take it again. Can anyone help on this matter?

 

What my biggest concern is, whether applying from either civilian or active duty side, that my AFAST is still low that they're not going to select me regardless of what I can do to update my packet.

 

Anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here? Should I enlist and reapply ASAP? Or wait out the 6 months (finish the last 13 credit of my degree at the same time) and reapply. Unfortunately, I can't afford any flight time from the civilian side so there won't be much updating of my packet other than the degree and possibly the AFAST.

[zVo]

rmiller,

Don't get down on yourself - WOFT is a persistence game. Someone I talked to at Rucker whose involved with processing applicants told me there was one candidate who went through the program that applied nine times before getting selected. I hope to God you don't have to apply that many times to get picked up, but I guess the idea is that you shouldn't give up.

 

If you cannot get a waiver to retake the AFAST, you could potentially get an 'exception to policy' notice and retake the test. I don't even have the slightest clue where you'd apply for that, but I've been told it is possible. I wanna trust the guy who told me that, he's a Major and aviator for the KY ARNG, but I can't speak from personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone else can weigh in on AFAST waivers with passing scores.

 

As a side note, last year someone got selected over me that scored a 94 on his AFAST, so don't get too bent out of shape on the AFAST score - passing is passing. The trend I've noticed with WOFT selectees is that military references from field grade officers or CW3s & higher are almost essential. My two cents is that instead of enlisting, finish your degree and see if you can meet with warrant officers from your local National Guard aviation unit and get them to write you LORs.

Edited March 15, 2011 by zVo