01CelicaGTS's WOFT Progress

[01CelicaGTS]

Okay, so I've been looking into WOFT for quite awhile. I've read a lot of the threads on this forum as well as the armyforums.com forums. I've decided to go through the WOFT process to continue pursuing my dream of flying. I just started, the process, so I'm making this thread to document my progress (as it might help someone else in the future), and also to ask questions along the way.

 

A little about me:

My name is Trevor Fox, and I am 26 years old. I live in Portland, OR and have a wife of 3 years and a 16 month old daughter. When I was 18 I looked into the military (mostly the Air Force), but decided against it at that time. I worked for 8 years at Target, much of that time in management, and currently work at Chase Bank. In 2008, I moved from Spokane, WA to Oregon to pursue a career as a helicopter pilot. I worked hard and got my PPL and COM licenses and about 200 hours in R22s. I got most of the way through my CFI, and then quit temporarily because my wife was pregnant with our daughter, and I couldn't support a family on CFI pay. Now, I'm working full time and pursuing a degree in Software Engineering and I have about 65 credits so far, and hold a 4.0GPA.

 

So, I talked with the recruiter today, and got my packet started. I took the practice ASVAB and got a 98 on it. My recruiter wants to get me in to take the ASVAB and physical right away, as it seems that I don't really need any extra study.

I need to look into what is on the AFAST, but hopefully it's similar to what I learned when I got my ratings.

I have a lot of paperwork to fill out regarding my family, traffic tickets, work experience, education and refrences.

 

I know that I need to work on my PT, and I'm shooting to max out with my performance (77 pushups, 82 situps in 2 minutes and 13:18 two mile run). I don't think it will take me too long to get to those numbers, and I'm going to start working with a friend of mine that is a recruiter/personal trainer in the Marines.

 

As far as LORs go, I'm not sure that what I have is going to be that great.

1) An officer in the US Army who is a professor at West Point. I don't actually know him that well (he's my mom's friend's husband). But I was thinking I could talk with him and have him interview me and write me an LOR.

2) A senator in the state of Wyoming (my aunt's husband) whom I know pretty well, and we have talked about aviation quite a bit.

3) My district manager from Target who is in charge of 13 Target Stores with about 2000 employees, and $400MM-$500MM in annual sales (I didn't work directly with him that often, so I don't know exactly how personal it could be, but I was selected for district recognition breakfasts multiple time)

4) My store manager from Target, in charge of about 200 employees and $60MM in annual sales (not in that high of a position, but definitely would be the most personal of all LORs, with a lot of insight into my work ethic and personal accountability and ethics)

 

If anyone has any suggestions on LORs, or whether or not what I have is good enough, that would be great.

 

I'll keep updating this with my progress, and if anybody has any suggestions, or tips for me, that would be awesome. Thank you!

Edited July 18, 2012 by 01CelicaGTS

[01CelicaGTS]

I have one thing that I believe may be my only hold up...traffic tickets. I believe that I do have a speeding ticket in the past 10 years that was over $250, which I believe means that I need a moral waiver. In addition, after thinking really hard about it, I think that I probably have about 10-12 tickets (most of them from the time I was 16-20).

So my questions:

1) I haven't told the recruiters about my tickets yet, as I don't know dates or amounts. I was going to get my records, but should I get them from the court or from the DMV?

2) If they were dropped or revised (I had a couple speeding tickets turned into "no registration" tickets and I paid a higher fine) do I still need to include them?

3) If I am required to obtain a moral waiver, will that hurt my chances? I've heard that they are currently accepting packets with waivers due to the amount of packets recieved.

 

Thanks guys.

[UnitedWeStand111]

I would have your recruiter run your prints and see what comes up, they will tell you what you need a waiver for. I am currently trying to get a moral waiver myself, WOFT with a waiver is a recruiters worst nightmare it seems. LOL

 

Seems like major things left are AFAST, Flight Physical, MEPS Physical, and APFT. Good luck, you look competitive so far but I'm just an applicant so what do I know.

 

Good luck Sir!

[01CelicaGTS]

Thanks United!

 

I was reading through the warrant officer website, and it seems that it's geared toward enlisted members. So as a civilian, should I use the army forms for LORs and resume?

 

Also, I want to try and get a hold of a current CWO to interview me and write an LOR. How would I go about this? I know that Fort Lewis in Washington might be my closest bet, but how do I get in touch with a pilot CWO?

[av8rnik]

I am working on my WOFT packet right now as well. I have a few speeding tickets that i asked the recruiter about. He said list them and they wont be an issue. If it becomes an issue i will let you know. I am taking my AFAST next tuesday and the flight physical sometime after that.

 

For LOR's, you might want to get someone at the flight school you are at to write one. Also, try to see if there are any reserve or active duty stations near by that you can go and try to get put in touch with a pilot. There is a reserve unit near me and i just called up there, explained what i am doing and asked if i could setup a time to meet with some of the pilots and maybe the CO.

 

Good luck.

[01CelicaGTS]

So, I got a LOR from my flight instructor, and he wrote a really good one for me (he was also in the USAF). Still working on getting in touch with a current WO pilot to interview me for an LOR.

 

I just got back from MEPs and I took the ASVAB and physical, as well as doing a security interview. I did pretty good on the tests. AFQT: 98, GT: 137. I passed the physical with no issues, no waivers required, and the security interview was very easy. I'm scheduled to take the AFAST next Tuesday, and finally got the recruiters on board to get me set up for a flight physical.

 

But, with the recent change to the SIFT, and no November board, that kind of throws a wrench in my plan. It's not a huge deal, more of just a bummer. Oh well, I'll see how it goes. I already sent an email to find out more info.

[yakfishr19]

let me know Celica, I am in the same boat

[Bobsyouruncle]

Good luck guys. I'm a Warrant officer but I did it the old fashion way by being enlisted first so I probably can't help much with the packet. As far as finding a WO for a recommendation I'm not sure how you go about that.

 

Maybe the Sift will be an improvement on the old test which in my opinion was fairly stupid. 50% of AFAST questions were about your personality and family and supposedly didn't have wrong answers- but they did. No matter what they say about studying, you should definitely study if you can. Anyway I think the most important factor is not the tests. At the end of the day it's just a guy looking at your packet and I'm not sure that anyone is blown away by a 130GT as opposed to a 112 or whatever.

 

Most of the guys I've seen get picked up civilian have had some flight time, even if it was fixed wing. It at least shows you can fly without getting sick (it happens, people find out when they get to flight school). LOR's I think are very important, something showing you have a certain level of maturity. College would be a plus too.

 

It has gotten a bit tougher to get picked up in recent years. But these things come in cycles. There was a time when anybody with a pulse would get picked up but it's just an Army needs thing.

 

If you get in, flight school is pretty quick and you will be busy but being a Warrant is the best job in the Army. Good luck.

[01CelicaGTS]

So, I emailed the email listed on the USAREC message, and got a little bit of clarifiaction.

 

Here's my email:

 

Hello,

 

I just saw the update on the USAREC website explaining that the AFAST will be

replaced by the SIFT. I've been hearing about this for months, so that is not

a surprise, however I do have a question. I was planning on having my packet

submitted by September to be ready for the (theoretical) November board. It

seems that the November board will not be accepting 153A applicants. Is this

correct? I am very curious, as I am scheduled to take the AFAST on

07/17/2012. Would it okay for me to still take the AFAST next week,

considering that I'm still planning on submitting my packet in September?

Thank you very much for any help.

 

Trevor Fox

 

And his response:

 

Mr. Fox,

 

First, thank you for taking the time to keep updated on events. Many don't.

 

There are a couple of considerations for your situation. Most significant is

that there will be no 153A packets reviewed on the November board. With that

said, it seems to me that your options are to take the AFAST as scheduled and

submit your packet. If it is qualified to be reviewed (Status "B") prior to 1

October, the AFAST will be accepted but your packet won't be reviewed by a

selection board until January. If you are found at that time to be

non-qualified you will likely be required to resubmit your packet (assuming

you want another chance) with qualifying SIFT score.

 

I think it will be in your best interests to schedule the SIFT and submit a

packet for the January 2013 board. Your only other option is to take the AFAST

today and get it turned in by tomorrow to make the cut off for the September

board.

 

I hope this answers your questions and good luck.

 

 

Brad R Cook

CW2, USA

OPFD

 

COMM: (334) 255-1420

DSN: 558-1420

 

 

So, It seems that as long as you have your packet submitted 100% complete by 1 October, you can include the AFAST, but if you need to go for a second round look, then you will need to get a SIFT score included.

[Yamer]

let me know Celica, I am in the same boat

 

I thought you are already selected and soon to ship?

[Yamer]

Thanks for the sharing celica. Thats clarifys a bunch

Edited July 12, 2012 by Yamer

[yakfishr19]

no not yet just wrapping up my packet

[Yamer]

oh ok. maybe im thinking you said you got accepted when you were just telling us your afast score. after alot of reading sometimes it all meshes together lol

Edited July 12, 2012 by Yamer

[av8rnik]

Trevor, thanks for posting that response. It makes me really wonder what my recruiter said on friday when i asked him about it in an email. He seemed to indicate the change would not be an issue, but maybe that just means i will get my packet submitted by October 1 but wont get in front of a board till January. I mentioned in another post that i will be in his office monday and will get some clarification.

[01CelicaGTS]

Just took the AFAST today. I didn't actually get a score sheet, but I think my recruiter told me I scored a 143. He's going to let me know tomorrow when the score is updated in his system.

 

Things are coming along. The new station commander at the recruiter station is putting a fire under my recruiter's butt to get things in order for me, so that's awesome. He's trying to get a flight physical set up at Ft. Lewis in the next couple of weeks, so that I can make the battalion board cutoff around August 18th. I don't know for sure if it will happen, but everyone at the recruiting station seems optimistic.

[Yamer]

Nice job man good to hear all is going well and speeding up

[Lindsey]

Flight physical at Fort Lewis is pretty painless--everyone is really nice.

[01CelicaGTS]

Update: Got a call from the recruiter...actually scored 145 on the AFAST.

[av8rnik]

Awesome! I just got my score earlier as well...you beat me out by 2 points, 143...

[Yamer]

good job guys well done!!!

 

what was the hardest part that each of you struggled the most with? anything catch you off guard with it?

[01CelicaGTS]

Nice score Av8rnic. The things about the test that I struggled with were:

 

The mechanical comprehension section. That was the only section I didn't really know much about going into studying. There were about 5 questions on that section that had to do with boats. I think all of them had to do with the rudder and which way it would turn the boat, things like that.

 

The pictures used in the test for cyclic orientation and instrument comprehension were different than the ones in the ARCO book. That just threw me off a little. It took a couple questions to really figure those out. A few of the cyclic orientation questions I couldn't tell if the helicopter was just banking or banking and diving/climbing. The pictures on the test were more realistic than the Arco book though. They showed bank for turning rather than just the picture moving to the left or right.

 

The helicopter knowledge section just had a few questions that were a little bit odd. I have my PPL and COM ratings and there were a couple questions that I wasn't sure of (and I got a 98% on the FAA Pvt written test!) I don't remember what they were but I know there were a few questions that I was not sure on.

 

Complex movements was exactly the same as the ARCO book though, so study that up. The way I remembered the symbols was that the top symbol (left/right) was exactly as we look at it, lefty loosy, righty tighty. On the bottom symbols, I just remembered that d (down) comes before u (up) in the alphabet, and that the arrow on the left was for d and the arrow on the right was for u (since we read left to right). That's what made sense for me anyway. That might not make any sense at all as I write it, but it got me through that section with extra time to spare.

[av8rnik]

Thanks. That overview you gave is spot on with what i saw as well.

[Yamer]

Super awesome guys thanks a ton

[01CelicaGTS]

Anyone who's submitted a WOFT packet:

 

How did you do the "Why I Want to be an Army Aviator" letter. My recruiter wants me to type it, and then place a piece of paper over that and then trace the typed letter into a hand written letter. Is that how others have done it?

[Yamer]

Ive heard it that way or you can use a light board to place a piece of lined paper beneath your unlined paper you are writing on so its straight and neat as you can make it... i wrote mine on printer paper and in my own normal but very neat handwriting.