nightmare515 Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 Alright heres an update. My packet is now board ready and will be reviewed at the upcoming September 10-12 board. My stats are:Active Army: 19K Abrams Tank GunnerRank: E-5 SergeantAFAST: 126GT Score: 121APFT: 269LORs: CW5 Kiowa Pilot, Battalion Commander, Company Commander (On the active duty side you only send 3 LORs, 1 from your CO, 1 from your BC, and one from a CW4 or CW5) The CW5 that helped me along the way and wrote my LOR used to sit on selection board and gave me some tips so Ill share them with those applying from the active duty side. 1) Take your DA Photo in ASU's. not Class A's. It looks more professional and shows that you care enough about your Army career to go out and buy your own uniform (Plus its about to be mandatory this fiscal year anyway) 2) Have your DA photo professionally scanned or use a very high resolution scanner when submitting your packet. A cheaper scanner may be alright for the documents. Don't send them a grainy cheaply scanned DA photo, it shows lack of motivation and caring. 3) Basic Rifle Marksmanship. Qualify expert on all weapon systems that you can. It shows that if your chopper goes down in theater you have the ability to at least shoot well enough to defend yourself. 3) Get some college under your belt and have at least a 3.0 GPA. Flight school is very academically demanding. The selection board wants to know if you are able to handle the academic workload of becoming a pilot. 4) Attend some military schools (WLC, ALC, SLC, etc) and try to make commandants list or honor grad. If you are a Private or a Specialist trying out for Warrant then ask your leadership if you can attending WLC. Again it shows motivation and drive. 5) Have NO skeletons in your closet. WOFT is very competitive right now, anything above a standard negative counseling statement that sticks on your OMPF will almost always get your packet shoved to the end of the line and thats if youre lucky. 6) Do good on the APFT. Get at least a 260 on the APFT. These are all of the things I was told by the CW5 that will make you stand out among the hundreds of packets submitted. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask, Ill try my best to answer them as best I can with the information that I have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av8rnik Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 did you already get your packet submitted to USAREC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmare515 Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 did you already get your packet submitted to USAREC? Yes, as of now my packet has a "B" Board Ready status scheduled to be reviewed at the upcoming September 10-12 board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnitedWeStand111 Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Age? TIS? Any college? Gpa? Edit: Any advice on how to approach your "boss" about putting in a packet? Do you wait until your RE window opens and then you mention it? How does the process work, and what if they don't like your WOFT aspirations? What if your MOS is understrength? Appreciate, good luck sarn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloidaho Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmare515 Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Age? TIS? Any college? Gpa? Edit: Any advice on how to approach your "boss" about putting in a packet? Do you wait until your RE window opens and then you mention it? How does the process work, and what if they don't like your WOFT aspirations? What if your MOS is understrength? Appreciate, good luck sarn't! Im 24 years old with 3 years TIS. I have an AA degree with a 3.0GPA As far as putting in your packet the majority of the work you will have to do yourself. The only time you will need to even deal with your first line would be to get LORs from the CO and BC and set up appointments for the SIFT test and physicals. If I recall correctly you must have at least one year left on your contract or have reenlistment or extension paperwork included. WOCS isn't like changing an MOS its changing a career path so USAREC will snatch you up at any point during your contract as long as you have a year left. You don't have to wait until your reenlistment window. To get started go to the USAREC website (http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/) and download the WOFT checklist and sample packet. It will tell you everything you need to do in order to complete your packet. As far as your leadership not liking your aspirations. My best advice is to not let them intimidate you. But also remember that you have a current job to do so work with them the best you can. Schedule your appointments on days that are less busy or during your lunch time so that way your absence doesn't hurt the unit. Be sure to ask ahead of time if it will be alright if you make an appointment that way they aren't blind sided. That shouldn't be an issue though. I have yet to meet a Commanding Officer who will blatantly block your decision to advance your career. They may not like it, but they will help you. My Company is hurting BAD on NCO's and they hate the fact that I'm trying to leave. They ask me everyday if Ill reconsider but never once has anyone actually try to stop me by not allowing me to schedule appointments or refusing to write me a LOR or anything. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions or any issues getting a packet together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Great insight, nightmare. This website has been lacking in information from the active enlisted side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnitedWeStand111 Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Thanks, appreciate the intel sarrnn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmare515 Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 A few more things Im remembering off the top of my head for the enlisted folks. All 3 LORs (CO, BC and CW4/5) must be dated within 3 months of each other. And all 3 of the people who need to write them will likely want to see a fully completed packet before writing your letter, especially the CW4/5. So schedule it accordingly. Your DA photo needs to be current, as in within the past 2 or 3 months. Scheduling a DA photo requires a CO memorandum stating that the unit is willing to pay the bill for it. DA photo appointments are sketchy and sometimes backed up for months. I had to wait in line nearly 3 months for my first photo, but when I took my second one I waited 3 days. So check how far out they are booked early on in your WOFT packet process. Here is the website for DA photo appointments (http://www.vios.army.mil/) You will need to log in with your CAC card. Once your photo is taken they will ask you how many copies you want. Tell them a minimum of 2. Unless you are an E-6 or above or an Officer your DA photo will not go on your AKO account. So your hard copies will be all you have and if you lose them the photo studio does not keep them on record for you. I stress this because I lost my DA photo hard copy the day before the packet submission deadline. Yes I found it several hours later. But the way I felt looking for it was horrible. The CW 4/5 will do a sitdown interview with you before writing your LOR. One of the first things they'll likely ask you is why you want to be a Warrant Officer. Notice how I said Warrant Officer, not pilot. You will be a US Army Warrant Officer first and a pilot second. Speak about your leadership qualities above all else, thats what they want to hear. Do this in your resume as well. Also, don't let this seem like a spur of the moment decision for you. Warrant Officers are a tightly nit community, especially pilots. They want people who are passionate about aviation. Don't be like the guy next to me who said "I saw a Blackhawk buzz overhead once and thought it would be kinda cool to try that out". Needless to say I got an LOR, he's still waiting for his. All I can think of for now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d10 Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Your DA photo needs to be current, as in within the past 2 or 3 months. Scheduling a DA photo requires a CO memorandum stating that the unit is willing to pay the bill for it. DA photo appointments are sketchy and sometimes backed up for months. I had to wait in line nearly 3 months for my first photo, but when I took my second one I waited 3 days. So check how far out they are booked early on in your WOFT packet process. It's not always this difficult. On Fort Campbell you can just walk into the DA Photo office and make an appointment. They're not usually backed up very far, and in some cases they can fit you in immediately if you have your uniform with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmare515 Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 It's not always this difficult. On Fort Campbell you can just walk into the DA Photo office and make an appointment. They're not usually backed up very far, and in some cases they can fit you in immediately if you have your uniform with you. Thats good to know. Maybe here on Fort Carson they just want to be unnecessarily difficult to work with. Pretty much every thing about Carson is worse than the rest of the Army except for the scenery lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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