Age Waiver

Grim666 · August 5, 2016

I have used the search button however, I am trying to find a more recent answer regarding the age waiver. Seeing that some of the members here have a good working knowledge of the process I figured this is a good place to ask. Currently I am 38 years old. I entered the United States Army at the ripe old age of 34 and had to complete my time owed to the Ranger Regiment based on my MOS training. Now that I have completed my time I would like to drop my packet to become a pilot. I am working on a Class I flight physical which is almost complete. I will be finishing my bachelor's degree shortly (November 1). I am working on taking the SIFT test and have a 137 for my GT score. I am trying to see if I have a chance at an age waiver or if being my age it is out of reach.

ArmyFlight · August 8, 2016

Well to better answer your question a few more bits of information is needed.

1, are you still active or are you guard or reserve.

2, have you already Commissioned or are you a warrant officer?

Dmurray · August 8, 2016

I think your best bet is to just apply. You're going to need one anyway. At least, if you apply for one, your chances for getting approved are far greater than if you didn't apply at all.

stearmann4 · August 8, 2016

Grim,

You are certainly encouraged to submit an application, unfortunately, HRC is not currently approving age waivers. Waivering anything is simply a tool HRC uses to increase (or decrease) the pool of potential candidates to meet current flight training quotas. At the moment, they are filling flight school classes with candidates who do not require waivers. This is due in large part to the continuing drawdown which is supposed to conclude in FY17.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to be informed. This doesn't stop you from applying, but submitting an application is a considerable time and resource investment.

Mike-

Grim666 · August 9, 2016

I am currently Active Duty and I am not Commissioned or a Warrant Officer yet still enlisted. Stearmann4 thank you for the straight up information. Have there been any that have been approved? IE with a bachelor's degree 3.7 gpa, a great PT score, good LORs, great SIFT score and a decent reason they did not apply before the date or is it just an exercise in futility. I would also be looking at a January or later board would that make any difference?

Thank you for all the information.

stearmann4 · August 9, 2016

My most current knowledge is that at least over the last several boards age waivers have not been favorably approved. Not that it can't happen, every board has different metrics, particularly between civilian and in-service candidates. A simple call or email to the warrant officer recruiting team at USAREC will give you the answer as to whether they are considering age waivers.

I'm sure you are otherwise fully qualified, problem is there are hundreds of applicants with equal qualifications that don't require a waiver, so it's simply easier in the Army's eyes.

If you look at it practically, you are nearing the age most aviators are getting ready to retire. If you were to just serve the 6 year ADSO for winging, you'd be 47 or 48. This is considered somewhat of a liability from a board member's perspective. 6 or 7 years ago you might've been able to pull it off.

Mike-

brackac · August 9, 2016

In my 20+ years in the military, I have approached everything with the mindset of "let them tell you no". While they may not be approving age waivers today, tomorrow is a new day. Submit your request, let them make their decision, and then submit it again. Exhaust every option.

ArmyFlight · August 9, 2016

Grim, you would need to decide which officer corps you would want to have a career in. I know for Commissioned and Warrant you would need an age waiver. Benefit of going Commissioned is you can transfer to CW2 after, I think, 3 years of being a CPT. Warrant officers can't transfer to Commissioned I believe. I'm only a 2LT trying not to get lost, so most of this is that people have told me, I have not seen the AR on it.

My friend is right behind me on the OML for my state. He will need an age waiver possibly because he is 31 right now.

Definitely keep trying, you can get a waiver for almost anything, but they have to want to give you a waiver. You have some things going for you!

Grim666 · August 11, 2016

stearmann4 - Mike would it be ok if I shot you a PM? Want to make sure before just randomly sending you a message.

Thanks

Dave

stearmann4 · August 12, 2016

Michael.rutledge@usma.edu

UH60L-IP · August 15, 2016

I have been a Rucker IP for over 3 years now, most of it as a section leader, both as an active duty IP and now as a civilian. I can only think of a small handful of active duty students that had age waivers (literally less than 5), and not a single one in over a year. Of those less than 5 that have come through, their waivers were for perhaps 1 or 2 years over the limit, not 6 or 7. Obviously not every flight school student comes through my section but those numbers should tell you something.

I recently had a 38 year old student. He was National Guard and their rules are different. He was also pretty clear in that literally everything just fell into place for him with great timing in a unit he was already well established with and committed to.

I am with Stearmann on this one. Nothing is stopping you from applying but that process alone is quite a commitment and a headache. I do not actually agree with those who say, "Apply and see what happens." Exerting valuable time and effort on an endeavor that has minimal chance of success is not always wise. Every one of us only has so much time and ability to concentrate on those things necessary to be successful in life. The reality is that sometimes our resources are better focused on areas where success is a more likely outcome.

itsbigfootguys · August 15, 2016

Grim, you would need to decide which officer corps you would want to have a career in. I know for Commissioned and Warrant you would need an age waiver. Benefit of going Commissioned is you can transfer to CW2 after, I think, 3 years of being a CPT. Warrant officers can't transfer to Commissioned I believe. I'm only a 2LT trying not to get lost, so most of this is that people have told me, I have not seen the AR on it.
My friend is right behind me on the OML for my state. He will need an age waiver possibly because he is 31 right now.
Definitely keep trying, you can get a waiver for almost anything, but they have to want to give you a waiver. You have some things going for you!

I've only run across a few, mainly because no sane Warrant WANTS to be an RLO, but there are some former Warrants in the RLO ranks. In aviation at least, it is less about whether its possible, and more about the fact its so rare that a warrant wants to be an RLO. We had a BOLC instructor who was a warrant before. He switched for the paycheck.

I would not make any career decision based on a POSSIBLE future opportunity to do something else. IE, I wouldn't go RLO with an age waiver with hopes you can go Warrant and fly later.

End of the day, you just have to decide whether you want to put in the work and possibly get shut down at the waiver. It sounds like you have done most of the work anyway, so it may not be a big deal to go ahead and drop the packet and see what happens.

If you submit it and they deny it for the waiver, I would wait until Oct 2017 and try one more time. New fiscal years bring all kinds of changes. But there are some good points being made. If you are 38 now, and we have an excess of pilots in flight school, and we are drawing down, I would not expect to get the waiver.

You seem quite qualified for a lot of opportunities in the Army. Coming from Regiment with those test scores, there are a lot of really cool opportunities open to you. While not flight, they may still be interesting and rewarding. Always have a backup plan.

stearmann4 · August 17, 2016

I think there are some misconcceptions on how age waivers are granted. If you're an outstanding candidate, you have selling points in your application that may sway a board member to give you a higher score resulting in selection. A waiver however, is just a singular request that has to go through the DA G1 office to get approved. G1 doesn't evaluate the strength of your packet to determine if the waiver will be granted, it's based simply on whether it meets the defined set of criteria given them by USAREC, who specifies how many pilots the Army anticipates needing in a given year.

If your stand alone age waiver isn't approved by the G1, your application never gets seen by another person, it just stops there. So the "I'm hoping my strong packet will make up for my age" thought process isn't accurate. I have seen age waivers approved that were accompanied by a letter from a general officer stating why the applicant should be waivered. Rare, but it happens.

Mike-