Starting my WOFT journey

[XIIGage]

Hey everyone, been browsing for a while but rather new still. I turned 30 in April and after being in a pretty unfulfilling place in life and wanting to do something meaningful I decided to push myself to become an Army Aviator. I was interested in joining the military when I was younger but was talked out of it.

 

So my journey started on May 1st. My brother is a recruiter and is helping me along in the process. I am currently 40 pounds overweight but have lost 20 since May 1st and will push to lose the rest over the next few months.

 

My goal is to put in a packet by the end of the year and I have started studying different sources of information as well. I have a SIFT study guide, the Army fundamentals of flight book, and miscellaneous practice tests.

 

Are there any other books or sources I should study? Is there any advice that anyone has for me? As far as civilian LORs is there anything I should shoot for in particular? I am trying to get in contact with an active duty army pilot now to see if I can get a CW3-5 LOR.

 

I am really excited to do this and feel really good about doing it!

 

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[ElJay]

Reading the material can get pretty dry, so to get it to click, I would watch YouTube videos on aerodynamics of flight.

 

Study up on your high school level math, because that's mainly what the asvab and sift covers. I know it had been forever since seeing that for me.

 

Start networking for those LoRs. If you don't know aviators, look up bases you may be close to. A resource that really helped me was an air ems base. Almost all ems helo pilots are former military or current guard.

[Gideon]

The FAA rotary wing handbook is quite dry but provides a lot of great information. And Youtube channel called Smarter Everyday also did a series on helicopters that helps visualize some of the concepts if you are struggling to understand them like I did.

 

Hurry up and wait is the name of the game. My main piece of advice is be patient. It took me about a year to finish my packet varying parts of my packet just didnt line up with deadlines like it could have and got stuck waiting 6 months to ship out to basic. I am still excited and grateful to be selected. Just have to work on patience when I get frustrated

 

Are you located near any Army bases? I got lucky and managed to meet a CW3 at my job who got me in contact with a CW5. There are plenty of threads that give advice on cold calling CABs to set up interviews with aviators. But be willing to travel to them if you are not close.

[XIIGage]

Thought I would update my original thread with my current status.

 

Since my post in June last year I am now within height and weight standards and have completed the ASVAB and the meps physical.

 

Here is my current status:

 

Age: 31

GT: 134 (97 AFQT)

SIFT: Pending

APFT: Pending (210 self test)

LOR: Current boss, Good friend who is an ex-marine, currently speaking to a CW3 aviator and trying to set up an interview to get his recommendation.

School: Associate's Degree, 4.0 GPA

Military: None

Physical: Meps done, flight physical scheduled

I am studying for the SIFT and plan to take it in 2 weeks. I am still working towards improving my APFT score as well. It has been a journey so far but it is getting better week by week.

The CW3 I am in contact with seems very helpful and I think I should be able to get a LOR from him as well.

It has been nearly a year in the making, but I am finally moving forward and making progress!

[Charlien24]

XII Cage,

 

Congratulations on losing the weight! I was in the same boat as you about a year ago having to lose 40lbs, and it's no easy task. Good luck on collecting your LORs.

 

Sincerely,

Charlie N.