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Frustrations with Guard WOFT


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Ok Guys! I need some advice.....I have been accepted as a Street to Seat guy for the Guard in my state. That was back in August. I was told a few days after that it would be Mid-September to hear something from a date standpoint. Well I waited patiently....then get to end of September. They WOSM told me that they were waiting till the Fiscal Year began in October. I was okay with that, as that seemed to be a viable excuse.

 

Fast forward to 1/9/2019.....I have been waiting 152 days for some type of date. The WOSM tells me its the NGB and MEPSCOM that is having the issues. I do not understand why there should be an issue. The issue is not with me, apparently it is getting it setup in the system. Has to do with pay....I do not care right now....I am looking for advice.....

 

Should I wait it out?

 

Should I contact someone?

 

I understand the hurry up and wait, but this seems to be getting old.

 

What do you guys think? Apparently my state has already given me a flight school date...I am just ready to go! I want to get this process started as I have a family and my wife is eager to understand what is going on.....

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For what it's worth, I was street to seat(ish) as prior service. I showed up, went before the aviation board in March 2018. I was told I was selected but I'd have to enlist as a 15T and then I'd go before the FEDREC board. I enlisted and immediately started drilling while filling a 15T slot (though I was untrained) for about 2 months until I was FEDRECd to a WOC, and I've been drilling since. I leave for WOCS in April 2019. Had I not already had boot camp done, I don't know that they could have done this without at least making me go to boot camp first, possibly under a different contract.

 

On the life planning thing... it's the military. I'm in the same boat, married, wife is in grad school trying to plan, I just graduated trying to get a job... it is what it is.

 

Mike

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Ok Guys! I need some advice.....I have been accepted as a Street to Seat guy for the Guard in my state. That was back in August. I was told a few days after that it would be Mid-September to hear something from a date standpoint. Well I waited patiently....then get to end of September. They WOSM told me that they were waiting till the Fiscal Year began in October. I was okay with that, as that seemed to be a viable excuse.

 

Fast forward to 1/9/2019.....I have been waiting 152 days for some type of date. The WOSM tells me its the NGB and MEPSCOM that is having the issues. I do not understand why there should be an issue. The issue is not with me, apparently it is getting it setup in the system. Has to do with pay....I do not care right now....I am looking for advice.....

 

Should I wait it out?

 

Should I contact someone?

 

I understand the hurry up and wait, but this seems to be getting old.

 

What do you guys think? Apparently my state has already given me a flight school date...I am just ready to go! I want to get this process started as I have a family and my wife is eager to understand what is going on.....

 

It was not uncommon many years ago to wait 12-18 months for a flight school date. The big Army only gives the guard so many slots a year, then Guard Bureau distributes those quotas out to the various states based on individual unit manning. From what you read, the big Army is critically short on aviators. They can only train so many a year at Rucker, so they may have reduced the number of slots available to the Guard???

 

I do not understand why there should be an issue: Welcome to the Guard

Apparently my state has already given me a flight school date: No your State has not given you a "date." You have been selected for a future slot when that become available.

 

Should you wait it out: Yes

Should you contact someone: Who would you contact? Your State is aware of the situation. That will only piss-off people who you will eventually give you the slot and process your orders!

 

Good Luck. Your mileage may vary.....

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I don't think there is anything wrong with making tactful inquiries/suggesting alternative plans. Yeah the military requires what we referred to in the Marine Corps as a fair bit "Semper Gumby," but it's easy to get lost in the sauce. Your career will never be as much of a priority to anyone else as it is to you. I had to do the majority of the leg-work to get a Guard slot, which may be by design for all I know... but it's not like when I enlisted in 07-08 and had a pulse and basically got what I wanted and was told when to show up.

 

Also, FWIW, my time in the Guard waiting on flight school (which is indeed going to be 12+ months from my initial enlistment) has been productive. I've gained familiarity with the aviation unit, gotten sim time in the blackhawk sim, been on familiarization flights, and hung out with the maintainers and gone through the pre-flight procedures. I also went to pre-wocs... which coming from another service was a good indoctrination into the army way of doing htings... so it hasn't been 12 months wasted by any means.

 

Mike

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Just had a long conversation with my WOSM. This is apparently a reoccurring issue from year to year with the NGB. Apparently every year, they have to redo the orders and it is MEPS that apparently drags it on.

 

They are apparently diligently working on it. Its frustrating because they always said it, but he did state that he does feel like they were working on it.....not sure if I believe him since its a boy who cried wolf situation.

 

I will continue to wait....I already spent half of 2017 and all of 2018 getting packet and necessary items needed.

 

I want to do this....I will do this.....

 

Patience is a bitch though!

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As a follow-up FWIW, this is a prime example of why my former State never did Street-to-Seat flight school. We only selected from applicants who were currently enlisted in the Guard. This way, the selected applicant continued to drill and participate as an active member of their current unit until the state received a flight slot from Guard Bureau.

 

And yes, it has to do with pay and funding. It always reverts back to money!

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