Promotion and PRF Information

[RaggedEd]

Thanks guys,

I did well in UPT, finished #2 in my class, but misprioritized things it seems. I didn't get any sort of written or verbal reprimand, just a fitness log I need to fill out. I was told this will only be in my record for 2 years. Is that not the case? 

[pcola]

A referral OPR for a failed PT test? IIRC, a referral is mandatory if your OPR period closes out with a failed/expired PT test. Which means that even if you fail one, as long as you can make it up and pass before your report closes, you shouldn't get a referral. If CCs are giving referral reports for failures above and beyond that, well, that's some solid douchebaggery right there.

General bit of free advice for folks that struggle with the PT test: adjust your testing schedule so that it DOESN'T coincide with your OPR close out. Shoot for the first or second month of your annual reporting period. Then your second test will fall in month 7 or 8. Should give you plenty of time to fix any failures prior to a report closing. Or just get to the gym more often, it's not that hard of a test.

[tac airlifter]

Ragged: good advice above.  I totally understand how this could happen, unfortunately we live in a time of exaggerated repercussions for this singular event.  Are you someone who normally struggles with PT, or do you typically score an excellent?  I highly recommend you rearrange your entire schedule and prioritize PT.  No one will care that you were second in your UPT class if you are borderline on PT, so knock the retest out of the park and never let this be an issue again.  

Anecdote: my SQ commander failed a PT test, but he was a guy who normally scored excellent and had a hernea in the middle of the test.  Freakish event, but he was told to get an excellent on the retest or expect to be fired.  

Kick ass on the next one bro, start scoring excellent and you can mostly recover (although this will never go away).  Fail another one or have a record of barely scraping by and unfortunately it will be a huge negative discriminator for you that will definitely override however good you are at flying.  Good luck!

[Herk Driver]

IIRC, a referral is no longer a mandatory thing, but your training report will more than likely have a remark if you do not/did not have a passing score by close out. Once that referral is in your record it will be there forever.

Lots of good advice above. My comments assume that you are a Lt but some are applicable either way. Don't fail another PT test, get an OPR on top before your Capt promotion "process" (board) meets. I have seen a 1Lt get passed over and picked up APZ because of something exactly like this. If you have an option to deploy in your MDS before your next promotion board then do that and get some real credibility in your weapons system documented and you will easily make this a non-event, but time is not on your side.

Agree with what was said above about prioritizing your schedule around gym time etc.

As for it only being in your record for two years that is flat out wrong. I can see every PT score for every test that I have ever taken and so can my CC.

[magnetfreezer]

24 minutes ago, Herk Driver said:

As for it only being in your record for two years that is flat out wrong. I can see every PT score for every test that I have ever taken and so can my CC.

Yep - pretty common to see the AFFMS printout go up along with an OPR/EPR; failures outside the reporting period are still discussed. In addition, FGOs and senior CGOs were briefed to not expect a DO/CC slot unless they were scoring above 90.

[RaggedEd]

An OPR close out date occurs one year after your EAD, and then consecutively each year, correct? If that's the case, I should have no issues passing before that time. A referral OPR hasn't been discussed yet luckily. I'm supposed to pin on 1Lt in July as of now. To answer tac's question, this is the first time I've scored below a 95+.

[Herk Driver]

An OPR close out date occurs one year after your EAD, and then consecutively each year, correct? If that's the case, I should have no issues passing before that time. A referral OPR hasn't been discussed yet luckily. I'm supposed to pin on 1Lt in July as of now. To answer tac's question, this is the first time I've scored below a 95+.

While in training, you only get training reports...no OPRs. Only after you have finished training (normally that includes your FTU) do you start getting OPRs. The more pieces of paper you can put on top of any potential "referral" TR, the better off you will be.

[Jaded]

Opportunity in disguise? You're just 3 PT failures away from being in the guard (not being serious.... But seriously) 

[Goblin]

I had a similar situation happen...failed my PT test right around UPT graduation.

Passed the retake and continued to get an excellent on every test since. Haven't literally heard anything from leadership about it since I left UPT (5 years ago). At all.

It still shows up on my report obviously, but nobody really seemed to care since I've done just fine after the fact.

[tac airlifter]

6 hours ago, RaggedEd said:

To answer tac's question, this is the first time I've scored below a 95+.

Keep it that way and you will easily recover.  Although this will always be on your record, there are lots of dudes who stay in great shape with a single failure chalked up to some freakish event.  If you demonstrate consistent excellent scores, this will be a minor blip and a good L2 you can share with young guys when it's your turn to give advice.  

[Dapper Dan Man]

While in training, you only get training reports...no OPRs. Only after you have finished training (normally that includes your FTU) do you start getting OPRs. The more pieces of paper you can put on top of any potential "referral" TR, the better off you will be.

Some extra info for clarification Ragged:

Big picture: if formal training is 20 weeks or more in duration, it resets your OPR date. If shorter than 20 weeks, OPR date does not change.

So, you receive a training report (475) at the end of UPT which then marks the start of your evaluation period for an OPR. If your follow-on FTU is less than 20 weeks long, you still get a training report when you finish FTU but it does not reset your OPR date, and your OPR will close out a year after you received your UPT training report.

Be prepared for the potential that you may have an OPR due a year after you graduated from UPT. Ensure you have a passing score on the books before then.

[di1630]

Sad that someone who finished #2 in his class in UPT feels like he "misprioritized" during UPT due to a pt test failure.

This is what the USAF focuses on folks. And then wonders why the good people leave.

[guineapigfury]

1 hour ago, Dapper Dan Man said:

Some extra info for clarification Ragged:

Big picture: if formal training is 20 weeks or more in duration, it resets your OPR date. If shorter than 20 weeks, OPR date does not change.

So, you receive a training report (475) at the end of UPT which then marks the start of your evaluation period for an OPR. If your follow-on FTU is less than 20 weeks long, you still get a training report when you finish FTU but it does not reset your OPR date, and your OPR will close out a year after you received your UPT training report.

Be prepared for the potential that you may have an OPR due a year after you graduated from UPT. Ensure you have a passing score on the books before then.

Note: If your follow-on training is scheduled for less than 20 weeks but goes over 20 weeks, you can get an extension on the OPR closeout date.

[RaggedEd]

Really appreciate all the advice and insight, extremely helpful. Thanks for helping a newbie out 

[SurelySerious]

Note: If your follow-on training is scheduled for less than 20 weeks but goes over 20 weeks, you can get an extension on the OPR closeout date.

#Holloman

[otsap]

Ragged,

One data point contrary to the doom and gloom some have suggested.  I failed a PT test while TDY en route to a PCS.  TDY commander was never notified about it and, frankly, I'm pretty sure he would have looked the other way.  Gaining commander told me to get another one done ASAP (before OPR closeout), so I did.  Got an excellent on it as well as the six tests since the failure.  I've been asked once about it, mostly because the sq/cc thought it was a typo or error of some sort.  I told him the story and he just rolled his eyes and said not to worry about it.

Hasn't made a bit of difference...so far.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Ragged,

I'm I the same boat as otsap. Failed a test prior to departing for a TDY enroute. Was forced to test a month prior to my PT close out due to the PCS. Retested while TDY and haven't looked back since. It gets brought up from time to time but my O-5 PRF left the base with a DP.  So you can easily recover. 

That said, get in the PT reg and know it. Never test within 45 days of your OPR close out. That's the shortest amount of time to be able to retest. Waiver required. Standard is 90 days IIRC. Also, if I knew the reg better I would've told my FSS to pound sand when they told me I couldn't outprocess without taking the test. The AFI covers TDY and PCS's but not TDY enroute. Gray area I guess. 

Good luck, congrats on rocking UPT. Don't hide your failure from anyone, just own it. And never put yourself in a position to fail again, even if that means going noncurrent. 

AMF

[SnapLock]

I agree with all the advice above.  To the OP:  I came close to being in your situation in UPT.  We had an OSS/CC that felt it was suddenly a good idea to force the studs to take "official on the record" no notice PT tests a couple of times during training.  Luckily I never heard of anyone failing but that CC was a huge douche.  A bunch of us came close to failing because, yep, we had our noses in the books and spent the rest of the time chair flying etc.  Shockingly we were all so far from being due for out tests that we focused more on the task at hand instead of hitting the gym for a couple of hours each day.  I would argue that most people aren't in the shape of their lives at the end of UPT.  You had a bad test.  Like someone else said, go talk to your CC and explain you cramped up.  If you got above a 95 on your last test and look like you're in shape he might invalidate your test if you explain what happened.  If he's a good dude he will.  A friend of mine failed for the exact same reason as you.  His CC invalidated the test.  He retested a couple of days later and rocked it.  He's continued on without skipping a beat and is going places.  

If you can't get your test invalidated don't sweat it.  You failed at one of the better times to do something like that.  Have a good attitude, rock your retest, and you'll be fine.

[danvgalhb]

So, not to go off topic but a buddy brought this up to my attention so figured I'd share in case folks aren't aware of it.  I only included part of the continuation board announcement (the rest is on myPers) but it looks like the AF will be rubber stamping continuations for this year.  However, what struck me is the lengthy list of AFSCs that are apparently now "critical skills" for the AF.  I guess every skill is "critical" after the 2014 RIF losses?

I was also a bit skeptical about the 84% promotion opportunity for the CY16 0-5 board but this CB guidance practically validates that high opportunity percentage IMO.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"CY16B Major (LAF/MSC/BSC) and Captain (BSC) Selective Continuation Boards

Applicable to: Active Duty 

Eligibility 

LAF majors on the Air Force Active Duty list who fail selection to lieutenant colonel two or more times, including those who are retirement eligible under Title 10, U.S.C., Section 8911, or within two years of qualifying for retirement under Section 8911, and who are within the following critical skills: Pilots (11X); Bomber Combat Systems Officers (12B); Fighter Combat Systems Officers (12F); Rescue Combat Systems Officers (12H); Special Operations Combat Systems Officers (12S); Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilots (12U, 13U, 18X); Air Liaison Officers (13L); Nuclear and Missile Operation Officers (13N); Space Operations Officers (13S); Intelligence Officers (14N); Cyber Warfare Operations Officers and Network Operations Officers (17X); Aircraft Maintenance Officers (21A); Munitions and Missile Maintenance Officers (21M); Logistics Readiness Officers (21R); Security Forces Officers (31P); Civil Engineer Officers (32E); Public Affairs Officers (35P); Operations Research Analyst Officers (61A); Physicist/Nuclear Engineer Officers (61D); Acquisition Manager Officers (63A); Contracting Officers (64P); Financial Management Officers (65F) as orf the 1st day of the 7th month after Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (PDUSD {P&R}) approves results of the CY16B Lieutenant Colonel LAF, MSC, and BSC Central Selection Boards.

Length of Continuation Period 

Unless sooner retired or discharged under another provision of law, each eligible captain or major selected for continuation will be continued until such time as the officer qualifies for retirement under Section 8911, or age 62, whichever is earlier, with the exception of those LAF majors in a critical skill listed above. Each eligible LAF major, within a critical skill listed above, selected for continuation will be continued until they reach 24 years of Total Active Federal Commissioned Service (TAFCS)."

[guineapigfury]

Any word on continuation for Captains twice passed over for Major?  I'm trying to get fired.

[danvgalhb]

3 minutes ago, guineapigfury said:

Any word on continuation for Captains twice passed over for Major?  I'm trying to get fired.

I didn't check on CY16 CB boards for twice passed over LAF Captains but it is also on MyPers.  If I had to guess though, don't expect an easy way out this year.

[guineapigfury]

I'll have a look in the morning.

[Duck]

I don't like the wording in the last sentence... "Will be continued..." But doesn't federal up or out law trump being offered continuation? Meaning that they can offer but you can turn it down?

[pcola]

Yes, you can decline continuation. But you won't get any separation money.

[ArcticGator]

So with 84% promotion opportunity what would that normally equate to for IPZ promotion percentage--75%?