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A300

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Posts posted by A300

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted · Edited by A300

    I think you should be careful how you phrase your questions when requesting feedback -- they have absolutely no obligation to give you any feedback at all.

    All other things being equal, from the people I've talked to and the feedback I got, the most important quality is finding someone they can work with for the next 10 or 20 years. Keep improving yourself on paper (scores, community work, leadership, etc) but also think back to how your personality meshed with the other pilot's and whether that's something you need to, can, or should work on. (ie: don't be a toolbag)

    That is SOLID advice. At my first interview a few weeks ago, there was a prime example of this. I got there early prior to my interview time, mingled, met some people, toured some planes, etc. After my interview, I was invited to hang around until they closed shop for the day, looked at more planes, etc. During this time, there were two other applicants that interviewed. They arrived exactly on time, went right in, then left. One of them was even asked by one of the pilots that I was hanging out with if he wanted to look at some planes on the flightline. I shit you not, this kid looks at his watch, taps it, and says "you know, I really want to see if I can make it to my last class of the day." In my head I was like "yep, no job for you." Thats just an example of what NOT to do during your interview process. I had flown half way across the country to be there and had to take a week off of school to do so. I'm sure many of you guys are in same or similar situations, but at the end of the day, how bad do you want the job? Make it show. Two days later I got the phone call that I had been selected to go to UPT for my dream job flying KC-135's. This would not have happened if I had not stuck around and got to know some of the squadron dudes who fly that airframe. One of them sat me down for a good hour or so and did his own interview on me, so I can't stress how important it was for me anyways to stick around.

    AFOQT Scores: Pilot 67 Nav 41 Acad 41 Verbal 56 Quant 32

    PCSM: 73

    PPL

    Age: 19

    GPA: 3.6

    ANYTHING is possible.

    • Upvote 1

    Standard Interview Questions

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Good update and congrats. The only thing I will say from a dude who sits on boards is I disagree you need to spin a negative into a positive. We are usually more impressed when someone has the maturity to admit their weakness and what they'd like to do to fix it.

    Thanks dude. Yeah, I hear ya. This is what I mean though by flipping to a positive. A question like "what is a weakness of yours." could be answered something like "I tend to be impatient at times because I like to get things done" and then follow up with an example of why you have been impatient or whatever. If you're confident with yourself and relaxed, good answers will flow.

    Standard Interview Questions

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    176th/168th dual board

    10 pilots from 5 different squadrons sat behind a table and had me sit in a chair in the middle of the room. Very professional atmosphere, but very welcoming. Introduced everybody and asked about my flight up to Anchorage. Said I was a little jet lagged and apologized in advance if it showed, they laughed. Make your board feel at ease with you and BE CONFIDENT!

    questions encountered:

    -tell us a little bit about yourself

    -volunteering history

    -you are 19, why should we give you the keys to a multi million dollar jet?

    -what does leadership mean to you?

    -what leaderships rolls have you been in during your young life? (I used group activities throughout college. Just make sure you have an example and can back it up.)

    -what makes a good officer?

    -what are the core air force values? (I had no idea and told them but tried to guess a few. They said they sounded like Army values and laughed)

    -when was the air force formed? (late '40's was my answer)

    -Why do you have a mustache? (this was a joke question)

    -What is a strength you have and a weakness you have? (spin the negative to a positive! DON'T TAKE THE BAIT!)

    -You will potentially be ordered into a hostile environment where you will be shot at. How do you feel about this? (Put deep thought into this question and SHOW them you are thinking about it)

    -What are your plans for work outside of flying for the ANG, and what will keep you in Alaska? (this is the easiest question if you know how to answer it)

    They made some jokes about me being a left brained person then asked:

    -beer or wine?

    -dog or cat?

    -If there was a photography convention (I am a pro photographer) after you got flying with your crew, will you go there or to the bar with us? (BAR, DUH!!)

    -What was a situation that you were in that you faced an issue, and how did you handle it? ( I used a flying example on my solo...they are more concerned with how you react during a situation, not so much the situation itself...again, very easy question if you know how to answer)

    -Something about how you deal with a problem. (I changed the word problem to challenge, which they liked. Just food for thought)

    -Is there any questions for us? (I asked about future hiring boards they will have and if I need to apply to each one if I don't get selected this time. Shows you are interested in that unit and will keep trying)

    I got up and shook everyone's hand individually and thanked them and left. I hung out with a couple of Captain's the rest of the day and chatted, they toured me around, etc. The board president and her husband offered to give me a ride back to my hotel which gave us some more great time to chat about flying and what not. I was notified today I got the primary slot for the KC-135.

    Please, hit me up if you have any interview questions or need help preparing and I'll give you some pointers that worked well for me.

    • Upvote 2

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    From OR:

    "I want to thank you for your interest in the Oregon Air National Guard

    (ORANG). We are extremely excited about the quality and quantity of
    candidates who applied for this year’s UPT board.
    Unfortunately, we need to postpone this year’s UPT board until the fall of
    2014. This recent decision was based on communication with the National
    Guard Bureau, Air Force Air Combat Command and the F-15 Replacement Training
    Unit. ORANG had anticipated sending two individuals to UPT in the spring of
    2015. Now the earliest we can expect a class date is the fall of 2016
    (over a one-year delay). In light of this information, we do not feel it is
    appropriate to offer someone a UPT slot this spring and then keep them “in
    limbo” for well over two years. The exact date of our fall 2014 UPT board
    is being deliberated.
    I thank you for the time and effort put into preparing your UPT package.
    Your application will be added to our master data base, and will be
    considered for a UPT board this fall. If you need to submit more current
    information, we will gladly accept updates to your application. Please
    monitor our website for the most current information, and thank you for your
    interest in the Oregon Air National Guard"

    • Upvote 1

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Yes and no. Are you motivated and want a slot with the 154th? Then go for it guns blazing and take what you think is yours. Being a current resident is not an extremely determining factor.

    As for when you move to the state and have to start paying to live there is when it could get tricky. HI is not a cheap state, and you will have to find another way to support your income. Thank goodness you have a degree though to use in some capacity.

    Good luck!! APPLY!!!

    Unit with more than one airframe

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    "Easy" is a relative term here. Units have to pay for you to go through initial qual in an aircraft. Switching to another MDS means the unit has to pay for another initial qual on you AND potentially pay for the initial qual for the guy who replaces you in your old airframe. You would have the benefit of being a known quantity within the wing, but other than that, there would have to be a good reason for them to want to spend a bunch of extra money on you. Why would a unit take a fully mission qualified pilot from one airframe and essentially start over with you in another airplane? I'm sure it happens, but it's not as easy as putting different patches on your bag.

    Thank you for the response, this clarifies things greatly. I suppose I just wanted to know if it was "easier" to transfer entire units for transport to heavy or if it was "easier" to transfer aircraft within the same unit.

    Sure, that's how many of us who fly fighters felt about it in the days before we went to UPT. With that outlook I'd stick to heavies junior.

    Gladly!

    Unit with more than one airframe

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    If you can get sent through T-38s, it would be exponentially easier. There seems to be a few guard, heavy guys being sent through T-38s, simply because the T-1 spots are all taken. I do know of ONE guy who went through T-1s, flew tankers for a while and was subsequently given a Viper spot by another guard squadron. They sent him to Randolph for a 20ish ride course to learn to fly the 38 (not nearly enough time), then IFF. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for him in the B-course. This was a very rare case, and I would NOT count on this happening.

    You're doing it wrong anyway. Fly fighters while you're young, then when it's about time for your first neck/back surgery, switch to heavies.

    Thank you, that was what I was wondering. Since obviously there have been cases of pilots changing units from heavy to fighter, I would expect it would be a bit easier to change from heavy to fighter within your same Wing, rather than going changing units completely.

    Fighters don't really appeal to me, however, if put in a situation where flying them would eventually be obtainable, than sure, why not.

    Unit with more than one airframe

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Hi,

    For example, HIANG has three squadrons under its one 154th Wing. Let's say you get picked up by the unit and they give you a C-17 slot and you go to UPT and return to fly the C-17. The question: Is it relatively easy to transfer over to a different squadron after a few years in say the C-17 if you wanted to then fly the F-22 or KC-135 for whatever reason? I understand the process of transferring different ANG units, but am confused on the protocol of changing airframes within the same unit.

    Thanks

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