[F-15 Down in North Sea - 15 Jun 20]

On 9/14/2020 at 2:33 PM, 08Dawg said:

SIB final message is out.  Hard to read...

Do you have a link?

[ENJJPT or UPT for AFSOC?]

57 minutes ago, BashiChuni said:

wasting two years in college playing mental ping pong and not banging hot chicks is going to be one of your life regrets.

I grew out of the mindset that you have well before I even enlisted in the Air Force, let alone left my base to come to USAFA. I'm not interested in the relationships you're talking about but I appreciate the tips.

I am focused on putting myself in a good position to have the career and life that I want with a wife and kids one day. This isn't a 4 year party for me. I enjoy my time here but I make sacrifices each day knowing that it will one day be worth it.

[ENJJPT or UPT for AFSOC?]

1 hour ago, Danger41 said:

Not to shoot holes in your plan, but why do you want AFSOC? The espirit de corps of SOF? The reason I ask is because the 4 AFSOC assets are very different in their missions. I always tell guys to pick based on mission. If you want to haul trash and refuel helos, go MC-130. If you want to shoot a lot of bad guys and have a stroke herding cats, go AC-130. If you want to be viewed as an annoyance to leadership and loved by your user, go U-28. If you want to sit around, maintenance cancel, and get worshipped, go CV-22.

TL;DR: Pick based on mission, not MAJCOM.

Honestly I want AFSOC because of the community. I like the idea of being a silent professional and not needing to tell everyone how much better my life is than everyone elses. I tend to like the personalities of the aviators a lot more in AFSOC and their values (in general) seem to align more with mine. I have a buddy who is an '07 grad in AFSOC and he tells me about the diverse missions and experiences that he has had. It doesn't seem like you can get that anywhere else. The opportunities once your foot is in the door seem endless. I like the mission of the MC-130 the best in AFSOC but the others would appeal more to me than something outside of the community. AC-130's I don't know enough about but if it means turns about a point at 0300 in the morning I'm not sure how much I'd be interested. I'm sure there is a lot to each of the airframe missions that I just don't know because of them being relatively classified. Green Door programs catch my attention too. 

[ENJJPT or UPT for AFSOC?]

2 hours ago, Sparkle said:

Not to be contentious, but that isn't the case. They do a decent job of summing up your overall ability, to heavily include performance in airmanship programs. If it were grades alone I wouldn't have been selected.

 

OP, I would say try to go ENJJPT in all cases unless you are dead set on going to AMC. All 38 drops cater to the needs of ACC, AFSOC, and AMC, in that order (I forget where GSC goes in that order). You get a different syllabus with more exposure to different types of flying which is if nothing else, quite enjoyable and could possibly help you make a more educated decision when filling out a dream sheet. Also, given the reduced frequency of drops here, if you're a strong swimmer they may give more consideration to getting you what you want, not a guarantee, but a greater likelihood. I also wouldn't be intimidated by the "stronger competition", unless you have 0 prior aviation experience. Feel free to send me a pm if you have further ENJJPT/38 related questions. 

I would agree. The way it works here now is that it is OPA based which means our miltiary performance also plays a huge role. Not just academics. Also, Airmanship is factored in hevaily which makes any of the teams very competitive when their package is put up to the board. 

I have about 35 hours in a C172 that I got about 3 years ago but I'm slotted for Powered Flight this summer. I guess I just wonder if at the end of the day: is a lower ranked stud at ENJJPT going to still have a higher consideration for their choice of airframe over someone at UPT or are these factors not dependant? And is it true that IP's are able to reach out to other pilot training bases and make "swaps" for airframes that their studs want? Is it better to be T-38's at ENJJPT or T-38's from UPT? Or indifferent?

[ENJJPT or UPT for AFSOC?]

 First of all, I graduate from USAFA in 2019 to establish some context that I will be putting in AFSC preferences in August and not long after that competing for ENJJPT.

For the last two years I have been playing mental ping pong trying to figure out whether or not I want to apply for ENJJPT or just elect to go to UPT. I have narrowed down the aircraft that I want to fly in my head eliminating fighters (I think). I have a strong desire to fly in AFSOC, specifically the MC-130 but if not, I would take any platform to be part of that community. If I didn't fall into AFSOC I think I would then place the A-10 as a second choice and then slick C-130's.

What I am wondering is what is my best bet? Will having a T-38 background in ENJJPT make me more competitive for an AFSOC platform or will I merely be competing against better pilots which will hinder my chances of dropping something in AFSOC? 

I am curious to hear thoughts across the board as to why one may be better than the other. I would also like to know what I can do in order to increase my chances of getting a foot in the door in the AFSOC community aside from getting lucky with timing and drops in a few years.

Thanks guys!