newtrad
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Posts posted by newtrad
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Anybody heard from the 119FS?
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Alaska interview invitations just went out!
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On 10/1/2021 at 10:51 PM, GPGR said:
Hi all! Is there another meet and greet happening? Would love to go in on a car potentially!
There is another one happening, but they're only inviting the top 75 people out of the ~200 who submitted an application last Friday due to some capacity limitations on base. They're supposed to send invites out tonight to those 75.
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Anybody gotten an invite to the 120th meet and greet next weekend yet? Waiting on pins and needles here 😅
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11 hours ago, Sendit_driver said:
I'm also wondering if anyone else is going to Denver?
I'll be there! Would be fun to meet up with other rushers before/carpool.
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On 9/18/2021 at 5:31 PM, Sendit_driver said:
Always try to talk to an officer recruiter although that might not exist there. Yeah word on the street is many units do not publicly list their boards, I know the 144th FW only listed on their mil page.
Yeah, lesson learned– gotta fight a little bit to talk to someone who is more in-the-know, I guess.
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Dang, how did I miss that the 130th was hiring! I talked to an enlisted recruiter about 2 months ago and he had no idea when they were going to be hiring next, and there's no sign of them on Bodidope or usajobs.gov...
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3 hours ago, EvilEagle said:
I'd add this: Why do you think you want to fly fighters? What do you know about the lifestyle? If you go into flying fighters with another goal in mind (astronaut) you will likely be a Sh!tty fighter pilot. TPS guys are typically not the killers in the squadron; they are normally the huge nerds. There's always an exception but you know yourself. Are you a linebacker or a punter? Going in late to the game with very specific (and hard to get) goals is a tough road.
Realize there's a decent chance that if you go AD, you are going to end up with multiple years not touching an airplane and doing a job that pilots don't think of as "fun". Then you'll have to take a year off to go to school (probably twice) and start all over on your upgrades.
Your 30's should be fun, being a wingman is *kinda* fun at the time but it's a thrash.
All that being said, yes typically if you are the top of the class in AD, you get what you want. Age doesn't really matter last I checked.
Good luck
I don't have any first-hand experience of the lifestyle, but I want to fly fighters because I love a fast-paced, competitive environment where I can challenge myself mentally and physically. I've always gravitated towards demanding, high-stakes activities (big wall rock climbing, entrepreneurship, etc), so I'm confident I can handle that element of the job.
TPS/astronaut are distant, secondary goals. I'd be extremely grateful to find myself in a fighter, and if that happened my priorities would be to excel in the job and be a good teammate.
I understand that AD comes with a lot more non-flying "baggage", so to speak, and enjoying my 30's would be fun, but I just can't bring myself to give up on the fighter dream yet...
Thanks for weighing in, it's incredibly helpful to get feedback from someone with your depth of experience. Congrats on the retirement!
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3 hours ago, FDNYOldGuy said:
@Guardian hit a lot of the positive points of following your heart, but I'm just putting a little different spin on it.
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I definitely understand that– I'm recently unencumbered, in no small part because of my desire to pursue this path. I'm no stranger to chasing life-consuming goals, so the time commitment isn't a problem for me. Thank you for putting this into perspective!
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5 hours ago, Eli said:
Airlines are starting to ramp up. PreCOVID in 2019 my unit sent two guys who were 40 to UPT.
if it’s what you want apply for everything AD/ANG/ARC.
That's great to know, I appreciate the insight!
4 hours ago, hockeydork said:are you squeaky clean medically?
Yep, clean as a whistle!
4 hours ago, hockeydork said:her getting piped by some other ass clown because shes had enough of my lifestyle...not so much.
This cracked me up, you could always pursue a career as a writer if this whole flying thing doesn't work out. To answer your question regarding commitments, I'm free as a bird. I wouldn't be "grumpy" to fly a heavy on AD for sure, I'd just want to make sure I'm putting myself in a position where I'm graded by my performance and not on my age. I'd probably enjoy getting dragged around the world every few years, it's mostly the 237 pages in the "What's wrong with the air force" thread that gives me a little bit of pause. Frankly I'm willing to ignore all of that negativity to pursue the dream, if it means I've still got a shot.
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This is a bit of a follow-up to my WAMC thread from almost 3 years ago. I have a strong package, but I'm old (turn 30 soon).
Pros
- 99/99/99/99/99 AFOQT and 94 PCSM (soon to be 96)
- PPL with ~70 hours
- 8 years of professional leadership experience at a company that I founded with 2 partners and was acquired, as well as leadership experience at the acquiring company
- extensive experience performing as an individual and as a leader in a fast-paced, high-stress, team-based environment
- Engineering degree from a highly-ranked university, 3.6 GPA
- LORs attesting to my leadership skills, grace under pressure, and work ethic from business partners
- LOR attesting to my natural flying ability and good ADM from my CFI
Cons
- I turn 30 soon
- Experimented with marijuana many years ago (I used it ~5 times)
Like most here, my dream has always been to fly fighters, but I understand that ship has effectively sailed as far as the ANG is concerned due to my age. Turns out starting a business is a big commitment and forced me to put that dream off for a long time, who knew! Now that the company is no longer in my hands, I feel that I can depart it without screwing over the rest of my team– that was why I wasn't able to pursue this earlier.
I'm currently weighing two options:
1. Apply for every ANG squadron I'm interested in (long-shot squadrons like fighters, but also 130s and HH-60s)
2. Take my chances with AD
I'd lean towards option 2 if there's a possibility of getting into fighters, but if my chances are similar (read: minuscule) of getting a fighter going either route, I'd lean towards the ANG due to the stability/predictability of the lifestyle. I know what they say– "make them tell you no", but I'm also running into the age limit here pretty quickly so I probably can't afford to delay my AD application for a year applying for ANG squadrons that will toss my application in the round file as soon as they see my age.
If I could boil this all down to two questions, they are:
1. Would my age affect my chances at selecting T-38s out of UPT, or is that entirely based on performance and needs of the AF?
2. How bad could AD *really* be? If I have a chance of getting fighters (and maybe maybe someday going to TPS and maybe maybe maybe applying for an astronaut slot) I'm willing to suffer quite a bit for that dream.
Thanks in advance!
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Thanks so much to both of you! This is great feedback/advice, exactly what I was hoping for. I've always thought I would go AD over everything, but lately I've been hearing the siren song of the Guard so this gives me some hope that I may be able to go that route.
I'm definitely not a fighters-only guy (I'm looking to serve first, fly second), but I think if I didn't get into an ANG fighter squadron, I'd rather subject myself to the AD lotto.
My priorities are to get the TBAS done and then get some flying hours. Thanks again!
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Hi all, I've been lurking for a long time but this is my first post. I'm a non-prior civilian, currently working on a package for an AD OTS pilot slot. My package has some really strong components, but there are also a few weaknesses. I haven't taken the TBAS yet, as I need a recruiter's endorsement to get access to the base near me where they offer the test, and recruiters are slow to respond to inquiries (I know this is normal).
My main question is whether the positive aspects of the package outweigh the negatives enough to make me a competitive applicant to ANG fighter squadrons. I think I have a good shot at the AD OTS slot, but I'm also considering the guard.
Pros
- 99/99/99/99/99 AFOQT
- 5 years of professional leadership experience at a company that I founded with 2 partners
- Engineering degree from a highly-ranked university, 3.6 GPA
Cons
- Limited LOR potential- I'm not close with any military members or veterans. My best LOR options are my business partners and close acquaintances who can vouch for my work ethic, leadership ability, and grace under pressure.
- I turn 27 in a few months
- No flight hours (I'm working on this one!)
- Experimented with marijuana several years ago (I used it ~5 times)
Upcoming Boards
in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves
Posted
Same here– TBNT after the video interview, asked for feedback and haven't had any yet. I'm 30 as well, but it's nice to at least get a hint of interest from the fighter squadrons. Good luck with the rest of them!