Checksix
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Posts posted by Checksix
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Looks like the 115th fighter wing out of Madison has posted a UPT board! Open for current military members only though. So for anyone able to apply check it out! If you google “115th fighter wing upt” the posting comes up.
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9 minutes ago, CoolCar said:
100
Interesting! That’s more than I expected, thanks for sharing. I’m curious how many of those 100 were also applying to guard/reserve boards. I’ve been applying to them for about 18 months and the number of applicants has been higher than normal I’ve heard.
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Congratulations to all! Does anyone have a rough estimate of the total UPT selects from this board?
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I’m 18 fighter squadron applications in so far, with zero interviews. So I feel your pain! Your background is stellar, so I highly recommend bogidope prep if you haven’t already!
When rushing I met a pilot who applied 56 times to fighter squadrons with zero interviews, got one interview and was hired. I think in our situation it’s a numbers game, every application is another set of eyes on your app. That set of eyes could be the one that leads to an interview which leads to your dream job. You never know when you’re one application away!
I agree with the personality meshing mentioned earlier, rushing is an inherently awkward experience so it’s often hard to judge how well you mesh. Especially when there are a large number of applicants visiting at one time. My advice is to just be yourself, don’t change or act differently just for them. If it’s meant to be you will find the unit that’s right for you!
cheers and I hope we see each other in UPT one day!
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6 hours ago, thebleakmw said:
Anyone hear back from Toledo yet?
Nothing for me.
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Interview Notifications and TBNT went out today for Sioux Falls. Congrats to everyone selected!
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7 minutes ago, RocketDriver said:
For some context on option A - it is still possible to get picked up at a fighter unit at your age. If it's really your lifelong dream, I wouldn't give up on it yet (provided you have a backup plan as brabus wisely suggested - given your background I don't expect this to be an issue). Also, consider heavies or rotary. You still get to fly awesome airframes and your mission is arguably much more useful to the military overall.
I was in a similar boat to you - 90s across the board on AFOQT and PCSM, aero eng background, 6+ years at a reputable engineering company. I didn't even send in my first application until I was 28, kept at it aggressively for two years, and was hired in August 2020 to fly single-seat at the ripe old age of 30. If you want it bad enough and can make a good enough impression in your interview, you just may get what you're after.
As a 28 soon to be 29 year old applying and rushing to every fighter board I can this post just made my day! Congratulations, well deserved and couldn’t be happier for you! I know the feeling being an older candidate wondering what your odds are, I’m going to keep pushing so I have no regrets later in life! Can’t wait for covid restrictions to lift so I can start visiting more units.
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I know you mentioned as of now you have no preference of location/airframe, but do you think that may change in the future? From what I can tell as a civilian looking in the AD side of the house involves a lot more moving all over the world. I guess it depends on your personal goals if you don’t mind being moved around well into your 30s.
If I was in your shoes I would crush the AFOQT, rush your most desirable units, apply everywhere, if after a year of that no bites then I would start to consider AD. For the AFOQT make sure to study those time tables a lot!! I studied very hard but didn’t study the time tables because I didn’t think you could study them. Needless to say it did bring my pilot score down to an 88. Hope this helps!
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45 minutes ago, WeekendPilot said:
194th is planning on April for now...stand by for notifications
Awesome! Really appreciate the update.
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18 hours ago, SpaceCowboy91 said:
Anyone hear word from Fresno 194th F15?
New Orleans 122 F15?
Montana 186 C130?
I’ve got apps in at both the fighter squadrons, nothing yet. I keep checking my email like a mad man for the 194th though haha. They said either an April or May board with interview notifications going out two weeks prior. So it could easily be mid to late April for the 194th if they in fact run a May board.
I wouldn’t expect anything from the 122nd yet since their deadline isn’t until May 15th.
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7 minutes ago, JKA360 said:
How does that work exactly? If they are exempt from the 5 years USERRA rule, are they still considered USERRA protections?
From my understanding being “exempt” just means that time spent doing those things don’t count towards your five year USERRA “clock”. However you still have full USERRA protections.
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11 minutes ago, NABO said:
Anyone in the know regarding Tulsa Vipers? Their 2020 board was cancelled but I heard through the grapevine that they are just planning to re-invite those selected to interview last year rather than having a new board altogether.
About a month ago I saw their Facebook post for the monthly newsletter. In the bottom left corner it talked about a board deadline of March 1st but only for members within the wing. I called the squadron to ask and they did confirm it’s only for 138th wing members or those who applied during the last board. They didn’t specifically say you had to already be selected for an interview though. At least I don’t recall him saying that. However if you didn’t apply for the last board (myself included) it seems like we are out of luck for this round unfortunately. Hope this helps!
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Job well done to the flight crew!!
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1 hour ago, SpaceCowboy91 said:
Nice! I submitted my packet electronically and received no response. Hope that is the norm.
good luck
You too! It might be worth sending an email to the POC or submission email address to confirm they got it. With them hopefully hiring a primary/alternate to two squadrons I’m looking forward to four of us getting picked up!
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15 minutes ago, SpaceCowboy91 said:
Anyone have word on Portland 123FS F-15 Unit for interview selection?
Also anyone know any word on next boards for Civil Pathway to Wings?
March 4th to 10th is when they will send them out for the 123rd according to the POC response when I submitted my app. No clue about the CPW board sorry.
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2 hours ago, admdelta said:
My home unit turned me down after an interview too. It definitely sucks (like it feels really bad on a super personal level), but at the end of the day I don’t think I was owed anything. Being home grown definitely helps in landing the interview, but once you’re in front of the board everyone is equal and you have to convince them you’re the best.
Well Said.
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21 minutes ago, skylane54x said:
Is it frowned upon to apply to Guard units in a state you do not live in? I am really interested in a unit across the country but have never lived in that state. I would love to move there at some point, but I am hoping to apply to its upcoming board.
Thanks!
Absolutely not! In fact I think it shows a good quality, that you’re willing to relocate across the country to serve in that unit. Myself and I’m sure many others are applying to every single fighter unit in the country. The only advice I would give is to make it clear in your cover letter that you plan to relocate and move there. If you can also mention a family tie or something you like about that particular area even better. If not, no worries, a simple “I would love the opportunity to move to “insert state” and serve in your squadron would be fine.
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11 minutes ago, RPApilotSelectMSgt said:
The Super Score started this summer. If you take it a second time it will take all your higher scores as the score, not the lastest test taken score. It will benefit all.
That’s Great news!! Just to clarify does that apply for all the score categories?
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21 hours ago, pawnman said:
They might be busy this week...
Apologize for the silly question but how would the Air National Guard be activated in this type of situation? I have heard of it in emergency response distributing food and water, etc. However when it is more of a dangerous threat would the pilots or others in the base be trained in this type of response?
Thanks!
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107th fighter squadron, A-10s out of Selfridge Michigan is having TWO UPT boards this year. A primary and alternate for each board! The first app is due 2/5/21 and is quite extensive with a video portion. A rushing opportunity early February as well. Bogidope has all the info! Good Luck everyone!
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41 minutes ago, c130rob said:
I am starting the process of attaining LORs and I have a couple questions.
First of all, I am wondering if these will be good people to get letters from. I have already asked each of them and they are all willing to write me an LOR
1. LOR from my sister's boyfriend (probably will have that part left out) who is an active duty HH-60 pilot (0-4)
2. LOR from a former professor who flew KC-135s
3. LOR from my former CFI who is an aircraft maintenance officer (O-5)
I could also get a letter from my former boss (I worked for a CPA). Or, I could get a letter from another CFI who knows me much better than my CFI in #3.
My other question is how I should have these letters addressed. Since I plan on applying to multiple units, should I have them write the letters in a way that is general enough for all units? Also, I have seen a lot of units require that the letter is addressed to the CC. How should I go about this?
Great questions! Regarding the list of references I think your initial three are perfect. It should come down to who knows you better, and who can speak to your strengths more. For example, your CFI may be able to speak to your strengths as a student in a training program more than your friend who instructed with you. It doesn’t hurt to have more than three letters in your back pocket either, as you may find that the tone of a certain letter is better for a unit over others.
In regards to the address on the letters, my best advice would be to ask for permission from who wrote it to edit the date, unit, aircraft, address, etc. If they give it to you in a PDF, Adobe pro allows you to edit PDFs. The alternative is reaching out to that person everytime you apply to a new board for updated information which can become annoying for them after a while.
Hopefully that helps! I’m in your same shoes, applying to boards myself.
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Rest Easy Hero 🍺
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6 hours ago, thebleakmw said:
Anyone who sat in on any of the VTANG zooms: can you recall if they said anything about emailing a pdf copy of the package or is it just the hard copy? Thanks in advance.
I remember him saying to mail in a hard copy, but I was second guessing myself so I checked their website and it does say to mail it with the address listed. Good luck!
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The AIB has also been released for this event, so I guess they could have read that?
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Upcoming Boards
in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves
Posted
I totally know how you feel!! However Wisconsin out of all the units I think it would be absolutely worth applying to since the applicant pool will be significantly smaller. I myself am unable to apply but definitely would be if I was in the military.