goboldtigers
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Posts posted by goboldtigers
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On 8/1/2023 at 6:18 PM, dillonberg92 said:
Package...is...submitted...up to the UPT gods at this point
Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk
Good luck! I'll be submitting mine in september after my wing racks and stacks everybody. You applied last year as well, didn't you? Did you make any changes to your application?
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On 6/12/2023 at 8:06 AM, Recaged said:
Anyone have ANY info on the actual mechanics of submitting an age waiver? Such as what the actual memo should look like and read like?
You could email the board. They are very responsive and helpful
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On 6/3/2023 at 1:21 AM, JAM54 said:
Does anyone have any current information as to the current state/likelihood of age waivers these days?
I am a 30 year old enlisted guy, former active duty Army, currently finishing up a deployment in the Army Guard. I am going to try to secure a conditional release from the Guard, since I still have 2 years left on my contract. There is a high likelihood (due to the approval process taking so long) that I will reach my ETS date before the waiver is approved. That would put me at 32 years old applying for an active duty UPT board.
Not sure if this is relevant:
3.5 GPA, history degree
Instrument-rated private pilot, ~225 hours
E5, infantryman
Currently already hold a TS clearance through my day job.
I am currently working to get in touch with a recruiter, but it has been difficult in the operational environment we are in, connectivity is limited.
Thank you in advance for any insights anyone may have.
33 requires a waiver so your first application is fine. Anecdotally I've heard they have been waiving that recently due to pilot shortage but I don't have data to support it
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It dropped end of April last year, right?
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On 3/8/2023 at 10:17 AM, Dusty318 said:
Hey all, I'm new here but not new to the hunt for a UPT slot. I've been hitting it hard on the NG interview circuit but haven't been able to land a job yet. Couple of alternate-selects but that's it. What resources/tips/TTP's do you guys recommend for learning about the AD UPT application/selection process? Is it best to just work 1-on-1 with an AD recruiter or can I do things on my own like you can on the Guard application side of things?
This forum is called "Pilot Selection Process", but not many folks seem to be talking about the application process itself, just the post-selection stuff. Appreciate the help and good luck to everyone looking for a chance to fly.
Before you go and hang me for my crimes (asking dumb questions), I have looked through old forums and the "ROE for posting".
Are you a civilian? If so, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I would assume you have to go through a recruiter.
Otherwise just wait for AFPC to post next board's PSDM (usually late April/early May). It outlines exactly what you need to do to apply. You can look at last year's PSDM to get an idea for what to expect. I would imagine not much will change.
Things you can do now ahead of time (and should do if you haven't already):
- Get your FC1 accomplished. This can take several months and a lot of guys miss the application deadline because they wait too long to start it.
- Take (or retake if necessary) the AFOQT and TBAS. There's study materials, tips, etc online. AFPC posts average scores each year of pilot selects so you can compare your scores.
- Get civilian flying hours if you have the time and money. Will increase your PCSM score until you hit 60 hours and will show the board you're serious about flying.
If you've been applying for NG slots you've likely already handled all that. Good luck
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Just commenting to say hello to my future self when I check back in 6-9 months from now
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13 hours ago, Elaroh said:
Wish they'd provide a board outbrief or something similar. It'd be immensely beneficial to those wishing to reapply and in mentoring others that want to apply for UFT if they provided a little insight into what influenced selections each year. Especially what they saw as the key differentiators between selects without PPLs/with scores on the lower end of spectrum from non-selects.
3 hours ago, AlexLM12 said:That would be awesome, but I doubt they will provide much insight into their decision process or their algorithm. I got pilot, and am satisfied with that, but if anyone in the future comes across this board and the 215 I posted a few days ago, I'd say that scores and PCSM definitely matter (mine were almost maxed), but there was clearly some other intangibles that factored in. I know some with lower scores than me got ENJPT and I did not, so it definitely is not just the numbers. A lot of Capts, so perhaps rank factored in, and those bullets, strats, and maybe even recommendation letters definitely did.
1 hour ago, nonflyboy said:It’s a lot of everything. The person that got a UPT slot with a 34 PCSM was DG from commissioning source, DG at tech school and rated #1 Lt at the wing. So scores aren’t end all be all
I'll add my $0.02 to this discussion, as someone that was confused why I'm an alternate but 2 others from my wing were selected. You can look at my comment history in this thread for more details but short story: I had better scores and numbers, stratted higher from the wing, and had a Wg/CC sign my letter of rec. I'm an alternate but they were selected. The other 2 from the wing had objectively worse applications in every measurable way. Emphasis on objectively.
So I emailed the board. I asked about the alternate process and as an after thought at the end of the email, I asked "how I can improve my application for next year's board, specifically anything subjective they noticed". (I didn't complain about the above situation, I knew that wouldn't look good). They replied explaining the board uses an algorithm to help quantify subjective packages. Only 30% of your score comes from PCSM, AFOQT, college GPA, etc. I don't remember what the other 30% and 40% was exactly, but one of them is leadership and experience. They said really good test scores don't mean as much for an otherwise average application. They made sure to tell me my application was above average but this board was very competitive and my chances of being selected next year are good. It helped to read that last bit but still stung haha.
This coincided with the feedback I received from my Gp/CC. The other 2 from the wing are the same AFSC but have been doing it longer than me. So by default, by doing the job longer, they have had more leadership opportunities and experience to present to the board. Also, their scores were decent too. I've had a bright start to my career, but I'm "young".
Anyways, if I've interpreted all of this feedback correctly, what you've done in your career and how well you communicate it to the board is just as important, if not more important, than every number on the AF215 combined. I definitely know how to improve that for next year. Food for thought.
Edit: incase it wasn't clear. The things the board probably are looking closely at is the personal letter, letter of recommendation, the 3 bullets from your rater and 3 bullets from your senior rater. Specifically how robust they are. They can tell if it's a bunch of fluff or something meaningful. All of the test scores, PCSM, etc are likely just checking a box for the board.
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16 hours ago, O Face said:
I am in the guard now, yes. I’m really not trying to dissuade anyone from taking their shot in the ANG. I just want folks to be aware of what’s actually going on. Most AD people (earlier self included) think the ANG is some sort of weekend flying club and certainly second rate. Of course it took about 10 mins of talking with my new ANG buds at UPT for me to learn I made a huge mistake.
I got picked up because I was deployed with my ANG unit, as well as exercises. Get to know the brosI strongly suggest any interested in how to get a ANG UPT slot wander over to the ANG/Res section and you’ll find a lot of answers and advice.
Maybe it's just in my AD community (F-15Es) but it's well discussed how great of a gig it is to fly in the ANG/Res, and how difficult it is to get hired. Is it true you need to know someone in the squadron? Because if a lot of talented/experienced guys apply for one spot, the only distinguishing thing is if you're already well liked?
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On 1/13/2023 at 4:34 PM, Shultzy22 said:
For anyone who is a CSO alternate I’ll be declining my spot next week to get a crack at the board one more time.
Got some feedback today from my leadership that it really came down to the letter of rec/personal letter. Even though I had a PPL with a 96 afoqt and 92 PCSM, it seems like a lot of other people were in my shoes. It’s an honor to go through this process with you guys, especially as a non rated enterprise cyber dude. I’ve learned a lot and am definitely not quitting. Time to network and max the PCSM.
Also something that might not be talked about as a tiebreaker could be someone’s first or second time applying to the board. Not sure if they would prioritize someone who has one last shot versus someone who will probs be back next year. Congrats to those who got it! And for those who didn’t, we have a new year upon us to get after it.
Can you apply again if you decline it? I thought the psdm said you can't
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15 hours ago, Shultzy22 said:
Does anyone know if you can put UPT only as a non rated applicant? Not sure if anyone else has done this
20 minutes ago, FlyHI said:So i only ended up putting UPT as number one. I didn't fill in the rest.
On the board call page on the portal, it specifies you must list all of them unless you're rated.
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2 hours ago, O Face said:
Were those lower strat folks, that you know, selected because of some all important factors that you could do nothing about ie, race, sex, and or sexual preference? You know the really critical things to consider when selecting pilots??
Lol. You are not the first one to ask me that question. You're not even the fifth person. I never considered that but to answer your question, no. We're pretty even there!
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Anybody know how many UPT selects there were total? I'm curious if the projected 40 to 70 slots is accurate from previous comments. It'll help me sleep at night knowing I'm an alternate when they had around 100 slots the last couple years. So close...
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1 hour ago, Ganderly8 said:
That's great feedback, hoping you get picked up for alternate.
PPL also seemed like a huge plus for this year
Agreed. It seemed like a very competitive board overall. The portal has average numbers for the last several years. I'm very curious to see how this year's board compares. Based on numbers, it looks like mine are right there with everybody else's that got selected, so PPL and letters might be the deciding factors
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So I sat down with my Gp/CC today to get feedback about what he thinks happened (why Iower stratted guys from the wing got picked up with objectively worse packages).
Best guess is it was more subjective based on letter of rec and personal letter. The other 2 have stronger bullets by virtue of simply doing the job longer. We are all the same AFSC, but I've been operational only a year, they've been operational 2-3 years. He didn't sugarcoat it, he says mine was "more fluff" because I just didn't have as many things I could say yet.
I'm glad I got feedback from him. He doesn't know what AFPC specifically looked at but that's his best guess because all of my scores and numbers on the AF215 were better than theirs. It's encouraging that all I have to do is continue doing my job well for the next year and accumulate stronger bullets.
If anybody is confused, I recommend getting feedback!
Edit: he also said he would look into the alternate process and would get back to me with any info. I'll pass that along on here when he does!
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1 hour ago, Bama said:
Me and the rest of the 26 alternates lol. Does anyone know how you’re notified if you’ve been picked up from the alternate list?
Someone previously mentioned alternates will know by the end of February one way or the other. Idk how they get notified though
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1 hour ago, FlyingHog said:
I found out today that 20 of the 26 alternates are UPT. They wouldn't tell me rack and stack or how many of the 6 left are CSO, ABM, or URT. They said they will have all declinations by end of January and will work on filling slots through February and if picked up from the alternate list I will know by end of February.
That's really helpful for expectation management! I feel like someone declining their pilot slot would be rare though.
I assumed the alternates would be more for those who medically DQ. But they won't know who failed MFS until after February I would imagine.
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10 hours ago, Flyinghobbit said:
Feel free to dm me your name and I can see if you’re on the alternate.
Thanks, but I found out I got alternate. Still confused why I wasn't selected but I'll just reapply next year. Congrats on getting selected!
Follow up question for the group: anybody have any data on alternate selections? Like how many traditionally get picked up ultimately?
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2 hours ago, FlyingHog said:
83 Pilot/66 PCSM/12 Civilian hours
Woof. If I didn't get alternate that's even more depressing because I've got a 99 pilot, 87 PCSM, and 25 civilian hours.
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4 minutes ago, FlyingHog said:
Well, I was just informed that I am an alternate. I only applied for RPA so I don't see anyone being medically disqualified or turning it down so good luck to everyone else.
What were your stats? My sq/cc didn't see the alternate list so idk if I made that
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1 hour ago, Flyinghobbit said:
Like AFPC didn’t release you from the career field of 12f. I could be very wrong it just seems odd you wouldn’t get selected over the other one.
I’ve heard of this happening in my career field. Guy got 1/6 and they picked the 2 and 3 and didn’t release the number 1 due to manning shortages in his current AFSC.
That would make sense except the guy that got selected is also a 12F...
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35 minutes ago, Flyinghobbit said:
Dude to me this might be a release issue from AFPC….that is very odd!
How do you mean? Like they accidentally released the wrong names or made a mistake?
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12 minutes ago, Shultzy22 said:
Got picked up for CSO, a little disappointed but first time applying as well.
96 Pilot / 92 PCSM / PPL/ 1/2 strat
Had an O-6 write my letter of rec, wonder if other people had more competitive letters
Wow that seems like a very competitive package and it's very similar to mine and I didn't get picked up for pilot. I only put pilot though because I'm already an F-15E WSO. Have fun at Pensacola and if you have questions about that pipeline or the strike eagle feel free to shoot me a DM
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I guess I'm genuinely more confused now because they selected a guy from my base with an all-around worse package than mine
I was stratted above him
Neither of us have a PPL but I have more civilian hours (25 vs 12)
I have a 99s across the board on the AFOQT and his pilot score was in the 80s
My PCSM score is 87 and his was much, much lower
I had the wing/cc (O-6) write my LoR. He had his Sq/CC (O-5) write his.
Idk if personal letters made the difference but I had several ppl proofread mine and they all gave thumbs up to it.
This hurts but at least I've got a good package for next year. For everybody with a worse package than mine but haven't heard yet, stay positive. As I just indicated it's still very possible for you
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Bummer. Didn't get picked up
99 pilot, 87 PCSM, stratted 2nd from the wing, Wing/CC wrote my LoR, but no PPL. 5th year in the AF but first time applying. I knew not having not a PPL could hurt but I was hopeful because I thought I had a good application otherwise
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ACTIVE PSDM 23-54: 2024 Active Duty Flying Training Board
in Pilot Selection Process
Posted
I'm in the same boat. Applied in 2016 when I went to OTS but got my second choice. Applied last year but was an alternate. Also took a different approach with my personal letter, got a couple awards under my belt and a much better letter of rec, but definitely not at the levels you got! I would imagine you're in a great spot this time around.