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For all the reserve folks, has anyone received a UPT date recently from 340th? How long does it take to get a UPT date assuming you meet all the requirements (AFRC board, FC1, scroll)?

For more fun, scroll through these... Awkward Photos From Mother Russia! Here's a sample:

Got good news today. My scroll was approved. The bad news is my DD-368 Conditional Release form expires (2nd or 3rd time this has happened) tomorrow apparently according to my recruiter. All sides are pushing to get me gained by tomorrow. I have an oath of office form in hand waiting to be witnessed and signed. I have to track down another officer or go to a notary in town when given the go ahead by the recruiters. Interservice transfers, your experience may vary, but be prepared to play middle man between recruiters, squadron, and others involved. Stay proactive.

It wasn't a recent promotion. Nobody really blatantly stonewalled anything for me. It was more about getting every piece together when it was needed from all the different offices involved. Navy Bupers, my 4 different recruiters and I had been trying to figure out what "ratified into the Navy Reserve" meant in regards to scrolling. I finally tracked down the right people and found out that the "ratification" meant my last promotion letter in the Navy, not that they needed to verify that I was IRR. My last day of active duty was as an O-2 and I promoted to O-3 in the IRR the next day. The SECDEF P&R needed this information to scroll properly. The Navy kept saying my IRR file looked accurate on their side (showed O-3, dates, etc.), and they didn't understand the hold up until recently. The process definitely needs to be fixed, especially for inter service transfer types.

Don't cry about one year. Check this out. Navy IRR officer transfer to AFRC. MAR:2017 Squadron interview and hired. Long story short: I jumped through many medical hoops and in the end I didn't require a waiver. I was very proactive during this process, and it required using in-squadron medical folks and a letter from a VA specialist to get the ball rolling (CSOs can get FC1A done in-house/in-squadron). My medical finally made it through the AFRC/SG backlog and was blue-stamped by AETC. We tried using a reserve medical squadron closer my current home, but medical sat for about a 1.5-2 years (My squadron and I were proactive during this time also.) Scroll list: This has been a huge hang up. This is my 3rd time sending the request up, and both the Navy and Air Force finally have everything in order for the transfer. My recruiter's boss suggested calling my state senator to complain. Navy personnel command didn't know why the hold up was happening either. I found a number for the Pentagon's Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. This office helped track down names and numbers of folks that assisted. I was contacted by the AFRC's Personnel Office the next day. They let me know everything is good to go now. The hangup was SECDEF needed my IRR promotion to O-3 from the Navy. All my paperwork is now going back up the chain...for the 3rd time. I'm being told in-process with the 340th is October and follow-on orders should be sometime after. My hiring squadron is pushing for sooner. 2+ years...

They no longer use a minimum uncorrected requirement. (Sorry to be that guy and correct you) https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/711/usafsam/USAF-Waiver-Guide-190417.pdf Page 722 (scroll farther for Refractive Surgery info) Don't know your case fully and you should discuss it with a USAF doc but it certainly looks like LASIK/PRK (whichever the doc recommends) is a great option for you.

Starts around page 9. Scroll down and click on the hyperlinked "HERE." Quite a few complaints are certainly legit, especially about a certain individual named in the lawsuit. He definitely made the mil guys in our indoc class ask WTF?! He's since been removed from his position but he definitely put a bad taste in the mouth of the ARC guys. Sad part is that he was a retired AD/ARC pilot himself. I'm glad to see he no longer has his hands in the process.

I’m an active duty Marine transitioning to the Air Force Reserve. AFOQT: 20 Dec 18 TBAS: 24 Jan 19 Resignation Request Submitted: Early Apr 19 Interview: 6 Apr 19 Hired: 11 Apr 19 DD368/Resignation Approved: 23 Apr 19 Scroll Submitted: 23 Apr 19 AFRC UPT Board: 7-8 May 19 AFRC UPT Board Result: 10 Jun 19 FC1 Scheduled: 13 Jun 19 FC1: 29 Jul 19 Scroll Approved: Late Jul 19 FC1 Approved: 26 Aug 19 Separation from USMC: 19 Feb 20 OTS: Exempt IFT: Exempt In-process with 340th: 16 Mar 20 SERE/Water Survival: 6 Apr 20 UPT: 7 July 20

Actually, looks like you don’t even need CMS access to view that sheet. Go to vmpf>self-service actions >separations >voluntary sep >view my application then scroll down to the documents attached to your app. It’s labelled “new SAFPC transmittal” it’s a consolidated sheet that has the sq/cc rec, Wg/cc rec, afpc’s afsc #s, pc’s rec, and most importantly at the bottom it lists who will be the final adjudication. I think if “afpc adjudicate” is selected then it doesn’t need to go up to sit at SAF/PC for 8 weeks. That’s my understanding, and it jives with Goat’s earlier comments.

Also, if you're en route to school your OPB will list "IDE....SELECT". In such cases the board won't even have to scroll -- they'll know you're headed to IDE in residence. Ipso facto...one more data point to prove that in-res vs distance is easily identifable to the board.

Yes. Not trying to be rude, we've all been there, but don't be afraid to scroll up or do a google search.

Hmm I’m not sure. I had to get an appointment order as a reserve officer after a break in service as a prior O. It took a couple weeks after all my other stuff was done for the accessions officer (scroll, ARB, FC1, waivers, oath/swearing in). May be the same thing? Not sure if a letter to appoint is the same as an appointment order. I’d just ask the recruiter.

Reserve thing to allow a commission into the reserves...not to be confused with getting an appointment order once sworn in. This process, signed by the secdef, essentially recognizes a previous commission from another branch/component into the reserves. I don’t think the guard does that but I’m not 100% sure. Here’s a few mentions of it in the link below. There’s a little info on google but not much. It was a PITA because I kept asking my recruiter who asked AFRC what the status was and it was “awaiting secdef signature” for a long time...so it’s hard to get any SA on the status. http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/search/?&q=Scroll&search_and_or=or

As soon as the unit hired me my recruiter started MEPS paperwork and got the scroll stuff going. I think it took about 4 months. I’ve heard of it taking up to 9. And you can’t swear into the reserves until the scroll is done. So I’d expedite getting that rolling. Got a bro from the navy who was navy IRR, selected by an afrc board, stuck awaiting the scroll and had to give up his original UPT date and get a later one because the scroll wasn’t done.

@FlyArmy how long did the scrolling process take? I was thinking I could only scroll after AFRC selection, FC1 (req'd for swearing in), and swear-in. I'm IRR, so not having a break in service might have affected my timeline.

I had to get my ETPs signed and submitted with my packet to the AFRC board. My whole sequence was (keep in mind I was a civ on a break in service so ymmv): “hired” by unit, MEPS, FC1, scroll, ETPs, AFRC board, swear in, get dates, 2 days to inprocess reserves, straight to UPT a few days before my class dates. The guard is a little different so it may not be the same. But I have a little SA from when I was talking to Cathy R at NGB when I was rushing a guard unit and trying to figure it all out. She said I had to get the unit to submit my ARB and ETP paperwork to the NGB, get an FC1, and only after those were complete could I get solid dates. It sounded like I could be penciled in prior to that though. Not sure if she’s still the one assigning class dates, but she was helpful in discussing it with me.

Warning: Nerd level bitching ahead. Discovered after a long deployment and lots of time in front of a govt computer. Go to the USAF bios https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/ Scroll down and click on a random letter in the last name search. Look for bios with an old-ish looking picture and pilot wings. Then check out the total hours and what that person did. Then look for some more recent bios and note the drastic difference.

So I put in the scroll paperwork with my local Reserve recruiter. Still really unfamiliar with this process....Can someone confirm this is a Reserve thing only, or would it apply for Palace a Chase or Front to a guard unit?

Scrolled=get your name on the list (scroll) that goes to Congress for Reserve commission approval. It used to be that the MPF would just give you a reserve commission based on converting your Regular commission, if you had one, or if not, then you obviously were a reserve officer on EAD and thus already had a reserve commission. Around the 2006 timeframe, all officers on EAD had their commissions converted from reserve to regular. And then the SECDEF came out with a policy that Regular officers had to get congressional approval to pick up a reserve commission if they transfer from the Active component to a Reserve component. Congress signs the scroll every quarter. So you need to get with an in-service reserve or guard recruiter to get your name on the scroll as soon as possible because it could take ~4 months for you to be approved for a reserve commission. I don't know how long the scroll is valid, but that should be step 1 for anyone who is about to separate. Once you are scrolled, you can separate and activate your reserve commission the next day and thus have no break in service. Why do you care about avoiding a break in service? The main reason for a 2x passed over regular officer is promotion. The rules state that to meet a board, you must have at least 1 year of continuous service (regular list and reserve active status list). So if you have a break in service when you switch to ARC, you will not meet the next promotion board in the ARC which occurs in the following year, which means your board will be your 2nd year in the reserve (because you will then have had 1 year of continuous service on the reserve active status list). BLAB (bottom line at the bottom): scroll now or you will get less money.

You have to be on the “scroll” to be able to transition from the RegAF to the AFR. Talk to your base in-service recruiter (ISR). It is very easy but it can cause a break in service if you’re not scrolled before you try to transition.

If you're looking for the pay tables. Pilots are paid at the 2181 (aircraft operator) rate. Click here and scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Occupation drop down. Then click on 0558 (0558A = Alaska, 0558H = Hawaii, 0558P = anywhere else NOT CONUS). Historically, wingman/FL started out at GS-12 step 1 and IPs started out at GS-13 step 1. As I mentioned in my previous post, they're now giving brand new flight leads GS-13 step 1 (with a tech bonus). If someone came off active duty with more quals (FAC-A/WO/etc..), and wanted a technician spot, some squadrons have been successful in bringing them in at a much higher step. Not certain, but I think we secured at GS-13 step 6 or 7 for a guy before. Each base/state is different so ymmv. If I remember correctly you moved up in steps via the following...1 year for steps 1-3, 2 years for steps 4-6, 3 years 7-9. That said, there are ways to step dudes up faster, but your leadership has to be willing to do that and there are some limitations on how often it can be done. From what I've seen with the this, is it can vary wildly depending on squadron leadership and state HRO. It used to be that our leadership rarely ever "quick stepped" (not sure of the proper term), but another Viper squadron in the state did it as a standard practice. As a technician you also get 48 UTAs, 36 AFTPs and 15 days of AT orders a year. These pay cards are worth 1/30th of your base pay + flight pay. If your squadron has an alert det you can also work that for some extra pay days. With all these extras, I think our techs are easily able to make an extra 35-50k+ on top of their base GS-13 pay. We do 4 day work weeks so that makes it easier for techs to make extra $$$. Also, our home station alert offers unique opportunities to make extra as well...without ending up like Fresno lol. If I were are young guy under the new retirement system and I could snag a GS-13 early, I would consider that over an AGR. With a step or two, the mil pay, current bonus and double dipping, you could easily be making over 150k as a young Captain. This becomes an easy decision if you plan on going to the airlines soon anyway. I'll take the extra cash now over a few extra retirement points (or whatever they get under the new system) for when I turn 60. If I were a guy coming of AD under the old system then I'd clearly want an AGR. Just remember that the taxman cometh with civ vs mil pay. I should caveat this entire post with the fact that in my 17 years in the ANG, I've been in pretty much every status you can be in BESIDES technician. I have just learned A LOT about it over the years and have seen it work for some.

Socialism is a system in which the means of production are owned by the government (which you stated). A capitalist system is one in which the means of production are privately owned. But clearly you have trouble identifying real-world examples of socialism, so here are some examples of things commonly dubbed "socialism" that categorically are not. Socialism: Nationalized health care (like the UK) Not socialism: Affordable Care Act Socialism: Publicly owned broadband Not socialism: Net neutrality Socialism: 100% taxes redistributed evenly Not socialism: <100% estate tax Socialism: Completely state owned education system Not-socialism: Free college for everyone I advocate for some of these policies but not all... Yet, over and over again, anything the Democrats want is called "socialism" and anything the Republicans want is "fascism." These words are now completely meaningless outside of an academic setting and have resulted in both the Democrats and Republicans thinking the other has moved radically away from center. So you blindly calling all taxes or welfare systems "socialism" is flat-out wrong, continues to polarize your own views, and starves the conversation of actual debate as you've demonstrated... Your basic premise for argument follows this typical formula: pick any topic -> call it socialism -> point out that socialism has failed universally -> reiterate that all redistribution of wealth is socialism-> repeat. Often, you'll create a straw-man argument and attack that instead. If that doesn't work, then you'll just resort to personal attacks. Classy. So here we sit. I've given some arguments for political topics like the estate tax and social security. You've given me, "That's redistribution of wealth, which is socialism, which is bad." You follow that up with more right-wing rallying cries against the Democrats. So who's argument is simple here? Because all I'm hearing is the same refrain repeated ad nauseum. We started this conversation before Senator McCain's passing which makes his farewell message ever more poignant. it's reread my posts over the last couple of pages then reread paragraph 7 & 8 of Senator McCain's farewell message. Here was my first post, if you don't want to scroll back through the conversation: Commence more straw-man arguments...

@hindsight2020 You seem to be quite knowledgeable, thank you for your input on the matter. I didn’t know that it's 11F rated O4 and higher ups that are short. I am in no way making demands, I am just saying I won’t let it go if they offer fighters. If you scroll up, you can see that I mentioned I am totally fine with serving in a heavy unit. Agree that it is timing and luck. I know I am late to the party, but I only got my citizenship and LASIK done very recently. I have always dreamed of fighters and would have loved to be that 18 yr old kid you mentioned. But please understand not everyone can be that kid who’s 22, fresh out of college and eligible to join. ETP is there for a reason, to give someone a chance when AF finds the circumstances reasonable using the whole person concept. I see that you’ve contributed a lot to this forum, but honestly find your comments about taking trash out quite condescending and disturbing. When I said I’d love to train on many airframes, I meant trying for a job like Test Pilot. And you can’t do such jobs being in the Guard. I am not a narrow minded person that you have imagined. PS: I did go to medical school and have a license to practice medicine in US. I am still not rich enough to buy a L-39. Lol. And I would take the trash out if you hook me up with a fighter unit 😉

If you could do it that would be just short of a miracle. I’ve heard of it happening. But very rarely. Getting hired by a guard/reserve unit is hard enough. Then getting thru all the wickets (getting hired, AFRC board if reserves, waivers/ETPs, FC1, ARB, scroll (if reserves), appointment/oath, and any hiccups along the way, and trying to time that with getting out, is tough. HRC wants too much lead time, and they don’t like moving stuff around. When I got out 4 years ago they required 12 months from the time they receive it (which took a month to route up the chain) to my terminal leave date. So it was basically 15 months. I think it’s a little shorter now but it’s still ridiculous and they are inflexible once you do it. If you can get an army guard or reserve unit to temporarily take you, I’ve heard it’s signifcantly easier to make the transfer happen with no break in service. But that’s another step in the process that has its own issues and has to work out just right. If the ANG/USAFR is what you want, go for it and try to make everything work as best you can, but I think it’ll be tough to line it up. Going straight Army AD to ANG/AFR. Not impossible, but will require HRC to be flexible, and a lot of luck. Just my $.02 personally and talking to guys who have done it are doing it currently, but maybe with the EFMP situation it could help.

Got a AD army commissioned bro going to UPT in the reserves. The method he had to use was UQR from the army (separate completely) and then swear in the following day. He coordinated a UPT date with HRC for his sep date from the army. Had it about as locked as you could get, and now his UPT date got pushed 5 months or so, so he’s scrambling to get his sep date pushed, but will likely have a break in service and will be funemployed for a while. I’m coming off a 4 year break in service, and my dates have been all over the place as well, with multiple changes to my “penciled in” dates as I’ve waited on the various wickets during the very painful accessions process. Fortunately I have a lot of flexibility with my civilian job so it doesn’t matter, but if you get on with a guard or reserve unit plan on at least a year from getting hired to starting pilot training, even as a non-OTS prior rated guy. For reference I got hired in October last year will maybe start a year after that due to a short fall slot that opened. Otherwise I’d be looking at February-ish. Things that took a while were getting the age/TFCS ETPs, getting board paperwork together for the AFRC board, getting an FC1 scheduled, completed, and approved, getting the scroll completed (reserve thing only I think), getting the ARB done, and getting sworn in (AFRC recruiting wouldn't let me swear in until the ARB was complete, and that took 3-4 months from my submission to being approved). Anyway, you may have more luck than some of us going thru the process now, but it’s a long painful process with a bunch of timeline uncertainty and changes, so I’d count on the same and have a backup plan since army separations dates are not that flexible. Not sure on the guard side but I imagine their wickets are probably similar. Getting hired by a unit also took a really long time as not many wanted to mess with age ETPs for me. Been a long road for sure.