6 hours ago, S_E said:

Any body else see this in the new BogiDope article and have some more insight? 

 

https://bogidope.com/upt/the-state-of-the-upt-pipeline-2021/

Was wondering if this applied only to Reserve units or ANG units as well. Additionally I thought unsponsored candidates only ever go to heavy units so could we assume this clause doesn't apply to fighter units?

2 minutes ago, NABO said:

Was wondering if this applied only to Reserve units or ANG units as well. Additionally I thought unsponsored candidates only ever go to heavy units so could we assume this clause doesn't apply to fighter units?

Unsponsored is an AFRC thing, so it only applies to the Reserves. Also from what I’ve heard it’s hypothetically possible for an unsponsored candidate to go to a fighter unit, it’s just rare. 

1 hour ago, admdelta said:

Unsponsored is an AFRC thing, so it only applies to the Reserves. Also from what I’ve heard it’s hypothetically possible for an unsponsored candidate to go to a fighter unit, it’s just rare. 

I know of one guy who got fighters through unsponsored, but his uncle was Chief of the Air Force 😂. True story. Otherwise, nearly impossible. 

1 hour ago, OldVMFAT said:

I know of one guy who got fighters through unsponsored, but his uncle was Chief of the Air Force 😂. True story. Otherwise, nearly impossible. 

1 of 2 hired at ft. Worth 457th this year was unsponsored no high up connections just a normal dude. It happens. Little bit of luck and timing is key

16 hours ago, Terminator5lf said:

1 of 2 hired at ft. Worth 457th this year was unsponsored no high up connections just a normal dude. It happens. Little bit of luck and timing is key

If you don’t mind, when did Ft Worth hire those last guys? Info on 457th boards was a bit unclear last year. 

21 hours ago, admdelta said:

Unsponsored is an AFRC thing, so it only applies to the Reserves. Also from what I’ve heard it’s hypothetically possible for an unsponsored candidate to go to a fighter unit, it’s just rare. 

Also was unsponsored with no high up connections; I will be heading to fighters. It's not common, but with good timing, luck, and a lot of hard work it is possible. 

Edited February 4, 20215 yr by WeekendPilot

How did you get fighters?  Was it doing well at UPT?

3 minutes ago, SpaceCowboy91 said:

How did you get fighters?  Was it doing well at UPT?

Nope, haven't actually started UPT yet. Getting sponsored by a fighter squadron actually pushed my dates back to align me with a 38 slot. I just made whatever connections I could, put in an app anywhere that would accept one, cold called and emailed random squadrons, rushed everywhere I could, etc.. lots of time and effort, but the real work hasn't even started. Super stoked for everything to come!

 

I do know some studs that have been on the unsponsored path and made it into a fighter mid T-6s though. For those dudes, it was mainly performance and persistence based.

Edited February 4, 20215 yr by WeekendPilot

1 hour ago, WeekendPilot said:

Nope, haven't actually started UPT yet. Getting sponsored by a fighter squadron actually pushed my dates back to align me with a 38 slot. I just made whatever connections I could, put in an app anywhere that would accept one, cold called and emailed random squadrons, rushed everywhere I could, etc.. lots of time and effort, but the real work hasn't even started. Super stoked for everything to come!

 

I do know some studs that have been on the unsponsored path and made it into a fighter mid T-6s though. For those dudes, it was mainly performance and persistence based.

This to a tee!!

3 hours ago, OldVMFAT said:

If you don’t mind, when did Ft Worth hire those last guys? Info on 457th boards was a bit unclear last year. 

457th actual interview board was first week of October. Although there was video interview before hand. This year they had over 400 apps and with all the delays it was hard to keep everyone up to speed. 4 of the 6 interviewees were un-sponsored 2 mid pilot training and 2 had not started. 

Just got the TBNT from the 134th at VT. Good luck to those moving on!

The 134th just sent out TBNT emails, I was one of the ones getting it. Best of luck and congratulations to the ones that got extended interview invitations.

15 hours ago, AW91 said:

The 134th just sent out TBNT emails, I was one of the ones getting it. Best of luck and congratulations to the ones that got extended interview invitations.

Congrats to all who got an interview.

I got an interview with their last board ~2 years ago, back when my application was much worse than it is now. I’m really curious what kind of scores/hours you need now. If anybody who got an interview would be willing to post their application details it’d be greatly appreciated.

10 hours ago, ZR-1 said:

Congrats to all who got an interview.

I got an interview with their last board ~2 years ago, back when my application was much worse than it is now. I’m really curious what kind of scores/hours you need now. If anybody who got an interview would be willing to post their application details it’d be greatly appreciated.

Heard back the other day that I was selected to interview, I have a 94 pilot, 99 nav, 61, 78, 45 for the rest. Enlisted Guard Crew Chief of 8 years on F-16’s.  My PCSM is 84 with 65.1 flight hours. Not sure how many they are interviewing, or how many applied, but I’ve been given the TBNT from Boise, Baltimore, and Tucson recently, and Atlantic City turned me down after interview despite being my home unit (not that I think I should’ve gotten it based on that). I’m as curious about VT’s standards as you are..

On 1/13/2021 at 3:07 PM, Checksix said:

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!

I'm in the Air Guard, everyone who went down was on a voluntary basis, can't say so much for the Army guard, they were just activated and sent (at least from my state). It's really up to the governor of your state and if they declare state of emergency and to what degree. Also various states have alert sites where pilots live and sleep on rotations, and can launch at a moment's notice. This is reserved for (potential) 9/11 type instances, though I don't see why they wouldn't use it as a show of force if the situation called for it.

23 hours ago, julietecho13 said:

Heard back the other day that I was selected to interview, I have a 94 pilot, 99 nav, 61, 78, 45 for the rest. Enlisted Guard Crew Chief of 8 years on F-16’s.  My PCSM is 84 with 65.1 flight hours. Not sure how many they are interviewing, or how many applied, but I’ve been given the TBNT from Boise, Baltimore, and Tucson recently, and Atlantic City turned me down after interview despite being my home unit (not that I think I should’ve gotten it based on that). I’m as curious about VT’s standards as you are..

Congrats! I have a 99 pilot, 96 nav, 95, 79, 97 with a 99 PCSM with 1251 hours. But I have no military experience. Were you able to visit VT back in October? I'm wondering if that made the difference

2 hours ago, amz129 said:

Congrats! I have a 99 pilot, 96 nav, 95, 79, 97 with a 99 PCSM with 1251 hours. But I have no military experience. Were you able to visit VT back in October? I'm wondering if that made the difference

That weekend was cancelled 24 hours prior due to a COVID outbreak in the unit. As far as I'm aware there were no in-person visitations this year.

Edited February 7, 20215 yr by NABO

On 2/6/2021 at 1:42 AM, ZR-1 said:

Congrats to all who got an interview.

I got an interview with their last board ~2 years ago, back when my application was much worse than it is now. I’m really curious what kind of scores/hours you need now. If anybody who got an interview would be willing to post their application details it’d be greatly appreciated.

No interview. I received a TBNT from VT this week. I have (from memory) 99/97/93/96/73 on the AFOQT, 90 PCSM (w/ the 23 hrs I had when taken) and 74ish hours now and a PPL. I am also 28 years old, which is a factor with some units.

Edited February 7, 20215 yr by Jester203

On 2/6/2021 at 3:47 PM, julietecho13 said:

Heard back the other day that I was selected to interview, I have a 94 pilot, 99 nav, 61, 78, 45 for the rest. Enlisted Guard Crew Chief of 8 years on F-16’s.  My PCSM is 84 with 65.1 flight hours. Not sure how many they are interviewing, or how many applied, but I’ve been given the TBNT from Boise, Baltimore, and Tucson recently, and Atlantic City turned me down after interview despite being my home unit (not that I think I should’ve gotten it based on that). I’m as curious about VT’s standards as you are..

I disagree. AC should have hired you as a homegrown applicant. Doesn't send a good message if they don't hire their own, especially with great scores, unit experience, etc. Did they explain why they turned you down?

55 minutes ago, precontact said:

I disagree. AC should have hired you as a homegrown applicant. Doesn't send a good message if they don't hire their own, especially with great scores, unit experience, etc. Did they explain why they turned you down?

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. 

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. 

15 hours ago, precontact said:

I disagree. AC should have hired you as a homegrown applicant. Doesn't send a good message if they don't hire their own, especially with great scores, unit experience, etc. Did they explain why they turned you down?

I wish that's how it worked! Essentially I was told that applying at 26/27 (interview was just after my birthday) that it didn't show dedication, and I should've been applying 3 or 4 years ago. The applicant pool has gotten much more competitive especially with ROTC being allowed to go straight to guard now, so I was only in the top half of applicants he said. He was a prior enlisted crew chief as well, I thought I had a good shot, but obviously not a guarantee. I was told to do some soul searching and consider active duty because at my age it'll be hard to get fighters.

14 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. 

Feels real bad man, but getting the VT interview definitely has my hopes at fighters back in the reality realm so I'm chugging on. I absolutely agree though, that they don't owe me a thing. I was given a job, a valuable trade skill, free education, and two bonuses in my enlisted career, they've given me a lot already.

19 minutes ago, julietecho13 said:

I wish that's how it worked! Essentially I was told that applying at 26/27 (interview was just after my birthday) that it didn't show dedication, and I should've been applying 3 or 4 years ago.

Ok now that’s just a bunch of trash. After all those years enlisted with them they thought you weren’t dedicated??

Best of luck with Vermont, I hope you get it so you can stick it to them. 😉

Edited February 8, 20215 yr by admdelta

43 minutes ago, julietecho13 said:

I wish that's how it worked! Essentially I was told that applying at 26/27 (interview was just after my birthday) that it didn't show dedication, and I should've been applying 3 or 4 years ago. The applicant pool has gotten much more competitive especially with ROTC being allowed to go straight to guard now, so I was only in the top half of applicants he said. He was a prior enlisted crew chief as well, I thought I had a good shot, but obviously not a guarantee. I was told to do some soul searching and consider active duty because at my age it'll be hard to get fighters.

Feels real bad man, but getting the VT interview definitely has my hopes at fighters back in the reality realm so I'm chugging on. I absolutely agree though, that they don't owe me a thing. I was given a job, a valuable trade skill, free education, and two bonuses in my enlisted career, they've given me a lot already.

Who wants to live in Atlantic City anyway? (hint: no one does). Go get picked up by JAX or Portland to show em whose boss. 

I didn't get the tbnt email from VT but also haven't heard about an interview at this time. Has anyone else not found out yet?  I think someone mentioned they'd announce 15-19 Feb but it sounds like a bunch of people know already. Not sure how to read this- thanks guys!