Sled
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I know that 2/3 of our det has took at least 2 weeks of vacation this summer so maybe that could be the reason? I find it strange how they wouldn't help you out or get back to you.
I'm from a tiny det I'm actually the only one who commissioned and half the cadre is retiring in the next few months so they have checked out. So the care factor is nonexistent. The last I heard from them was that my EAD is May 2017 I don't even know the exact day.
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Should be the first of the month--What Det are you from and did you get any orders cut?
Pima
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Orders are typically cut @6-9 weeks prior to your RNLTD. If your EAD right now is 10 months from now than I would expect to not hear anything at all for many months.
I get you want to know, but this is going to be your life until at least May 2021 (assuming you report May 2017). Contacting AFPC is not going to help you impo. You are just too far out and not even in FY16.
Your det. may have tuned you out because they have no answers for you. My DS was flat out told that his orders would come down 6-9 weeks prior to report date. His moved a total of 3 times before he commissioned and slipped back from Aug. (when he commissioned) to RNLTD 9/30. He contacted them only 1x in July because he did not have orders yet. They immediately called AFPC and told him that it was slipped back to Sept. 2 weeks later they called him and said his orders were in.
I am not trying to be rude, or mean, or negative, just saying the squeaky wheel in this case is not going to get oiled, all they are going to do is put in ear plugs and ignore the squeak. It is out of your dets control to find out the date since you are not in FY16. Honestly, in the ADAF right now AFPC is just starting to deal with PCS moves for Feb. 2017. ADAF members start to know if they are in the next cycle 6 months prior to a move, and their orders are cut 6-9 weeks prior to the PCS.
Move on with whatever job you are doing in the meantime, maybe start your Masters, enjoy life at home, but jmpo email them maybe 1x every other month. Big Blue is not going to forget you exist.
I get you want to know, but this is going to be your life until at least May 2021 (assuming you report May 2017). Contacting AFPC is not going to help you impo. You are just too far out and not even in FY16.
Your det. may have tuned you out because they have no answers for you. My DS was flat out told that his orders would come down 6-9 weeks prior to report date. His moved a total of 3 times before he commissioned and slipped back from Aug. (when he commissioned) to RNLTD 9/30. He contacted them only 1x in July because he did not have orders yet. They immediately called AFPC and told him that it was slipped back to Sept. 2 weeks later they called him and said his orders were in.
I am not trying to be rude, or mean, or negative, just saying the squeaky wheel in this case is not going to get oiled, all they are going to do is put in ear plugs and ignore the squeak. It is out of your dets control to find out the date since you are not in FY16. Honestly, in the ADAF right now AFPC is just starting to deal with PCS moves for Feb. 2017. ADAF members start to know if they are in the next cycle 6 months prior to a move, and their orders are cut 6-9 weeks prior to the PCS.
Move on with whatever job you are doing in the meantime, maybe start your Masters, enjoy life at home, but jmpo email them maybe 1x every other month. Big Blue is not going to forget you exist.
AlphaAlphaSigma
5-Year Member
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- Dec 7, 2013
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For all you commissionees waiting for Active Duty don't forget you do have Space A privileges (CONUS only)! Go out there a travel when you can especially for you rated students.
Pima
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Just remember if you go space A to give yourself some leeway for your dates, plus extra money. Planes have a habit of breaking down and you can be stuck there for a couple of days more than you anticipated. Hence, if the plane breaks down and you can't leave until it is fixed, that cheap space A flight might become more expensive with everyday when you are paying another night in the hotel.
~ AF is not like Jet Blue. They are not going to bring in another plane to get the space A out on time. They are going to bring in the parts and the plane will be fixed, and then leave. Space A is seen less than the equivalent of cargo. It is offered as a bennie. The only thing they care about is getting the mission done, which is not you traveling Space A, but the cargo that needs to get wherever it is going.
Just me, but with airline flights as cheap as they are these days, if you do some searching on kayak, orbitz, etc you will find great places to go at a very cheap price. Sorry, but CONUS wise there are very few places that I would visit and you are still stuck with renting a car. Unlike every airport, military bases typically don't have car rentals on base, so you will have to find a way to get to a car rental place or use UBER.
Just saying in the end, I have never used space A because of the horror stories of friends getting stuck somewhere when the plane broke down. My DS is a heavy pilot and he would tell you he would never use space A. He is due back from an overseas TDY tonight. He was due back yesterday afternoon, but the plane broke down prior to take off and thus, he was delayed 36 hours...waiting on parts and maintenance to repair the plane.
You also need to live near a "heavy" base because you must sign up in person prior to the flight. They only allow X amount of people per flight. Unless rules have changed you can sign up 24 hours prior to the flight.
~AD on orders get 1st priority. Many of our friends did space A if they had pets because shipping pets is very expensive and if you have 2 dogs and 1 cat than it becomes worthwhile to have the family fly commercially on orders and the AD fly space A.
~ College dependents of AD members stationed overseas also get priority over the summer to get them back and forth from school. Thus, the dependent of a member stationed at Lakenheath, and attends college at Berkeley will be taking a hop to McGuire or Andrews and than a CONUS hop to Cali.
~ AD dependents with deployed spouses take priority. Caveat, that was when Bullet was AD, so the rules may have changed. If the spouse is deployed for long term (4+ months) to a hazard duty station, i.e. the sand box, than the families were allowed 1x round trip priority without the AD member. Thought process was they could use it to get home and be with family while the member was deployed.
Works well if you live by an AMC, not so much if you don't, because you can go and sign in 24 hrs prior, go home and show up the next day. Not so much if you live 3 hrs away.
CAVEAT: That is my knowledge from long ago, and as I have stated, why I know very few that will use Space A, including my DS and Fencer's DSs. All 3 are heavy drivers.
Now on the flipside the fact is due to low cost flights and the horror stories many ADs have heard or experienced they tend to avoid Space A like the plague, so chances are high that it is easy to get on Space A. Of all of my friends during AD and now retirement, I can count on one hand, maybe 2 where they did space A for flights and none of them did it more than 1x during their career.
I would say use Space A at the base hotels because the cost of the room is based on your rank. I.E. the lower the rank, the less you are expected to pay. Eglin is located in Niceville, FL. Niceville is right next to Destin, Fl. Andrews, Ft. Meyers, Ft. Belvoir, and Bolling are in spitting distance of DC. Randolph is in San Antonio. Hill is in Salt Lake City. Of course there is also Shades of Green at Disney in Florida.
~ Bullet and I use the base hotels whenever we have the ability. Cheaper than any Hampton Inn and much nicer.
I also want to say that as I did in the beginning, if you have a flexible schedule regarding when you return than Space A is a good option, especially if you are single. However, if you are working a job while you are waiting to go AD, I would not go this route. Just my 0.019865 cents. That and $2.07 you can a small Starbucks coffee.
~ AF is not like Jet Blue. They are not going to bring in another plane to get the space A out on time. They are going to bring in the parts and the plane will be fixed, and then leave. Space A is seen less than the equivalent of cargo. It is offered as a bennie. The only thing they care about is getting the mission done, which is not you traveling Space A, but the cargo that needs to get wherever it is going.
Just me, but with airline flights as cheap as they are these days, if you do some searching on kayak, orbitz, etc you will find great places to go at a very cheap price. Sorry, but CONUS wise there are very few places that I would visit and you are still stuck with renting a car. Unlike every airport, military bases typically don't have car rentals on base, so you will have to find a way to get to a car rental place or use UBER.
Just saying in the end, I have never used space A because of the horror stories of friends getting stuck somewhere when the plane broke down. My DS is a heavy pilot and he would tell you he would never use space A. He is due back from an overseas TDY tonight. He was due back yesterday afternoon, but the plane broke down prior to take off and thus, he was delayed 36 hours...waiting on parts and maintenance to repair the plane.
You also need to live near a "heavy" base because you must sign up in person prior to the flight. They only allow X amount of people per flight. Unless rules have changed you can sign up 24 hours prior to the flight.
~AD on orders get 1st priority. Many of our friends did space A if they had pets because shipping pets is very expensive and if you have 2 dogs and 1 cat than it becomes worthwhile to have the family fly commercially on orders and the AD fly space A.
~ College dependents of AD members stationed overseas also get priority over the summer to get them back and forth from school. Thus, the dependent of a member stationed at Lakenheath, and attends college at Berkeley will be taking a hop to McGuire or Andrews and than a CONUS hop to Cali.
~ AD dependents with deployed spouses take priority. Caveat, that was when Bullet was AD, so the rules may have changed. If the spouse is deployed for long term (4+ months) to a hazard duty station, i.e. the sand box, than the families were allowed 1x round trip priority without the AD member. Thought process was they could use it to get home and be with family while the member was deployed.
Works well if you live by an AMC, not so much if you don't, because you can go and sign in 24 hrs prior, go home and show up the next day. Not so much if you live 3 hrs away.
CAVEAT: That is my knowledge from long ago, and as I have stated, why I know very few that will use Space A, including my DS and Fencer's DSs. All 3 are heavy drivers.
Now on the flipside the fact is due to low cost flights and the horror stories many ADs have heard or experienced they tend to avoid Space A like the plague, so chances are high that it is easy to get on Space A. Of all of my friends during AD and now retirement, I can count on one hand, maybe 2 where they did space A for flights and none of them did it more than 1x during their career.
I would say use Space A at the base hotels because the cost of the room is based on your rank. I.E. the lower the rank, the less you are expected to pay. Eglin is located in Niceville, FL. Niceville is right next to Destin, Fl. Andrews, Ft. Meyers, Ft. Belvoir, and Bolling are in spitting distance of DC. Randolph is in San Antonio. Hill is in Salt Lake City. Of course there is also Shades of Green at Disney in Florida.
~ Bullet and I use the base hotels whenever we have the ability. Cheaper than any Hampton Inn and much nicer.
I also want to say that as I did in the beginning, if you have a flexible schedule regarding when you return than Space A is a good option, especially if you are single. However, if you are working a job while you are waiting to go AD, I would not go this route. Just my 0.019865 cents. That and $2.07 you can a small Starbucks coffee.
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My advice would be to keep in touch when school is back in session. They should be able to print your orders out (90 days in advance I believe) so you have a copy prior to traveling, etc.
You have time, but make sure you maintain contact with your Det when summer is over.
Pima
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Everyone's should say that as a ROTC commissioned officer.
Hint the R in ROTC stands for RESERVE. The difference for AF and Navy ROTC is you all go AD compared to AROTC grads that can opt Guard or Reserves.
Nobody ADAF discusses their commissioning route. You will be seen the same as an SA grad. If you make the AF a career you will eventually meet another board and be selected for ADAF.
Don't put any weight or care into the "RESERVE" aspect.
Hint the R in ROTC stands for RESERVE. The difference for AF and Navy ROTC is you all go AD compared to AROTC grads that can opt Guard or Reserves.
Nobody ADAF discusses their commissioning route. You will be seen the same as an SA grad. If you make the AF a career you will eventually meet another board and be selected for ADAF.
Don't put any weight or care into the "RESERVE" aspect.
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AlphaAlphaSigma
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Just learned about an overwhelming amount of rated students (Pilots, CSOs, ABMs) getting their EADs pushed forward even getting their orders sooner than expected! Many learned of their changes were made last week.
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Let us know if it does!
Pima
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Not unusual. Plus side is you will start getting paid earlier and your DOR will also be earlier since they avg out commission and RNLTD. However, if you are going to UPT beware that you could be on casual status for a long time before you start UPT.
AlphaAlphaSigma
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That's true for the non-rated folks barring intel but the EAD for all the rated folks are still FY17 but months earlier than what we had at commissioning.