New rated slection process

The Following was posted on a Parents Group facebook page.

"..What is changing for the Class of 2015 and beyond is the process to become a rated officer (pilot, Combat System Officer, Air Battle Manager and Remotely Piloted Aircraft). The Academy, as well as ROTC, now has an 'all in' approach to the rated jobs. What does that mean? When a cadet, your cadet, volunteers for a rated AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code, or job), they volunteer for all four AFSCS: Pilot, CSO, ABM and RPA. So, a cadet may be offered RPA vice pilot or they may be picked as a CSO or ABM. If they don't like that, they will have an opportunity to opt out of that AFSC choice if they want. They then enter the non-rated pool along with all the other cadets and they have up to 6 choices for jobs. They may not get their first choice but chances are good they'll get one of their top 6. How are these choices made? It's complicated but cadets are ranked on a Board Order of Merit that takes into account their GPA, military and physical fitness scores, evaluations from their AOCs and the like. For rated assignments, tests for aviation are included as well as any flying experience. My advice for you to give to your cadet -- always do your best. If you want to fly, enroll in as many airmanship programs as you can. I hope I didn't muddle this up too much. And we'll continue to have about 50% of our grads go to the rated community. David K. Cannon, Director of Communication, US Air Force Academy"

Is there any weight given as to whether they are technical or non-technical degrees?

Interesting.

I don't want to muddy the waters, but as far as ROTC goes....
1. This all four in aspect has been in place for at least 2 years.
~~~ I believe our DS's class was that last AFROTC yr group that had the option to only place 3 of the 4 on their list. He commissioned in 12.
~~~~ I know for OCS this has been in place since the July board 2012. Our friend's DS was picked up and given CSO even though he asked for pilot.

I know 14 did not have the 3 option when they got their rated AFSC back in Feb/Mar 2013.

2. For AFROTC they are now requiring all cadets, tech and non-tech to sign paperwork prior to SFT selection (soph yr) their intention of going rated.
~~~ If they say yes, than they will be required to apply for rated.the following year.

Tomtrout,

I do not know for the AFA, but given the fact that rated is almost a 100% guarantee as long as you commission, I wouldn't worry.

For AFROTC the weight is not what you might think/assume. For AFROTC the edge for techs vs non tech is tied to the cgpa. Historically, non-tech AFROTC need to be in the 3.3/3.4 range. Techs need to be in the 3.0/3.1

Most importantly is if your goal is UPT, it is the new PCSM system. The amount of flight hours will impact your score. It is possible for a 3.2 cgpa tech get CSO, and a 3.2 non-tech get pilot. The reason why is the tech may not have any flight hours and the tech has a PPL. Tech degrees do not translate into better pilots per say.
~~~ No offense to tech majors.

aglages said:

The Following was posted on a Parents Group facebook page.

".. If you want to fly, enroll in as many airmanship programs as you can. "

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Glad my C3C did Jump over the summer, Soaring last semester and is in the Soaring IP upgrade course this semester.

Don't forget that the "new" quartile system will also impact rated selection. He also answers a couple of follow up questions:

Question: How does the new "quartile" system affect the rated pilot selection?

Answer: Dave Cannon ..quartile will factor in but we want to ensure that not one job is dominated by any one quartile So, if cadets were selected strictly on the quartile, it stand to reason that the top quartile would get their first choices while the 4th quartile would get what's left. And as pointed out in the comments, many great pilots and leaders don't always rank at the top of their classes and that should not preclude them from competing for the AFSC/job they want.

Question:When you say airmanship programs are you talking about flying during the summer (gliders and power flight) or are you talking about classes they take?

Answer: Dave Cannon..all of the above. If your cadet wants to fly, enroll in the classes, get into gliders, get into the powered flight program. Do as much as they can given all the other requirements they need. So, take the classes if you can and try and get into a summer program for gliders or powered flight. dk

I am still surprised at the number of kids my son says have no interest in a rated job. Some of his classmates that originally wanted a pilot slot no longer want the service commitment that UPT entails and then there are those that never wanted to fly in the first place. It still seems that if you want a pilot slot you have a much better opportunity coming from the academy than ROTC or OTS.

Aglages, leave the cold confines of PA for FL?

USAFretired1996 said:

Aglages, leave the cold confines of PA for FL?

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I did leave the frigid north for SE Florida at Thanksgiving. Considering the winter that the Midwest and East has had it seems to have been good timing.

USAFretired1996 said:

I am still surprised at the number of kids my son says have no interest in a rated job. Some of his classmates that originally wanted a pilot slot no longer want the service commitment that UPT entails and then there are those that never wanted to fly in the first place.

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Plus the ones that are not physically qualified, and the ones that are concerned about failing UPT and either being tossed from the AF (possibly with an invoice for USAFA?) or given a "needs of the AF" AFSC. Not sure if the erosion of retirement benefits will have any impact on their decisions. In addition this change may also impact the number of cadets that will go rated from USAFA: "When a cadet, your cadet, volunteers for a rated AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code, or job), they volunteer for all four AFSCS: Pilot, CSO, ABM and RPA. So, a cadet may be offered RPA vice pilot or they may be picked as a CSO or ABM. If they don't like that, they will have an opportunity to opt out of that AFSC choice if they want. They then enter the non-rated pool along with all the other cadets and they have up to 6 choices for jobs."

USAFretired1996 said:

It still seems that if you want a pilot slot you have a much better opportunity coming from the academy than ROTC or OTS.

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Agreed. The numbers would "seem" to indicate that pretty much everyone that is qualified has been getting a rated slot. However, if they reduce the rated slots for USAFA and re-assign them to AFROTC that may not continue to be true. Supposedly the class of 2015 will have ample pilot slots (http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=36322) ...unless something changes...again.

I can tell you that 2 cadets my son knows that washed out of IFS this fall (they were headed to UPT with pilot spots) were not let go and "invoiced". They have been reassigned to Missiles.

aggie83 said:

I can tell you that 2 cadets my son knows that washed out of IFS this fall (they were headed to UPT with pilot spots) were not let go and "invoiced". They have been reassigned to Missiles.

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Supposedly this is the driving force for the new quartile system. Most people that end up as missileers are "forced" into it as opposed to choosing that AFSC. Doesn't seem to make for a lot of enthusiasm and motivation within the missileer ranks. Under the new quartile system the AF can force some of the cadets from ALL the quartiles into missiles or any other of the less desirable AFSCs. To quote David K. Cannon:
"..but chances are good they'll get one of their top 6". Not sure how this will help the motivation of those that finished higher on the OML but ended up with less of a choice of AFSCs than those in lower quartiles.

It is good to hear that the AF is not requiring a USAFA payback for cadets that wash out of UPT. Thanks for the information.

aggie83 said:

I can tell you that 2 cadets my son knows that washed out of IFS this fall (they were headed to UPT with pilot spots) were not let go and "invoiced". They have been reassigned to Missiles.

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I've seen several guys and girls here end up at reassignment boards. The wing vice was proud to say they everyone who washed UPT or IFS was retained and reassigned. I know some of the people as well. And they aren't being hosed with just needs of the Air Force. If they worked hard and it just didn't work out, they are given the opportunity to go into their top choices. Not long ago one of the people reassigned is in training for OSI now.

"All or nothing" for rated jobs leads me to believe there may be some manning issues at AFPC (surprise! surprise!)

Back when dinosaurs roamed the terrazzo ...

If you quit or washed out of UPT, you got offered nav school, Security Police, or missiles...the end.


The line that was repeated often was, you are a commissioned officer in the military. You should be happy serving your country in whatever capacity it requires.

That is something any applicant to USAFA should understand.