The form 53 process is meant to spread talent around while at the same time keeping in line with the needs of the AF. In that situation it was absolutely the AF thinking that they need engineers and that it is a very specialized degree. At the end of the day it was simply....we need engineers and we're taking him. Also a little fun fact from the cadre here....if you put "needs of the AF" anywhere on your form 53 you will get that...period.Thanks for the responses everybody. Also Nick 4060, did the guy you knew put 62e down as his second or third choice, or was it randomly given to him since it was in high demand?
It depends on what job you had prior. If you are already in an undermanned job they won't let you go because they have spent all that time and money to train you to what gain? Just let you go into another undermanned field and spend more money training you again?Wait so if Intel is undermanned why wouldn't I be able to cross train into it?
I think you're confused. The OP is asking about the potential of cross training INTO Intel if they don't get it on the first try, not out. They want to get intel, not trying to avoid it.Now if you went CRO, STO, or ALOT they would probably let you cross train out of intel but probably not from those jobs into intel. That's just my guess.
That's a great viewpoint and it gets to what we've all been saying....It depends....just like everything in the AF it is sometimes a toss up.We actually get quite a few Captains cross training into the career field nowadays. This career field is always heavily over-manned in Lts and junior Capts. But at the same time, we're severely under-manned in mid/senior-level Capts and Majs. So we tend to take a lot of mid-level Capts from other career fields in order to help fill that gap. Its not ideal, since those guys don't have the prior intel experience that you'd ideally want in a mid-level Capt. But they still have the general leadership and program management experience that are inherent to all career fields.
So to the OP's question about cross training into 14N later, the answer is "yes". However, it will depend on what career field you're trying to leave. If the career field you're trying to leave is over-manned in your year group, then they will probably let you. If they're not over-manned, then you're stuck.