Letters of Rec for AD Aviation

diebs

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Nov 25, 2015
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Basically I am wondering if letters of recommendation from current or former army aviators on my behalf would hold any weight on my OML score. I know they likely do not have any official effect on the branching formula for AD but I wanted to ask as I've heard they have a big impact for those looking to branch Aviation for the AR/NG (getting a letter of rec from a specific AR Aviation Unit for example). With a 3.1 GPA going into junior year I don't see myself as very competitive and I'm looking for any ways that could help improve my chances. Thanks very much.
 
For civilian colleges, admissions officers really emphasize that letters of recommendation from people who know you very well are what matter. Letters from “VIPs” such as local bigwigs, famous alumni, politicians, etc., who don’t really know you aren’t given much consideration. I’m guessing this same dynamic would go for an academy or ROTC.

If said aviator doesn’t really know you — he/she happens to play golf with your uncle and has met you once — don’t think that’ll carry any weight.
 
For NG you would need to talk to the Aviation Brigade and see if they are accepting applications for LT Aviation officers, if they are then you will apply, take the SIFT, pass the flight physical, and sit for a review board. Talk to others that have applied to the same NG unit about what type of LOR's would be best.

Those that apply for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) are required to have LOR's, most will visit an Aviation unit and talk to some of the pilots to get their LOR's, most do not really know these pilots but they will ask you a lot of questions and then write their LOR. The best thing to do if you are looking at NG Aviation is to get at least two LOR's from current pilots, try and get them from those that have been in for a while.

Don't think that because your GPA is at 3.1 that you don't have a shot at AD Aviation. Branching is set up so that only 55% of those selected are from the upper OML and ADSO's, the rest come from the Branching Model which take people from all over the OML. The best thing you can do is to pass the SIFT with a 50 or higher so you can get your flight physical at Advanced Camp, pass your physical, and ADSO for Aviation. Make sure you put AV as your #1 choice.
 
For civilian colleges, admissions officers really emphasize that letters of recommendation from people who know you very well are what matter. Letters from “VIPs” such as local bigwigs, famous alumni, politicians, etc., who don’t really know you aren’t given much consideration. I’m guessing this same dynamic would go for an academy or ROTC.

If said aviator doesn’t really know you — he/she happens to play golf with your uncle and has met you once — don’t think that’ll carry any weight.

Thanks very much for the info. That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately I have learned that letters of rec hold no weight when it comes to active duty. I appreciate your response nonetheless.
 
For NG you would need to talk to the Aviation Brigade and see if they are accepting applications for LT Aviation officers, if they are then you will apply, take the SIFT, pass the flight physical, and sit for a review board. Talk to others that have applied to the same NG unit about what type of LOR's would be best.

Those that apply for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) are required to have LOR's, most will visit an Aviation unit and talk to some of the pilots to get their LOR's, most do not really know these pilots but they will ask you a lot of questions and then write their LOR. The best thing to do if you are looking at NG Aviation is to get at least two LOR's from current pilots, try and get them from those that have been in for a while.

Don't think that because your GPA is at 3.1 that you don't have a shot at AD Aviation. Branching is set up so that only 55% of those selected are from the upper OML and ADSO's, the rest come from the Branching Model which take people from all over the OML. The best thing you can do is to pass the SIFT with a 50 or higher so you can get your flight physical at Advanced Camp, pass your physical, and ADSO for Aviation. Make sure you put AV as your #1 choice.

Thanks very much for your response. Especially the part covering the OML system. That's very encouraging as I had no clue it was set up like that. I will definitely be ADSOing Aviation #1 and then MS #2 with intentions of dropping a 67J packet. I've purchased a SIFT study guide book in addition to the FAA handbook and will be setting up a time for my flight physical hopefully before camp this summer. I appreciate all the info.
 
For NG you would need to talk to the Aviation Brigade and see if they are accepting applications for LT Aviation officers, if they are then you will apply, take the SIFT, pass the flight physical, and sit for a review board. Talk to others that have applied to the same NG unit about what type of LOR's would be best.

Those that apply for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) are required to have LOR's, most will visit an Aviation unit and talk to some of the pilots to get their LOR's, most do not really know these pilots but they will ask you a lot of questions and then write their LOR. The best thing to do if you are looking at NG Aviation is to get at least two LOR's from current pilots, try and get them from those that have been in for a while.

Don't think that because your GPA is at 3.1 that you don't have a shot at AD Aviation. Branching is set up so that only 55% of those selected are from the upper OML and ADSO's, the rest come from the Branching Model which take people from all over the OML. The best thing you can do is to pass the SIFT with a 50 or higher so you can get your flight physical at Advanced Camp, pass your physical, and ADSO for Aviation. Make sure you put AV as your #1 choice.

Thanks very much for your response. Especially the part covering the OML system. That's very encouraging as I had no clue it was set up like that. I will definitely be ADSOing Aviation #1 and then MS #2 with intentions of dropping a 67J packet. I've purchased a SIFT study guide book in addition to the FAA handbook and will be setting up a time for my flight physical hopefully before camp this summer. I appreciate all the info.

Jcleppe is spot on.

Study hard for the SIFT. It is in your best interest to get a flight physical at advanced camp, so scoring 50 or higher is key.

Getting a flight physical elsewhere is VERY difficult to arrange especially if you don't know anyone. It's best to be done during advanced camp.

If you live near an Army base, then it's possible. I wouldn't count on it though.

The other way to do it is if you're lucky enough to get a CTLT slot with an aviation unit. Aviation guys take care of their own so they can probably set you up with a flight physical with their flight surgeon. Don't count on that either.

Get the SIFT score required to get it done at camp.
 
For NG you would need to talk to the Aviation Brigade and see if they are accepting applications for LT Aviation officers, if they are then you will apply, take the SIFT, pass the flight physical, and sit for a review board. Talk to others that have applied to the same NG unit about what type of LOR's would be best.

Those that apply for WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) are required to have LOR's, most will visit an Aviation unit and talk to some of the pilots to get their LOR's, most do not really know these pilots but they will ask you a lot of questions and then write their LOR. The best thing to do if you are looking at NG Aviation is to get at least two LOR's from current pilots, try and get them from those that have been in for a while.

Don't think that because your GPA is at 3.1 that you don't have a shot at AD Aviation. Branching is set up so that only 55% of those selected are from the upper OML and ADSO's, the rest come from the Branching Model which take people from all over the OML. The best thing you can do is to pass the SIFT with a 50 or higher so you can get your flight physical at Advanced Camp, pass your physical, and ADSO for Aviation. Make sure you put AV as your #1 choice.

Thanks very much for your response. Especially the part covering the OML system. That's very encouraging as I had no clue it was set up like that. I will definitely be ADSOing Aviation #1 and then MS #2 with intentions of dropping a 67J packet. I've purchased a SIFT study guide book in addition to the FAA handbook and will be setting up a time for my flight physical hopefully before camp this summer. I appreciate all the info.

Jcleppe is spot on.

Study hard for the SIFT. It is in your best interest to get a flight physical at advanced camp, so scoring 50 or higher is key.

Getting a flight physical elsewhere is VERY difficult to arrange especially if you don't know anyone. It's best to be done during advanced camp.

If you live near an Army base, then it's possible. I wouldn't count on it though.

The other way to do it is if you're lucky enough to get a CTLT slot with an aviation unit. Aviation guys take care of their own so they can probably set you up with a flight physical with their flight surgeon. Don't count on that either.

Get the SIFT score required to get it done at camp.


New
Thanks for your response. I've been spending this entire summer preparing for the SIFT and I'm feeling pretty confident, still need to schedule an actual date with my PMS to take it however. I was not aware a score of 50 was required to take the physical at camp, thanks for the heads up. So that would mean that even though a 40 is passing score, one would still have to go through the hassle of finding a base that is willing to conduct the physical sometime before summer.

Other than that it seems like its just a matter of scraping for as many OML points as possible this junior year. Thanks again for the info.
 
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