AFROTC Questions

Just a little background. I have a degree currently. BBA in Finance. GPA was 2.72.

I was wondering if it’s possible to be accepted into the universities AFROTC program while getting a second bachelors?
The second would be in architecture. So it would be a technical degree.
Is there an age cap to be in ROTC? (I would not apply for scholarship as I am 29).
Is there any other suggestions in terms of going in as an officer?

I believe the non scholarship age is 34. Scholarships are 30.

Answers:

1 - Yes, it is possible, but OTS may be a faster route, although that GPA will be a major obstacle for you to get into OTS right now.
2 - That is good-- technical degrees are definitely preferred in most cases, however, that degree will mean odds are higher that you will go in as a Civil Engineer officer (32EX). Research that career field and make sure it is right for you. There are VERY few pure Architect positions available in the Active Duty AF. If you are more interested in an AF career rather than architecture, then I suggest pursuing architectural engineering instead. Very similar, but with a heavier emphasis on things that will benefit you in CE.
3 - You are not prior-enlisted, I assume. In that event, the age cutoff is currently 39, meaning you will need to commission before your 40th birthday. The other age restriction would be for a non-RPA rated position, which is currently 29 (although there is an exception to policy letter in effect right now that pushes that out a few years, you cannot count on anything other than 29 until that exception to policy becomes official policy).
4 - In your case, going in with that GPA will be a major challenge. You must have a 3.0+ to be competitive for Field Training selection (which will likely occur within a year or so of beginning your architectural program, depending on how you are entered into the AFROTC curriculum). Architecture will be much more difficult than finance, and unless you do not transfer in classes, you will begin with a sub-3.0. If you are not picked up for FT, then you are removed from AFROTC and back to applying for OTS.

You should consider sitting down with the Det where you intend to pursue your second bachelors and ask them for advice on the best way to pursue this commission. They may agree that OTS is the best route unless you can either (a) get straight-A's until you are considered for Field Training, or (b) start your new degree fresh (i.e. not transferring in that low GPA).

Thanks for being willing to serve! Feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

NROTCdad said:

I believe the non scholarship age is 34. Scholarships are 30.

Click to expand...

Commissioning age cutoff was pushed up to 40 last November.

Scholarship age cutoff for non-prior enlisted remained at 30.

"Cutoff age" means you must commission before that age (regardless of when your birthday falls on the calendar).

I have no idea how this forum works just yet as this was my first post so forgive my response as it’s not as neat as yours.

I talked to an officer recruiter here and he gave me a package with information. It says you must have 3.0 GPA, but exceptions waivers for lower GPAs if you score a minimum of 200 of the AFOQT. I’m not sure how they would let me sit for the test if I don’t meet the first requirement.

I read over the CE officer position you posted above and I’m not sure that would suit me. I was thinking more along the lines of Health Facilities Architect/Engineer. The position you posted seems as though I would be deployed to combat zones quite often. I understand deployment, I would just prefer not to be in combat zones majority of my time. I do not mean to sound selfish as I know being in the military is extremely selfless.

I have not read about having a 3.0 for FT selection so this is very useful information. Even with straight A’s my first semester or even year, it won’t bump up to a 3.0. So that is a bit worrisome.

I applied back to the same univeristy that I got my initial degree so my grades would follow. Not sure if changing schools would help although I know I’d start off with a fresh GPA, there is still the cumulative GPA that will be accounted for in the end.

Tbpxece said:

NROTCdad said:

I believe the non scholarship age is 34. Scholarships are 30.

Click to expand...

Commissioning age cutoff was pushed up to 40 last November.

Scholarship age cutoff for non-prior enlisted remained at 30.

"Cutoff age" means you must commission before that age (regardless of when your birthday falls on the calendar).

Click to expand...

I responded to you, but it is above and I do not believe you are tagged. (Excuse my newness to the website)

• Health facilities architect is a job position, not a career field.​
• You will be assigned a career field after commissioning (most likely 32EX given an architect degree)​
• Your job position will change at each base and assignment. Your career field will not.​
• Don't join the military if you don't want to deploy to combat zones (to any extent)​
• You will deploy to combat zones a lot in pretty much every officer career field except missile ops and some of the R&D positions​
• Don't count on waivers from the outset.​
• AFOQT does not have a "score of 200". It's five individual scores, 0-100. You should be scoring 60+ in the non-pilot/nav sections as a college graduate to be competitive.​
• Study for the AFOQT. It is a very hard test given that it is timed.​
• Your GPA will work against you, given your currently planned route. I suggest picking a different route.​

LONGER ANSWERS:

​

1. Starting off banking on a wavier in the military is a recipe for disappointment. Waivers only apply to circumstances where the military is willing to bend a rule because a candidate offers a compelling reason for accession. In summary-- try to avoid waivers that are required on day 1.​
2. "A minimum of 200 on the AFOQT"-- I have no idea what this means. The AFOQT is not a combined-score test. It is divided into separate sections and a score of 0-100 is earned individually on each section. You could, in theory, add the scores all together, but the AF doesn't do that and it wouldn't really mean anything. To be competitive, you should be looking at 60+ across all components as a college graduate. With a few exceptions, anyone can take the test at any time, but you are only afforded 2 lifetime attempts, and your last--not best-- score is what governs. I'd highly recommend studying for it and taking multiple practice AFOQT's if you are serious about this.​

-----------------------------------------

One last thing:​

Here is a list of all current AF AFSC's. All new AF officers will be assigned one of the AFSC's on this list, and will go to the appropriate AF technical training. Do not confuse "job position" with "career field". "Health Facilities Architect/Engineer" is a job position, NOT a career field. This means you will enter as a 32EX officer, will attend the technical training, and then will be assigned to a CE squadron somewhere.​

​

You are assigned a career field. You work your way into a job position.​

​

Getting to a Health Facilities Architect/Engineer position will either require a stroke of luck at the outset (right time, right place) or methodical planning and continuous engagement with your supervision. Odds are that you will spend 4-6 years in a general CE billet before being able to make your way into the above position.​

I was looking at what the OP was referencing, and I believe these positions (Healthcare Facility A/E) are part of a very specialized group within Medical Support. Military architects in CE squadrons typically don't do a lot of hands on design work, especially on hospitals because of all the unique regulations and design requirements and healthcare renovation/construction projects are budgeted differently in the military system as well.

For CE, most billets at the squadron level are civilians because of all the training/certifications required. I only knew a handful of military architects in my 10 years as a CE officer.

Here is a link to an article that talks about AF Medical Support Agency and facilities....google Air Force Medical Support Agency/Health Facilities Division to find out more.
http://themilitaryengineer.com/index.php/item/276-medical-design-consulting-procedures

I don't have a clue on how many slots there are nor where they are located nor where you could find out how to gain a commission there. I would say if you go thru ROTC that you would have a high likelihood of going into CE no matter what you put on your dream sheet....you may have better luck exploring the Healthcare side and OTS or asking anyone with military medical experience on how to enter....most doctors I knew entered thru OTS and direct commission programs because of all the specialized training (and the lure of school loan forgiveness in exchange for service).

Good luck.

Good luck.

Charlie1029 said:

The position you posted seems as though I would be deployed to combat zones quite often. I understand deployment, I would just prefer not to be in combat zones majority of my time. I do not mean to sound selfish as I know being in the military is extremely selfless.

Click to expand...

Have you ever been deployed to a combat zone? How do you know you will or won't like it? The ground side of the Air Force is a bit different than the Army/Marine Corps and the flying side. Sure you have to qualify on weapons and understand some small unit tactics, but your primary role is building/maintaining/recovering infrastructure and provide support (fire, unexploded ordnance, disaster preparedness/readiness) to the combat wing. Defending the installation is a secondary mission for engineers and most ground folks in the Air Force....there are other career fields like Security Forces/Defenders who have the primary role for air base ground defense...and the Army has the responsibility for broader defense outside the wire. You have to protect your local site and convoy as needed.
My rotations in combat zones as a CE officer were among the best experiences I had in the Air Force - they are what I miss the most from leaving the military. You get to put your skills/training/leadership to the test on a daily basis....and it is not necessarily about gallantry while under fire. It is about caring for and leading the troops on a daily basis while getting the mission done. That was the biggest leadership challenge....and one where the feedback on the job you are doing and have done meant the most.
And you do rotations for deployments...I don't know the ops tempo right now, but it's not like you are constantly deployed to combat zones. Sure, you will have to do a couple of short tours (ie, South Korea) in a career and a number of deployments for all kinds of reasons (nation building, other agency support, combat support, etc), but it is not like you are constantly overseas unless you (and your commander) choose/volunteer to be.
Just some challenges to your thinking.
Cheers!

Just wondering? I'm a AS200 cadet at WPI who's pursuing a slot in field training to go to POC (non-rated position). I'm not on a scholarship, got a 75.9 on last PFT, 3.6 GPA, 1443 SAT and pursuing an engineering (Technical tier 2) major. What are my odds of getting into field training? What do I need to work on? Thank you.
(P.S, if Pima could answer that would be great. THX!)
-I am also a Pershing Rifleman and Color Guard.

afrotcdudette said:

Just wondering? I'm a AS200 cadet at WPI who's pursuing a slot in field training to go to POC (non-rated position). I'm not on a scholarship, got a 75.9 on last PFT, 3.6 GPA, 1443 SAT and pursuing an engineering (Technical tier 2) major. What are my odds of getting into field training? What do I need to work on? Thank you.
(P.S, if Pima could answer that would be great. THX!)
-I am also a Pershing Rifleman and Color Guard.

Click to expand...

I’m obviously not PIMA, but your stats look very competitive with the exception of the PFA. 75.9 is just barely passing and it’s not an incredibly rigorous test. I’m not trying to be insulting, but it’s just with an average score for 200s selected for field training being somewhere in the 93-95 range, a 75.9 is going to really hurt your chances. In any case, if you are selected, you need to get that PFA up and not just a little bit. Frankly, FT is not at all rigorous PT-wise, but PT scores at FT usually drop 5-10+ points because of the heat or stress etc. You need to be prepared for that.

I agree with VMI2017+3 that PFA is very low, as stated the avg is @ 20 points higher. What is your AFOQT score? What is your CC ranking? All of these items will be part of your WCS.

I am also assuming you mean you will be an AS200 in the fall.

I'm not quite the athlete, because I didn't play any varsity sports in high school, etc ( but I was in AFJROTC for 2 years). And I will be an AS200 in the fall. My overall AFOQT score was 86, but I don't know my CC ranking yet.

You should use this summer and really get those PFT scores up. I would also get study aids and try to take the AFOQT again, but there is a risk to that because they do not superscore.

afrotcdudette said:

I'm not quite the athlete, because I didn't play any varsity sports in high school, etc ( but I was in AFJROTC for 2 years). And I will be an AS200 in the fall. My overall AFOQT score was 86, but I don't know my CC ranking yet.

Click to expand...

I can relate to the non-athlete background. I was way out of shape until I got my butt in gear late junior year of high school. That’s gonna need to be something that you just make a personal commitment to since it’s not built in to your life from an activity. Make it a daily or near-daily habit and you will have made huge progress by school in the fall. Also, that AFOQT is competitive.

What do you think is a good AFQOT score? (I'm not aspiring to receive a rated position)

Whether you are or are not aspiring to go rated should not matter. The reason why is that the score impacts your OML. There is always going to be 1 person above that cut off line and 1 person below. 86 is strong, BUT since your PFT is low you need to make up points overall impo.

If you can get to a 95 PFA, than you look strong and leave the AFOQT alone. However, if you can only increase your PFA to a low 80, maybe having an AFOQT score in the 90s will help you offset the PFA.

Right now I really would spend the entire summer working out.

VMI is correct cadet scores do drop by 5-10 points mainly due to heat, or the fact that they go end of June and have not done PT for 6 weeks when school ended.
~ You must pass the PFA to graduate from SFT. If you drop those points you are probably not going to pass and they will not allow you to graduate. No graduation = no POC. Remember if you fail just 1 aspect you fail the entire PFA. So also look at where you are the weakest currently, and use the summer to improve there if it is only 1 portion. IE you are 5 seconds off from busting the run.

80 and above is a great AFOQT score for an NPS cadet with no flying experience. I wouldn't retake it.

Odds are much higher you will increase your PFT score. Shoot for 95+. For a female, that is incredibly achievable in 6 weeks of daily, dedicated training, assuming you do not have weight/waist issues.

2-3 miles of interval running alternating with 200-300 pushups and situps every day will get you to 95+. Make sure you don't do any exercise for ~3 days prior to the test. Run regardless of your sleep level, weather, temperature, or fatigue. Always run with water.

Good luck!

I have a 13-min 1.5 mile time, ~34.5 inch AC, 33 push-ups and 42-curl-ups in a minute. (I really had to push myself to meet the cut-offs for push ups and crunches)
Also, I may do a BS-PHD later on. If I don't make POC now, can I try while doing a doctorate (PHD in Engineering can last 3-6 years, so that's plenty of time.)
P.S, I'm trying to a PHD at a AFROTC host school (Rutgers, Rensselaer, etc.)

afrotcdudette said:

I have a 13-min 1.5 mile time, ~34.5 inch AC, 33 push-ups and 42-curl-ups in a minute. (I really had to push myself to meet the cut-offs for push ups and crunches)

Click to expand...

Push-ups are actually relatively easy to get better at. No special work out plans needed. Just start dropping for sets of push-ups throughout the day...say sets of 15 since you’re at 33 right now. Make sure you’re doing 5+ sets, at least, everyday to start. Increase reps and sets each week or two. Do the same sort of thing for sit-ups.