USNA LOA

[ParentsofCO2029]

My son just received something in his portal to indicate that he received an LOA from the USNA (i have not seen, he called to tell me). Will he receive a hard copy of this in the mail? He has his interview with his ALO for the USAFA and MOC in early December. On that application to his MOC, he indicated his 1st choice of USAFA, and USNA as 2nd. He chose the USAFA as his first choice for one reason, and one reason only, as it appears a higher percentage of graduates end up becoming fixed wing Aviators. Question for the group? Should he indicate or let the ALO and MOC know that he has received an LOA from the USNA? Also, he is also torn on whether he should ask his MOC to change his first choice to the USNA if possible. He loves the history, and opportunities the USNA provides to its' midshipmen, but his end goal is not only to serve, but to be a fixed wing aviator. One thing I told him to keep in mind, is that living here in Texas, and our district in particular, USAFA nominations are very hard to come by due to us living in an area very heavily populated by Air Force bases and families. As a parent, I would love to see him attend any service academy, but at the end of the day, does the saying of "a bird in hand, is better than two in the bush" apply here?

 

[smokey%]

My son just received something in his portal to indicate that he received an LOA from the USNA (i have not seen, he called to tell me). Will he receive a hard copy of this in the mail? He has his interview with his ALO for the USAFA and MOC in early December. On that application to his MOC, he indicated his 1st choice of USAFA, and USNA as 2nd. He chose the USAFA as his first choice for one reason, and one reason only, as it appears a higher percentage of graduates end up becoming fixed wing Aviators. Question for the group? Should he indicate or let the ALO and MOC know that he has received an LOA from the USNA? Also, he is also torn on whether he should ask his MOC to change his first choice to the USNA if possible. He loves the history, and opportunities the USNA provides to its' midshipmen, but his end goal is not only to serve, but to be a fixed wing aviator. One thing I told him to keep in mind, is that living here in Texas, and our district in particular, USAFA nominations are very hard to come by due to us living in an area very heavily populated by Air Force bases and families. As a parent, I would love to see him attend any service academy, but at the end of the day, does the saying of "a bird in hand, is better than two in the bush" apply here?

Similar thing happened to me last year. I received a LOA from USNA end of October and I had my senator and congressional nomination interviews coming up. I had put down USMA as my top choice for my interviews but after I got my LOA I emailed their offices with a screenshot of my LOA and told them I wanted to change my first choice to USNA. They understood and changed my preferences accordingly and I ended up getting a nomination to USNA from my senator and congressman. Hope this helps.

Up to you if you want to tell the ALO about the USNA LOA. I didn’t tell my ALO.

 

[Twentyonine]

I'm in the same situation. I emailed the staffer at the MOC office. The staffer gladly changed the preference for me in my file and instructed me to proceed as usual. I scheduled an interview after the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

MOCs may or may not change your nomination. Depends on their individualized process and if they have room on the slate. It doesn't hurt to pick up the phone and ask the MOC staff. If their slate(s) are full - they may not be able to change it, and they don't have to change it. On a different note, there is no guarantee attending any SA will guarantee that you will be selected for flight school. Perhaps someone with USAFA expertise can weigh in on if pilot slots are designated fixed or rotary wing from the SA or is that decided at flight school.

 

[ParentsofCO2029]

Similar thing happened to me last year. I received a LOA from USNA end of October and I had my senator and congressional nomination interviews coming up. I had put down USMA as my top choice for my interviews but after I got my LOA I emailed their offices with a screenshot of my LOA and told them I wanted to change my first choice to USNA. They understood and changed my preferences accordingly and I ended up getting a nomination to USNA from my senator and congressman. Hope this helps.

Up to you if you want to tell the ALO about the USNA LOA. I didn’t tell my ALO.

Did you end up attending USNA?

 

[ParentsofCO2029]

MOCs may or may not change your nomination. Depends on their individualized process and if they have room on the slate. It doesn't hurt to pick up the phone and ask the MOC staff. If their slate(s) are full - they may not be able to change it, and they don't have to change it. On a different note, there is no guarantee attending any SA will guarantee that you will be selected for flight school. Perhaps someone with USAFA expertise can weigh in on if pilot slots are designated fixed or rotary wing from the SA or is that decided at flight school.

Thank you for advice. Last year our MOC nominated 10 people for the USAFA, 5 for USNA, 3 for the USMC, and 1 for the USMMC.

We live outside San Antonio, with many USAF personnel due to the bases in SA. If i had to guess, by looking at the nomination numbers, the chance to get a nomination for USAFA is harder due to sheer numbers vs. the USNA in our district.

 

[ParentsofCO2029]

I'm in the same situation. I emailed the staffer at the MOC office. The staffer gladly changed the preference for me in my file and instructed me to proceed as usual. I scheduled an interview after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thank you for that tidbit of information.

 

[Capt MJ]

T

My son just received something in his portal to indicate that he received an LOA from the USNA (i have not seen, he called to tell me). Will he receive a hard copy of this in the mail? He has his interview with his ALO for the USAFA and MOC in early December. On that application to his MOC, he indicated his 1st choice of USAFA, and USNA as 2nd. He chose the USAFA as his first choice for one reason, and one reason only, as it appears a higher percentage of graduates end up becoming fixed wing Aviators. Question for the group? Should he indicate or let the ALO and MOC know that he has received an LOA from the USNA? Also, he is also torn on whether he should ask his MOC to change his first choice to the USNA if possible. He loves the history, and opportunities the USNA provides to its' midshipmen, but his end goal is not only to serve, but to be a fixed wing aviator. One thing I told him to keep in mind, is that living here in Texas, and our district in particular, USAFA nominations are very hard to come by due to us living in an area very heavily populated by Air Force bases and families. As a parent, I would love to see him attend any service academy, but at the end of the day, does the saying of "a bird in hand, is better than two in the bush" apply here?

To comment on a few things:
- Yes, to sharing LOA with MOC staffers.
- No to sharing one SA’s LOA with another SA. It won’t do anything. Though the SAs are homogenous in many ways, they each build their classes to suit their goals. They also fully expect candidates to be applying to other SAs, ROTC scholarships, other colleges. Every SA Admissions staff wants candidates to find their best fit for service and path to a commission, whether theirs or another SA. They are not going to run short of highly qualified candidates.
- Flying fixed wing. It’s a bit apples and oranges to do a direct comparison of USAFA and USNA. You don’t have a solid metric for of those who placed Navy pilot as first choice, how many got that choice, not just how many in the class got pilot.
The only competition for Navy or Marine pilot at USNA is your classmates who want the same. The Navy offers a healthy variety of officer specialties. Of course, no Navy pilot or Marine pilot knows if they are going rotary or fixed wing until they are in the training pipeline. The needs of the Navy or Marine Corps rule the process, as well as the student pilot’s performance.
- The prudent candidate always researches additional officer specialties as a path of interest, in case their pre-comm physical DQs them from flying, at least at USNA. I do not know how the timeline works for when USAFA cadets know they are pilot qualified.

 

[smokey%]

Did you end up attending USNA?

Yes

 

[Ivy22]

- Flying fixed wing. It’s a bit apples and oranges to do a direct comparison of USAFA and USNA. You don’t have a solid metric for of those who placed Navy pilot as first choice, how many got that choice, not just how many in the class got pilot.
The only competition for Navy or Marine pilot at USNA is your classmates who want the same. The Navy offers a healthy variety of officer specialties. Of course, no Navy pilot or Marine pilot knows if they are going rotary or fixed wing until they are in the training pipeline. The needs of the Navy or Marine Corps rule the process, as well as the student pilot’s performance.
- The prudent candidate always researches additional officer specialties as a path of interest, in case their pre-comm physical DQs them from flying, at least at USNA. I do not know how the timeline works for when USAFA cadets know they are pilot qualified.

To add on fixed-wing flying in the Navy: majority of Naval Aviators fly rotary wing aircraft aka helicopters. Of the fixed-wing aviators, more are “big wing” pilots than fighter pilots. You find out your platform at the end of primary in flight school. It’s mainly based on needs of the Navy, timing, grades, luck, etc.

The Navy does have a program now for SNAs who want helicopters to early select them before primary and skip the T-6, but no such program exists for fixed-wing (yet?). It’s still possible to get helicopters without signing up for that program.

I believe Air Force has a similar program and they select pretty much all of their helicopter pilots through that. They also have a separate program for those interested in fighter jets to have a high chance at getting them, although I’m not keen on the details of the Air Force

Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) are only in fixed-wing platforms. These are the guys that fly in the backseat or back of the plane. They do not actually fly the plane with the stick and throttle.

I echo Capt MJ’s point on considering other officer paths in each branch. A lot can happen between now and service assignment/job drop with needs of the Navy/Air Force, medical qualifications, interests changing, etc. And also other aircraft platforms in that branch. Stuff can happen there as well (i.e. legs too long for fighter jets)

 

[futurecadet29]

Navy will let your representative and Senators know that that they gave you an LOA. Similar situation. I applied to both Senators and my representative and listed USMA as my first choice. However, I got an email from my rep saying they they were notified by USNA that I have an LOA, so they automatically gave me the nom to Navy. Ofc, not every rep will give you an automatic nom because of an LOA, but mine did. Onj the flip side tho, now I have to rely on my 2 senators to get a nom to USMA, and I am in a very competitive state.

 

[nauticalmom]

My DS received an LOA two weeks ago; his only condition not met was his nomination, which he secured last week. When will the Conditional LOA switch to an accepted/appointment status? I am new to this and unsure of the proper wording.

 

[GoatBoat5]

My DS received an LOA two weeks ago; his only condition not met was his nomination, which he secured last week. When will the Conditional LOA switch to an accepted/appointment status? I am new to this and unsure of the proper wording.

Congrats! That's wonderful news just in time for Thanksgiving festivities!

We were told by the MOC that the nomination would show up in the portal the first week of Dec, but this likely varies by MOC. We were also told that the LOA would appear in the portal early Dec.....and an appointment anytime between Dec-April ! Mini-happy dances ongoing in our household.....but still tending to back-up plans to be sure-to be sure. Go Navy! Beat Army!

 

[Usnavy2019]

Tardy to the party here, but look at the branches and try and see what they offer that interests you. Is it the culture, the locations, the jobs, etc? For me, I only applied to the sea service SAs since I liked the water and Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine all offered job opportunities that interested me in the event I didn't get to fly. Luckily, things worked out, but I took a look at USAFA and realized I wouldn't be happy if I wasn't in a rated job. I specifically say the branches since SAs are not always that representative of what the branches will operate like. USNA is very Marine Corps heavy for example, but the Fleet is not like that. Also, jobs are not always what you think they are. Everyone looks cool flying jets and I definitely was one of those people who wanted to go carrier aviation. However, after doing aerobatics, it was fun, but I enjoyed going places and shooting instrument approaches more. I selected big wing and I am the farthest I can be from a carrier (based in the Midwest), and I couldn;t be happier. I'll get my chance to go to sea later though, and I am not dreading it.

 

[kinnem]

My DS received an LOA two weeks ago; his only condition not met was his nomination, which he secured last week. When will the Conditional LOA switch to an accepted/appointment status? I am new to this and unsure of the proper wording.

It might not be until Feb as MOC slates aren't due until the end of Jan. It all depends on the MOC.