Ways Forward for Pilot

[ZoomieFrom1994]

Humey is correct. Chemist was my top plan with pilot as a backup. I never had a plan to cross out of pilot, unless I lost my medical, but I did make sure my stats were competitive to crossflow into rated if I needed to leave the chemist field. The only real upside I've gotten out of this situation is a grad school spot, but it'll be at the cost of base preferences if I switch later. It is what it is though, I wanted Laughlin anyways.

I had a roommate who had a high enough GPA that his “order of merit” placed him in….I guess …the “distinguished graduate” category. He was a math major. He went to grad school for physics….I think. Then he went to UPT.

So I suspect that while you are in grad school, you can apply to UPT. You will most likely get a slot.

I also have at least one classmate who got a UPT slot. Then I think he got into the Guard flying A-10’s. He was active enough that his online Air Force bio shows him with little silver birds on each shoulder.

There is also at least one classmate who didn’t get a UPT slot, so he got out of the Air Force entirely. Then he worked up the “ranks” in the civilian flying world. I think he flies corporate jets now.

For whatever it is worth, yeah, I’ll be the guy at the bar crying into my beer saying how us 93’ers, 94’ers, and 95’ers got screwed out of our UPT slots. Just 225 out of each class. So I find it mind blowing that:

A. The pilot slots and non-rated AFSC job slots dropped at the same time….together.

B. As far as I know, the 25’ers who got pilot slots, haven’t been through any sort of flight screening program yet.

C. Out of the fellow non-rated 94’ers who I have talked to, NOT a single one ever got worse than say their 3rd choice You getting your 9th choice and a grad school slot right after graduation does NOT compute.

 

[ZoomieFrom1994]

Do bases still have aero clubs any more?

Back in the summer of 1994, when I had 60 days of leave, I tried to go from non-pilot to pilot in the last 30 days of leave. That was at the Scott AFB aero club, back before it became a joint use airport (Mid-Ameica, I think it is called now…still KBLV). As far as I know, the Scott AFB aero club has been gone, non-existent, for a long time now.

When I made it to (no hope) Pope on 01 AUG 94, at least Simmons Army Airfield still had an aero club.

 

[raimius]

Do bases still have aero clubs any more?

Back in the summer of 1994, when I had 60 days of leave, I tried to go from non-pilot to pilot in the last 30 days of leave. That was at the Scott AFB aero club, back before it became a joint use airport (Mid-Ameica, I think it is called now…still KBLV). As far as I know, the Scott AFB aero club has been gone, non-existent, for a long time now.

When I made it to (no hope) Pope on 01 AUG 94, at least Simmons Army Airfield still had an aero club.

Generally, no. A while ago, the funding source got changed and aero clubs had to be self supporting...which at FAA governed GA prices, just didn't work.

 

[FOODFINDER]

No advice for you, but I wish you luck in getting your pilot slot. Sounds like you have a really good chance to get off the waitlist.

I do wish you had better understanding about the algorithm going into listing your preferences. Is this something you are briefed on before submitting your preferences? It seems like it changed slightly this year according to my ds (an observation made after job drops).

The explanation I received was that all jobs were not picked via order of merit as we had initially been informed they would be. Instead, the rated slots got first pick of anyone who had that job preferred without cross checking anything beyond the minimum PCSM and AFOQT requirements. After the rated slots had been assigned, non-rated slots were then picked according to order of merit with some kind of division system (I've heard thirds, fourths, and ninths but nothing official). My commander advised me that my experience would be a great debriefing point for the junior class to ensure they don't make decisions along the same line of logic that I acted on. I can't say I totally disagree with their method, but it would've been nice to know they were going to do it the way they did.

 

[99Gold]

The explanation I received was that all jobs were not picked via order of merit as we had initially been informed they would be. Instead, the rated slots got first pick of anyone who had that job preferred without cross checking anything beyond the minimum PCSM and AFOQT requirements. After the rated slots had been assigned, non-rated slots were then picked according to order of merit with some kind of division system (I've heard thirds, fourths, and ninths but nothing official). My commander advised me that my experience would be a great debriefing point for the junior class to ensure they don't make decisions along the same line of logic that I acted on. I can't say I totally disagree with their method, but it would've been nice to know they were going to do it the way they did.

I do agree that your case would be good for the junior class to know and that it isn't about the method, just about your knowledge of it. My '26er is not PQ so he'll be up for a non-rated job by default. He has one top career field choice, but also several that he wouldn't mind getting.

 

[ZoomieFrom1994]

The explanation I received was that all jobs were not picked via order of merit as we had initially been informed they would be. Instead, the rated slots got first pick of anyone who had that job preferred without cross checking anything beyond the minimum PCSM and AFOQT requirements. After the rated slots had been assigned, non-rated slots were then picked according to order of merit with some kind of division system (I've heard thirds, fourths, and ninths but nothing official). My commander advised me that my experience would be a great debriefing point for the junior class to ensure they don't make decisions along the same line of logic that I acted on. I can't say I totally disagree with their method, but it would've been nice to know they were going to do it the way they did.

In the very early spring semester of 1994, after the 225 in my class got UPT slots, and how many X amount got navigator slots, I pushed very hard to DF (dean’s faculty) to publish what kind of overall performance averages (OPA’s) that the ‘93’ers had the year before for each of the non-rated slots.

That way, us 94’ers could be realistic about our non-rated choices

For you 2025’ers, did they not publish the results from the 2024’ers?

I would also imagine that in 1994 the non-rated selection process was more hands….less automated….less of an algorithm.