Applying to USAF OTS

[15%Luck]

Hey guys,

Just about to wrap up my degree here and I am fixing to begin the application process for USAF OTS.
I went to the recruiter and everything looks like a green light to take the first steps. Apparently since I'm an Eagle Scout and a pilot I have a fairly decent shot at a UPT slot. We'll see how the AFOQT and PCSM stuff goes...

I was just wondering if anyone on here had tackled this or could give me any tips.

One particular question I have is this, what does the military think of this kind of a college method? Because I have a "4.0" GPA but only because I only took 1 graded TESC course...Do they respect the whole "test out" method?


Anyways any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks,

JD

[dcan]

Don't think they will care about that. Sounds like you are getting set to fly. Welcome to the best Air Force in the world!

Seriously, milk the hell out of it. Tuition Assistance to get your master's, then you still have the full 36 month GI Bill. And get your master's BEFORE they do another round of RIFs and anybody above Capt with a wrinkle on their shirt gets the boot.

[beargins]

Hey dcan I'm also hoping to apply for OTS this september. I'm finishing my BA Computer Science at TESC. My GPA from local CC was 3.7. Do you think theres any chances of a non pilot civilian applicant getting a pilot slot or do they usually fill up during the first board?

15%Luck how did you do on the AFOQT?

[dcan]

No idea, sorry, I'm enlisted. Though I sometimes regret not nailing my degree in my first term and switching to the dark side.

BTW with a degree in Computer Science you may want to seriously reconsider the pilot thing, unless you are dead-set on it. You could work for AFIWC. They just came out of the black a few years ago. On the enlisted side we have the brand-new 1B career field. They wear wings for crying out loud. Here's some info on the 1B Cyberspace Defense career field. I saw a list of their training, and my god. If you want to see and learn things nobody else knows or understands, well then there's the field for you. The term "network warfare" means any network, including all electronic transmissions and the nodes they pass through, whether terrestrial or space-borne. Here's some info on officer cyber careers which can be similar to the 1B field.

Enlisted programmers (I'm one) historically had a standard available rotation we could take at Fort Meade supporting NSA, and also work for White House Comm traveling in support of the President. There's been a lot of changes to our fields in the past few years with the transition to AFNET and AFNETOps (one network to rule them all...) so I'm not sure how those slots shake out now or what the officer angles are on those.

BTW you could pursue a master's at AFIT, even a PhD. My current boss got his PhD from there with a dissertation on using graph theory and operations research to model hidden terrorist networks.

There's so much you can do it's dizzying. Flying is only part of it these days. AF is moving fast towards owning the entire network battlespace as an extension of airspace. Owning that in turn enables the vast expansion of drone capabilities and other downstream effects.

[beargins]

I wish I would have enlisted before having a family! I considered enlisting but starting at E3 pay would already require me to have waivers since I have a wife and 2 kiddos. Initially I was going for programmer MOS but I began reading that 1. officers don't get to get their hands dirty in code, 2. the programming has changed and is being handled by civilian contractors. 3. most AF programmers don't get to write much code (enlisted or officer). Therefore I figured I'd shoot for pilot in OTS. Cyber Defense and network warfare are right up my alley though, as a big fan of secure coding and secure operating systems. If I can't fly however I'm going to choose a MOS that has a large option of permanent stations. I live in OKC so tinker afb is about 15 minutes away. I would like to get stationed in Incirlik or the AFB in Izmir however. P.S I'm 25 years old.

[dcan]

3. most AF programmers don't get to write much code (enlisted or officer).

This is true of a lot of us unfortunately. For example, I am the SNCO in charge of IT for my organization, which means I am a system administrator, program manager, web developer, and flunkie. I write contracts and coordinate interfaces with other systems and do enterprise architecture and answer lots and lots of suspenses and argue with people who want to "just run Oracle from My Documents." It's frustrating sometimes, but I also have a fair bit of influence on the organization, so I have a chance to really make an impact with my decisions. And my decisions are based on training and experience as a programmer/DBA, not a business analyst who doesn't know a database from a directory. (and yes, the Oracle quote is almost verbatim from someone I know...)

That said, there are certainly teams of programmers out there. Tinker used to have a (sensitive national security) mission supported by a programmer team. The largest concentration is at Gunter in Alabama. I used to work there, about 800 enlisted and about 1200 civilians and contractors. About 200 enlisted programmers I believe, but that was almost ten years ago. AFIWC or whatever it's called now has a unit there as well now. There's also programmer teams in San Antonio as well as Wright-Pat (I think) and Hill and Scott.

For operators (sister AFSC to us) there are slots basically everywhere, because they are such a broad and in-demand field. Basically server administration, though the lines always get fuzzy in the "real world" of getting things done.

BTW there are no "programmer" officers, there are "comm" officers. "Comm" is such a broad career field that I used to joke that they were the "gophers" of the Air Force. If you bumped into an exec carrying the commander's notebook and coffee he was probably comm. I know about ten years back they merged combat camera and comm officer career fields, so at least at that time a comm officer could literally be managing a network on one tour then manage a team of cameramen working in a warzone on the next tour. There's much more emphasis on broad leadership development in the officer corps, so the fields have much more diversity.

Therefore I figured I'd shoot for pilot in OTS. Cyber Defense and network warfare are right up my alley though, as a big fan of secure coding and secure operating systems. If I can't fly however I'm going to choose a MOS that has a large option of permanent stations. I live in OKC so tinker afb is about 15 minutes away. I would like to get stationed in Incirlik or the AFB in Izmir however. P.S I'm 25 years old.

Comm officers are needed basically everywhere. If you go that route just make the best of whatever assignments are handed to you. But if I were you, and I were starting my career all over again instead of winding down the last few years, I would focus on cyber with all guns blazing and look to make a name for myself there, and use that to work into AFIT. Have you looked at the list of grad programs at AFIT? Lots of highly technical engineering programs.

[JBjunior]

I finished my degree through TESC with a very large portion of CLEPs. There are a lot of other factors that go in to officer selection but I was just chosen as 1 of 13 enlisted for an upcoming United States Coast Guard OCS class and they only have 2 classes per year, so 26 enlisted chosen for the entire year. The rest of the class will be made up of either enlisted coming in from various programs or civilian coming in. It was a long journey but I was very concerned that my BA in Liberal Studies would be a limiting factor, but in my case it wasn't. Due to budget constraints across the board it will be harder and harder so I am glad I got in when I did. The odds aren't great, but someone has to get selected.

I came in 08 years ago as an E-3 and will start my career as an O1-E in December.

[dcan]

Great job -- congrats!

[JBjunior]

Great job -- congrats!

Thanks dcan, if it wasn't for having to get my cardio up I would want it to start tomorrow. Eager to start this new chapter.