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22MAY2023 SNA/SNFO Board

esmbenbenek said:
I’m in a pretty weird situation. I applied for the OCT board a few months ago believing I was only applying for SNA. Turns out someone slipped NFO in there and I ended up being selected. After a lot of thought, I decided to drop NFO and retake the ASTB to boost my chances at getting selected for SNA. Retook my ASTB a few weeks ago and went from a 7/8/7 to a 6/6/6. Today I got a call from someone at my recruiting districts HQ saying that if I wanted to, I could accept NFO again and leave for OCS in a few months. Now I’m back to deeply contemplating and stressing over accepting this all over again. Figured you guys would find this situation entertaining.

Edit: still have one retake remaining
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I hope this isn't the district hoping to make this happen without talking to NRC. This is a gift if it is something they can make happen.
 
esmbenbenek said:
I’m in a pretty weird situation. I applied for the OCT board a few months ago believing I was only applying for SNA. Turns out someone slipped NFO in there and I ended up being selected. After a lot of thought, I decided to drop NFO and retake the ASTB to boost my chances at getting selected for SNA. Retook my ASTB a few weeks ago and went from a 7/8/7 to a 6/6/6. Today I got a call from someone at my recruiting districts HQ saying that if I wanted to, I could accept NFO again and leave for OCS in a few months. Now I’m back to deeply contemplating and stressing over accepting this all over again. Figured you guys would find this situation entertaining.

Edit: still have one retake remaining
Click to expand...
You still have one take remaining, however, the way they are handling the pilot backlog is very slow and methodical. As a result, they won't have a need for a large sum of OCS pilots for a while.
This does not mean no one is getting picked up, but it means fewer people are going to be selected for a long time.

At the moment, they need NFOs and they want NFOs. The door is wide open enough to still offer it to you after rejecting it. The door will not remain open forever. Retaking the ASTB again, resubmitting for another board then waiting an indefinite period to *maybe* be picked up is what you are looking at if you really want SNA.

Do not accept NFO if you do not want NFO. However, you're being offered a pretty sweet deal.
 
esmbenbenek said:
I’m in a pretty weird situation. I applied for the OCT board a few months ago believing I was only applying for SNA. Turns out someone slipped NFO in there and I ended up being selected. After a lot of thought, I decided to drop NFO and retake the ASTB to boost my chances at getting selected for SNA. Retook my ASTB a few weeks ago and went from a 7/8/7 to a 6/6/6. Today I got a call from someone at my recruiting districts HQ saying that if I wanted to, I could accept NFO again and leave for OCS in a few months. Now I’m back to deeply contemplating and stressing over accepting this all over again. Figured you guys would find this situation entertaining.

Edit: still have one retake remaining
Click to expand...
As someone who declined NFO and was later selected for SNA, it’s possible, even if the odds aren’t in your favor right now. Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s taking NFO if you don’t want it.
 
Maybe the advice that I haven’t heard yet is to look into what you would be doing as an NFO. I think a lot of people are turned off by it because they’re not the one controlling the aircraft but there are a lot of other perks to being an NFO and they’re jobs are just as important as NAs. If you can manage to find an NFO I’d recommend interviewing them.
 
I’m just stuck between doing what’s best for my family or potential doing what’s best for me. Getting in would be big for my family but I already had a plan in my head for how life would go if I were to get selected for SNA. Don’t really have a plan if I got NFO but have years to make one. I’ve also never heard anyone say a bad think about being an NFO but I don’t want to envy the guy sitting up front while I’m in. Just tough for me to give up what I’ve been aiming for, for the last few years.
 
esmbenbenek said:
I’m just stuck between doing what’s best for my family or potential doing what’s best for me. Getting in would be big for my family but I already had a plan in my head for how life would go if I were to get selected for SNA. Don’t really have a plan if I got NFO but have years to make one. I’ve also never heard anyone say a bad think about being an NFO but I don’t want to envy the guy sitting up front while I’m in. Just tough for me to give up what I’ve been aiming for, for the last few years.
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I don't envy your position. It just comes down to risk reward. You have what seems to be a guaranteed slot for NFO so could be worth taking, or could be worth rolling the dice to retake the ASTB and try for pilot. The better your prepare for the ASTB the better your odds, worst case scenario go SWO. NFO doesn't seem like a bad gig and I'd just take the guarantee but that's me
 
BattlingTrain said:
I don't envy your position. It just comes down to risk reward. You have what seems to be a guaranteed slot for NFO so could be worth taking, or could be worth rolling the dice to retake the ASTB and try for pilot. The better your prepare for the ASTB the better your odds, worst case scenario go SWO. NFO doesn't seem like a bad gig and I'd just take the guarantee but that's me
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Ya I don’t know if I want risk it again. Already risked it retaking the ASTB so I’m not sure if I should risk it any more.
 
esmbenbenek said:
Ya I don’t know if I want risk it again. Already risked it retaking the ASTB so I’m not sure if I should risk it any more.
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I don’t have any dogs in this fight, but I figured I’d give my .02. Seriously think about what you were thinking going in to your first attempt and how to got the score you did, then compare to what you did the second time. For me, it seems like you went in overly confident the second time and it caught you by surprise. If you legitimately are confident in your test taking abilities I’d say commit yourself 110% to that final attempt and treat it as such. (Obviously I’m saying this because to me it doesn’t seem clear you’re willing to “settle” for NFO). I’d also say try to retake as soon as reasonably possible so even if you bomb a third try then maybe you still have time to accept that NFO spot.
 
jacobserrioz said:
I don’t have any dogs in this fight, but I figured I’d give my .02. Seriously think about what you were thinking going in to your first attempt and how to got the score you did, then compare to what you did the second time. For me, it seems like you went in overly confident the second time and it caught you by surprise. If you legitimately are confident in your test taking abilities I’d say commit yourself 110% to that final attempt and treat it as such. (Obviously I’m saying this because to me it doesn’t seem clear you’re willing to “settle” for NFO). I’d also say try to retake as soon as reasonably possible so even if you bomb a third try then maybe you still have time to accept that NFO spot.
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I asked them if they could wait 2 weeks for me to retest but they haven’t gotten back to me on that. I was probably a little overconfident the second time around but studied significantly more so it was very surprising and disappointing I didn’t do any better.
 
Not a big fan for when people bring up “best for my family” line. If you want to do it for your family then you would accept. This for you, if you want to be a pilot then retry. If you want to be a naval officer then accept. That’s the way I see it. (If doing it for your family)
 
esmbenbenek said:
I asked them if they could wait 2 weeks for me to retest but they haven’t gotten back to me on that. I was probably a little overconfident the second time around but studied significantly more so it was very surprising and disappointing I didn’t do any better.
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This is a tough one but If I were in your position I would just take the NFO spot. Scoring lower on your second attempt and only having one more retake left is a huge gamble. Especially considering the predicted lack of SNA spots for the upcoming boards. You will probably need to score at least 8 again just to be considered competitive.
 
umijs said:
This is a tough one but If I were in your position I would just take the NFO spot. Scoring lower on your second attempt and only having one more retake left is a huge gamble. Especially considering the predicted lack of SNA spots for the upcoming boards. You will probably need to score at least 8 again just to be considered competitive.
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Considering he declined a position once and then would essentially be declining again, probably need a 9 and some very good luck.
 
exNavyOffRec said:
Considering he declined a position once and then would essentially be declining again, probably need a 9 and some very good luck.
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They would really see that as a negative that I didn’t change my mind the second time they asked me? I didn’t even put NFO on my application.
 
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