Air Force not accepting applications for OTS.

[soho]

This might be old news for most of you, but I thought I'd share my disappointment from a recent email I received from my recruiting officer:

"As of not the Air Force is not accepting applications for OTS. All review
boards for this year were cancelled. The Air Force has met it manning
capacity for the year. We expect to have the new schedule in September. If
you are still interested, please contact me in September for further
guidance."

Apparently the AF only accepted 350 OTS applicants in 2010 and will only be accepting 100 in 2011.

What's the word on the Navy/Marines?

 

[jsmiller]

Good god... is the Chair Force really retaining that many personnel that they practically don't need to recruit? So much for me and the wife to commission from the E side....

 

[Flying Toaster]

I certainly understand that OTS/OCS accessions are designed to be turned on/off to help fill the gaps since they have nothing invested like ROTC/Academy grads. Of course both those sources produce some great officers, but in my completely uninformed opinion having your entire force made up of people who have seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18 on isn't exactly a good thing. To me it is just asking for more red tape and bureaucracy. A little diversity in backgrounds from working one's way through college to some work in the private sector never hurt anyone.

 

[GreenLantern330]

To me it is just asking for more red tape and bureaucracy. A little diversity in backgrounds from working one's way through college to some work in the private sector never hurt anyone.

I couldn't agree any more. Diversity can do a lot for the Navy. All the different solutions for problems and tackling objectives can have positive results.

 

[Swanee]

This might be old news for most of you, but I thought I'd share my disappointment from a recent email I received from my recruiting officer:

"As of not the Air Force is not accepting applications for OTS. All review
boards for this year were cancelled. The Air Force has met it manning
capacity for the year. We expect to have the new schedule in September. If
you are still interested, please contact me in September for further
guidance."

Apparently the AF only accepted 350 OTS applicants in 2010 and will only be accepting 100 in 2011.

What's the word on the Navy/Marines?

Lots of word around here that basically says the Navy and Marine Corps are in a similiar situation as the AF wrt aviation slots through OCS...

 

[HackerF15E]

I certainly understand that OTS/OCS accessions are designed to be turned on/off to help fill the gaps since they have nothing invested like ROTC/Academy grads. Of course both those sources produce some great officers, but in my completely uninformed opinion having your entire force made up of people who have seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18 on isn't exactly a good thing. To me it is just asking for more red tape and bureaucracy. A little diversity in backgrounds from working one's way through college to some work in the private sector never hurt anyone.

This has nothing to do with diversity of the force. BTW, ROTC accessions are FAR from people who have "seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18" -- they go to real colleges and are real, beer-drinking, skirt-chasing, time-managing, pay-for-it-out-of-pocket-by-working-their-way-through-school students. Oh, and did I mention that ROTC commissions by far the largest percentage of officers in the USAF?

OTS is designed to be the commissioning source that can be tailored to meet the needs of the force. This happens all the time, just like it is intended to work.

 

[HH-60H]

This has nothing to do with diversity of the force. BTW, ROTC accessions are FAR from people who have "seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18" -- they go to real colleges and are real, beer-drinking, skirt-chasing, time-managing, pay-for-it-out-of-pocket-by-working-their-way-through-school students. Oh, and did I mention that ROTC commissions by far the largest percentage of officers in the USAF?

OTS is designed to be the commissioning source that can be tailored to meet the needs of the force. This happens all the time, just like it is intended to work.

+1

And this is EXACTLY how the Navy works.

 

[Flying Toaster]

This has nothing to do with diversity of the force. BTW, ROTC accessions are FAR from people who have "seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18" -- they go to real colleges and are real, beer-drinking, skirt-chasing, time-managing, pay-for-it-out-of-pocket-by-working-their-way-through-school students. Oh, and did I mention that ROTC commissions by far the largest percentage of officers in the USAF?

OTS is designed to be the commissioning source that can be tailored to meet the needs of the force. This happens all the time, just like it is intended to work.

As I mentioned in my post I'm well aware of why they are adjusting the amount of people they are taking through OTS/OCS. I was simply using it to make another point about where that means the majority of people are going to be commisioned from and what [in my uniformed opinion] it means to the force.

To your point/description of ROTC kids, for all I know you could be right, but from my first hand experience that isn't the case at all. Perhaps it's just my school, but there is a very noticeable difference between ROTC (AF) kids and people who go the OTS/OCS route. As with anything I can imagine there are plenty of tools who go the OTS/OCS route, and there are a lot of good kids who are in ROTC, but there is an equal to greater amount whose idea of a good time is a world or warcraft lan party and already wreak of the bureaucracy loving shoe clerk mentality. Not to mention with the exception of summer jobs at BK or landscaping, none have held a real job.

edit: I guess I should clarify this post. Despite saying OTS/OCS and referring to ROTC generically, I am talking about the AF iterations of both. I don't go to a school with NROTC or know anyone in, so I can't comment (like that has stopped me before).

 

[OUSOONER]

Yep, Academies and ROTC's fill the officer needs...OCS just fills the gaps. Sometimes there are no gaps.

 

[jtmedli]

Not to mention with the exception of summer jobs at BK or landscaping, none have held a real job.

Unfortunately this is the majority of the college students and is not limited to ROTC. I was in AFROTC and I understand your points, but Hacker is right as well. I've worked 30+ hrs a week since I was 15 and majored in Elec. Eng. and have plenty of friends who can't even work 10hrs a week and seem to find time for their basketweaving degrees. Point is that OTS/OCS ultimately pulls from the same group of people as ROTC, but just a little bit later in their collegiate careers.

 

[nittany03]

ROTC accessions are FAR from people who have "seen nothing but the military way from age 17/18" -- they go to real colleges and are real, beer-drinking, skirt-chasing, time-managing, pay-for-it-out-of-pocket-by-working-their-way-through-school students.

New signature. This one may stick around for awhile.

 

[HackerF15E]

To your point/description of ROTC kids, for all I know you could be right, but from my first hand experience that isn't the case at all. Perhaps it's just my school, but there is a very noticeable difference between ROTC (AF) kids and people who go the OTS/OCS route. As with anything I can imagine there are plenty of tools who go the OTS/OCS route, and there are a lot of good kids who are in ROTC, but there is an equal to greater amount whose idea of a good time is a world or warcraft lan party and already wreak of the bureaucracy loving shoe clerk mentality. Not to mention with the exception of summer jobs at BK or landscaping, none have held a real job.

In what context have you been able to compare "ROTC (AF) kids and people who go the OTS/OCS route". Were you enlisted and now getting your degree?

In my experience (15 years on AD in the USAF), it's been impossible to tell an officer's commissioning source by observation of his officership/leadership abilities or off-duty social/recreational behavior. Good and bad come from everywhere.

 

[Flash]

In my experience (15 years on AD in the USAF), it's been impossible to tell an officer's commissioning source by observation of his officership/leadership abilities or off-duty social/recreational behavior. Good and bad come from everywhere.

It doesn't take very long in any service to realize that is the exact case, the best and worst come from everywhere.

 

[HH-60H]

It doesn't take very long in any service to realize that is the exact case, the best and worst come from everywhere.

Although, most of the worst officers I know come from the Citadel.

 

[Flying Toaster]

In my experience (15 years on AD in the USAF), it's been impossible to tell an officer's commissioning source by observation of his officership/leadership abilities or off-duty social/recreational behavior. Good and bad come from everywhere.

I certainly agree with you on that and I think it is safe to say it's the same way in all walks off life (if not worse). My point before allowing myself get cornered into inferring one commisioning source was better than the other was that a diversity of backgrounds is a good thing. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think a force made up almost entirely of Academy and ROTC grads would be a good thing, and it would have certain tendencies a force with a bit more mixed of a background wouldn't, or perhaps I'm just biased due to my background. Typically this wouldn't be an issue, but with the economy in its current state, our fiscal policy, the resulting cuts, and retention due to the economy, without cuts in the Academy and ROTC classes it seems as if OTS/OCS accesions are going to be low to non existent for the foreseeable future. I understand that's how its suppose to work, but I guess in the long run I don't think it's a good thing. As I said before just my uniformed opinion, feel free to correct me if that is an unreasonable view on things.