Hi All,
I was selected last year for FY08 Pilot option and I'm about to finish up here in Newport this week. I was breezing over some of the stuff and I wanted to add a suggestion for consideration to enhanse your package, and something that I'm not seeing a lot of nods towards. I wanted to add something, an element that I think some of you are forgetting about, or not considering which is a reason that I strongly feel helped me get selected last year.
I will suggest this to all this year's applicant. Think about the whole "Well Rounded Sailor" mentality. You can be “shit-hot” and the Sailor of the year, but what have you contributed back to the community? Think about this for a second.
Think about doing some community service. I'll be honest, while I have great evals and work ethics, I was never Sailor of the year, and without regarding all the “Baby Nukes” up here that have literally been in a year and a half, although about 1/2 of the others who are here now either are or have been Sailor of the year. I got selected w/o having a single EP eval (but always had low 4's) , Junior Sailor of the Quarter, and an Aircrewman of the Year from 2003. Not overly impressive, but certainly commendable. This is where my volunteer time made me shine... I think my college and Instrument flying rating helped too, but I've digressed.
The board likes the “well rounded sailor” type. Someone who will continue to give back once commissioned. You still have a few months to get in some volunteer time, and a LOA or something recognizable from a company can go a long way.
I'll also say this but it goes without saying. Put EVERY QUAL you have in the package. While it might be something as mundane as a Break Rider Qual or whatever; put it in. Yes, It's fluff, but it's good fluff. If they don't need it, they can deal with it.
This is all just my suggestions, but I feel that it turned the tide for my package. Good luck to you all and I hope you all report to NSI next February! Just watch out for all the goose shit everywhere up here, It's pretty nasty!