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Recruiter says "pilot technically closed now"

KBayDog said:
Hell, if this thing takes off, we can even have a secret handshake, passwords, and a secret knock.
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canav08 said:
Am I missing something?

I'm currently working on my package for the Pilot board scheduled for 23 January with the understanding that boards can always be cancled. Great keep working on it, boards cancelled.. nothing new there.

I should have asked more questions. Is this just the recruiters way of saying "the board may or may not happen"? Or, have I missed something and applications for the next pilot board are no longer being considered unless they have already been submitted? You will find out in Janurary or close to it if the board doesn't happen.. So why not continue to work on your package?

I know "my recruiter said" is not gospel or always accurate but it has me freaking out wondering if there could be any reason, barring medical DQ, that I will not have the opportunity to be considered by the 23 Jan board.
If this causes you to freak out then you got bigger problems. Meps will tell you if you are DQ, and if the recruiter can tell you before that he will tell you. Not play games like a school girl and try to get rid of you without hurting your feelings.

I don't think my recruiter is trying to get rid of me, he also mentioned a program directly related to my degree which is also closed but in the same breath he said I was well qualified for it. I could be wrong but I think in todays environment, if they did not me to apply for Pilot, they would just about tell me as much.

Just work on your package and if you have the chance to apply to either then apply.. And at the same time apply for a career job and don't wait for the Navy. They way you're stressing you're gonna cause yourself a case of acid reflux.

Should not matter much to the topic at hand but my stats
24yo/male
Meteorology w/minor in Mathematics BS, GPA:3.5
Atmospheric Science MS, GPA:3.4
ASTB: Need to take ASAP
No PPL, just a handful of hours buzzing around in a Cessna 172

Sorry to be a pain.
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Thanks for the serious advice!

I'm not freaking out, I started this thread trying to find out if there was a legit reason my recruiter (who is not an officer) was telling me "pilot is closed". Given that others are still working on pilot apps as normal, I was wondering why I was being treated differently. I have a pretty high up contact who is willing to help me go over my recruiters head but I did not want to do it unless I first tried to get as much info as possible. Id rather be "wrong" on here than go above my recruiters head blindly and be told the same thing. Hence this thread. I'd really like to work with the guy who the NRD secretary put me in touch with so as to not seem like some elitist who thinks he is too good for an E-8 who works OCS packages in my area since I'm 500+ miles from the closest NRD.

I asked my recruiter to clarify exactly what he meant by "pilot is closed" and he is now singing a different song and saying "we can go ahead with submitting for the 23 Jan pilot board". I don't know if he is misinformed or just has some magical info that nobody else seems to get. Id go with the former with no offense intended, he just does not seem super familiar with the process and I'm having to bring up components of the app the he does not even know about.

I've got a thick skin for the entire process and anything that goes with it, Ive been through this once with the AF and was selected then bounced for a hernia which has since been repaired. I know how it is. Trust me, I'm not putting all my eggs in the SNA basket, anyone would be stupid/elitist to do so. I don't know where you got that impression of me. I'm not sitting with my thumb in my rear waiting for the Navy to come grab me and throw me in a cockpit.

That said, you are all acting like I was entirely crazy and out of line for posting a thread about a bombshell that my recruiter dropped related to the board. I did preface it with "my recruiter said" should often come with a can of salt but I still thought it significant gouge that was worth following up on as I weighed my options. If somebody was telling you that you can't submit a package and you are watching others do it just fine, would you not reach out to other applicants, find out whats really going on and then adjust accordingly to make sure you get the same opportunity (not hand out so save the USN does not owe you anything comments) as anybody else who is qualified? Food for thought.

When the deadline comes, I just want to be able to say that I pursued the opportunity as vigorously as I could have and did everything in my power to try to get selected. I'm motivated to meet every SNA board I can because I'm 24 and not getting any younger. With the reality of today's commissioning timelines, I have very few shots left to apply. So sorry if I'm a little anal about being told I can't apply when clearly that's not the friggin case as of now. I understand boards get canceled but that would be news that people on here would have which, again is why I asked.
 
Well you got the answer you were looking for from your recruiter: board is on for Jan 23. I think you should just move on from this situation and look forward to the future. I was wondering why you didn't go back into the AF program after fixing the hernia if you were already accepted? Good luck with your endeavors.
 
mightymouse3 said:
Well you got the answer you were looking for from your recruiter: board is on for Jan 23. I think you should just move on from this situation and look forward to the future. I was wondering why you didn't go back into the AF program after fixing the hernia if you were already accepted? Good luck with your endeavors.
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Thanks!

For the AF I had been accepted as a weather officer when I went to MEPS and had the whole hernia thing go down. The AF was not willing to hold my acceptance while I got surgery and waited the required 6 months so I was out of luck. Very frustrating but also understandable. I've heard conflicting stories on how willing USN is to work with medical issues between pro rec and final select, etc. They seem maybe a hair more lenient than the AF.

Anyways, the AF is having a rated board in Dec but it seems the convention is that you pretty much need a PPL these days. Not entirely the case with USN so thats why I'm here. If this does not work out, I'll try AF again for weather officer or maybe try a rated board and see what happens.
 
canav08 said:
Am I missing something?

I'm currently working on my package for the Pilot board scheduled for 23 January with the understanding that boards can always be cancled.

I should have asked more questions. Is this just the recruiters way of saying "the board may or may not happen"? Or, have I missed something and applications for the next pilot board are no longer being considered unless they have already been submitted?

I know "my recruiter said" is not gospel or always accurate but it has me freaking out wondering if there could be any reason, barring medical DQ, that I will not have the opportunity to be considered by the 23 Jan board.

I don't think my recruiter is trying to get rid of me, he also mentioned a program directly related to my degree which is also closed but in the same breath he said I was well qualified for it. I could be wrong but I think in todays environment, if they did not me to apply for Pilot, they would just about tell me as much.

Should not matter much to the topic at hand but my stats
24yo/male
Meteorology w/minor in Mathematics BS, GPA:3.5
Atmospheric Science MS, GPA:3.4
ASTB: Need to take ASAP
No PPL, just a handful of hours buzzing around in a Cessna 172

Sorry to be a pain.
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As a officer recruiter I can tell recruiters are frustrated with OCS boards as well. Best bet is score a 60 or better on the ASTB and get at least 7-8-8 on the Aviation portion and I think you will have a great shot.
 
canav08 said:
Don't see why the bold would be true unless I'm totally missing something. Ive been through the process for other Navy communities and other branches.

ASTB can be scheduled and taken within a few days, results available the same day. The employer recommendations are complete, additional character references are complete, motivational statement complete, I have submitted 2 officer interviews, etc. Cutoff date is 23 Dec if there is indeed going to be this much talked about 23 Jan board. Is there some secret deadline for boards that I'm not being told about? Are these secret or arbitrary cutoffs the norm? Did I really start this process too late? Am I that far behind? I don't think so.
.
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I'm surprised you've gotten this far with your package without even taking the ASTB. The average ASTB scores for pro yes candidates are incredibly high. Your recruiter should know these averages. I was supposed to be in with the fiscal year 11 group of pilots but was moved to fiscal year twelve because of budget cuts. I literally had two OCS dates. One in september (fiscal 11) then got moved to January (fiscal 12). My recruiter said I was 1 of roughly 26 bumped into fiscal 12 and there were about 180 remaining slots for 12. You're recruiter should know all of this (I imagine). I got a pro yes Nov 2011 (took six months to find out) and am still 3 months out from starting OCS. I recommend you crush the ASTB ASAP, submit your package, and PRAY. Best of luck.
 
Also, continue to be persistent. Sorry for all the "I's" but I'm just trying to draw from my own experience. I probably drove my recruiter crazy! I called, e-mailed, and texted for a hundred questions I had. Get the answers you need. Lastly, after I took the ASTB, my recruiter (who is now a great friend of mine), basically told me the scores weren't good enough to submit and we wouldn't be submitting my package. If I had sulked and said ok, then I wouldn't be where I'm at now. I looked him in the face and told him we're submitting my scores (6/7/6, 53). Ok maybe it wasn't quite that brash but I wouldn't take no for an answer. I willed him into submitting those decent scores. I believed in my intangibles and package and I'm like you, I'm 25 now and not getting any younger. I was downright frantic to get my package in. I got a pro yes on the first go round. Try to be patient and keep at it.
 
Yea I had a recruiter who kept telling me to retake my astb as well after being a non-select once.. Whether he was right or not, I told him I didn't want to risk going lower and told him I was happy with strengthening other areas in my package and leaving the astb scores alone. I scored 58 7 7 6, and was picked up as alternate SNA in August.
 
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