USAF to USN Inter-Service Transfer for Color Vision

[phrogpilot73]

Great to hear that it finally worked out for you. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out to other youngin's that this is the way you handle things. Work your ass off, and if you complain - only make note of the myriad of inefficiencies involved in military medicine.

 

[bunk22]

Dude, I would go Apache, hands down. One badass helo!!

 

[bmather9]

Finally, I have good news to update this thread with. Today, the USAF officially released me from my commitment about 1.5 years early so I can transfer to the Army National Guard. Believe me, it is a long and difficult process because no one seems to know how to do this kind of thing. I'll spare the details, but if anyone's interested let me know.

Things are looking good on the Army side as well; I plan to get oath of office the day after I separate from the USAF with no break in service, then I should be off to pilot training in a few months.

 

[bunk22]

Good to hear, need to make your story a sticky

 

[Ishboo]

Bmather9, i think we have talked before...i cant remember but i am in a rather simular situation. Im active duty AF right now trying to fly in the Navy, Marines, Army...anywhere. Anyhow i will spare the details for now, can you hit me up with an email so we can talk. I am rather curious how you worked your service transfer. My email address is ishboo_1989@hotmail.com.

Steve

 

[bmather9]

I recently realized I hadn't updated this is quite a while. I'm happy to say that I have already completed BOLC, dunker, flight physical and SERE school. I just started flight school with the Army last week and should have my first actual flight coming up in another week or 2. It should take me about a year to graduate and when I leave I'll be flying UH-60M Blackhawks with the National Guard. The whole transfer process was a huge pain...my finance still isn't straightened out, but it has been worth the trouble. I'm sure I'll be busy once I start flying but I'll try to post here occasionally to help anyone who is in a similar situation to mine.

 

[bmather9]

So it's been a long road, but I'm all finished with Army pilot training and set to graduate and get my wings 4 days from now. I'll try to post a recap once all the dust settles, but just wanted to let people out there know that making it through these tough situations.

 

[Pap]

You Sir are one determined SOB. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Next time I hear some cry baby complain about something keeping them from their goal, I will refer them to this thread.

The USN and USAF lost out big time by not letting you fly for them. You will do well in the Army. Congrats and good luck.

 

[bunk22]

Good for you buddy!

 

[mareid2]

So I am in a very similar situation and am trying to work my way out of the Air Force and into the Navy to fly. I got DQ'd on green color deficiency from the new CCT test at the end of my junior year of school and immediately began searching for other options. Found out that only the service academies can cross commission so I figured I'd do my time and look into it after. Once I learned about the conditional release, I've been in a hurried state of doing anything and everything I can to make this dream a reality. After months of searching, I finally found the FALANT test at Ft Sam in TX and passed! Now I'm prepping for the ASTB and if I score competitively, I'll talk to my commander about getting a tentative release approval. Hopefully the AF cuts will work in my favor if all goes well!

Can anyone provide some information on what competitive scores would be on the ASTB? I've seen lots of scores posted but didn't see many results and a lot of the posts weren't going for SNA. I hear the Navy is in need of aviators currently so I don't know if it's a little more flexible now...

Also, does anyone have information on anything else I will have to submit to the boards in April, aside from test scores and passing physical requirements? I know a lot of folks on here were submitting to get into OCS requiring LORs, GPA, and whatnot but I'm already commissioned ROTC grad and wouldn't have to go that exact route.

 

[ProsNest1]

You are correct, if you are already commissioned you cannot go back through NAVY OCS. You are looking at an Inter-service transfer (IST) and the guiding instruction is MILPERSMAN 1300-082 as well as any USAF instructions for IST-out. Estimated quotas for IST in FY14 are 3 PILOT / 3 NFO - preference goes to inter-service commissions from West Point or AFA, but they usually don't take the full quota allotments.

You want to do well on the ASTB, but there is no IST board - the application process takes too long depending on the out-going service to get folks lined up. Therefore, your package would be compared to others in the system and if you scored 6/6/6 on the ASTB and another applicant is rocking straight 9s then you will probably come up short.

The biggest hurdle will be getting a Navy Aviation Applicant Flight Physical from a Navy Flight Surgeon and then having that physical approved by NAMI. This is a LONG process and should be started right now.

Finally, age and YG matter. If you are YG09 (commissioned in FY09) or senior then you are too long in the tooth. There is no way to get you through flight school and caught back up to your peer group to keep you competiitve for O-4. YG10 folks are still good this year. The age limit to start flight training is 27 - specifically, start aviation training prior to 27th birthday. This can be waived 24 months for pilot and 48 months for NFO based on month-for-month credit for active service prior to the 27th birthday.

 

[mareid2]

You are correct, if you are already commissioned you cannot go back through NAVY OCS. You are looking at an Inter-service transfer (IST) and the guiding instruction is MILPERSMAN 1300-082 as well as any USAF instructions for IST-out. Estimated quotas for IST in FY14 are 3 PILOT / 3 NFO - preference goes to inter-service commissions from West Point or AFA, but they usually don't take the full quota allotments.

You want to do well on the ASTB, but there is no IST board - the application process takes too long depending on the out-going service to get folks lined up. Therefore, your package would be compared to others in the system and if you scored 6/6/6 on the ASTB and another applicant is rocking straight 9s then you will probably come up short.

The biggest hurdle will be getting a Navy Aviation Applicant Flight Physical from a Navy Flight Surgeon and then having that physical approved by NAMI. This is a LONG process and should be started right now.

Finally, age and YG matter. If you are YG09 (commissioned in FY09) or senior then you are too long in the tooth. There is no way to get you through flight school and caught back up to your peer group to keep you competiitve for O-4. YG10 folks are still good this year. The age limit to start flight training is 27 - specifically, start aviation training prior to 27th birthday. This can be waived 24 months for pilot and 48 months for NFO based on month-for-month credit for active service prior to the 27th birthday.

Thanks for the response! That contradicts some of what I've heard from the recruiter I've been working with, but I kind of expected that. Hopefully I can get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Right now I'm supposed to be working a physical that consists of the DD 2807-1 and a very small portion of the DD 2808. Is this the first step in getting approved to get a Navy Flight Physical? Or is it all I need to submit? Seemed like a pretty small requirement to me when I found out that's all it was... If there's a lot more I need to do to get that done, can you point me in a direction to get it started? I'm at Elmendorf in AK so resources, specifically Naval resources, are pretty limited.

I should be good for age and year group because I'm still only O-1. I commissioned May 2012, but I will be coming up on 27 next September. Obviously in an ideal situation, I do well enough to be started/accepted before then! ;-)

The quota is a lot less than what I had heard so I guess I need to do well first try. If there is no board, how long will they hold packages to compare? Also, do you know if OPRs/merits/etc. will go into this submission or it's strictly test based?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Thanks for the response! That contradicts some of what I've heard from the recruiter I've been working with, but I kind of expected that. Hopefully I can get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Right now I'm supposed to be working a physical that consists of the DD 2807-1 and a very small portion of the DD 2808. Is this the first step in getting approved to get a Navy Flight Physical? Or is it all I need to submit? Seemed like a pretty small requirement to me when I found out that's all it was... If there's a lot more I need to do to get that done, can you point me in a direction to get it started? I'm at Elmendorf in AK so resources, specifically Naval resources, are pretty limited.

I should be good for age and year group because I'm still only O-1. I commissioned May 2012, but I will be coming up on 27 next September. Obviously in an ideal situation, I do well enough to be started/accepted before then! ;-)

The quota is a lot less than what I had heard so I guess I need to do well first try. If there is no board, how long will they hold packages to compare? Also, do you know if OPRs/merits/etc. will go into this submission or it's strictly test based?

If you talked to a recruiter they more than likely quoted you the NRC OCS goals which do not apply to anyone that has been commissioned.

 

[ProsNest1]

Thanks for the response! That contradicts some of what I've heard from the recruiter I've been working with, but I kind of expected that. Hopefully I can get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Right now I'm supposed to be working a physical that consists of the DD 2807-1 and a very small portion of the DD 2808. Is this the first step in getting approved to get a Navy Flight Physical? Or is it all I need to submit? Seemed like a pretty small requirement to me when I found out that's all it was... If there's a lot more I need to do to get that done, can you point me in a direction to get it started? I'm at Elmendorf in AK so resources, specifically Naval resources, are pretty limited.

I should be good for age and year group because I'm still only O-1. I commissioned May 2012, but I will be coming up on 27 next September. Obviously in an ideal situation, I do well enough to be started/accepted before then! ;-)

The quota is a lot less than what I had heard so I guess I need to do well first try. If there is no board, how long will they hold packages to compare? Also, do you know if OPRs/merits/etc. will go into this submission or it's strictly test based?

I have no idea what medical forms you need - all I know is what I stated - flight physical approved by NAMI. Without the NAMI stamp of approval you are a no-go (not a non-starter - definitely get started with all the other paperwork requirements).

Basically, if a quota is open and you are pushing a fully qualified package then you will get assigned that quota. The quotas are use or lose by the end of the FY and I subscribe to the bird in the hand theory...

 

[mareid2]

If you talked to a recruiter they more than likely quoted you the NRC OCS goals which do not apply to anyone that has been commissioned.

Is there a particular reason they separate those? I know they have to get some different people involved, but it seems bizarre they wouldn't select someone that's already in service if there were too many applicants. Unless there just aren't that many people applying for the IST..? Can you elaborate on the IST selection process AOCM mentioned above instead of the boards that everyone else goes through?

I have no idea what medical forms you need - all I know is what I stated - flight physical approved by NAMI. Without the NAMI stamp of approval you are a no-go (not a non-starter - definitely get started with all the other paperwork requirements).

Basically, if a quota is open and you are pushing a fully qualified package then you will get assigned that quota. The quotas are use or lose by the end of the FY and I subscribe to the bird in the hand theory...

The MILSPERSMAN had some good info I needed! It included the 2 medical forms that I'm working and a number more miscellaneous ones. Not sure if they are all needed or just case by case basis but I'll have them complete and ready to go either way. Combining that with what I've heard from the recruiter it sounds as simple as it did before; the approval process may take a bit more time/work? I really hope the members making the selections share your bird theory