How do I put this on a resume?
I've got something in my employment history that I'm not sure how to present on my resume and I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.
I was accepted by a Search and Rescue squadron in the CA Air National Guard back in Sept '05 to go to UPT (undergraduate pilot training in the Air Force) and fly Helo's with them. I spent almost a year and half with the unit, mostly just waiting for all the paperwork to work its way through the system. My flight physical was approved last April, I went to officer school in October of last year, and I was commissioned as a 2nd LT last November. About 2 weeks later I went to Brooks City Base in Texas for Medical Flight Screening. MFS is a series of last minute tests they give you before you go to UPT to see if there are any medical issues that the Air Force might have a problem with that the Doc's didn't catch in your initial flight physical. At MFS they found I'm color deficient in red and disqualified me. No waivers or anything for a color deficiency, I was completely disqualified from being a pilot in the Air Force. I decided I wasn't doing myself or the Guard any favors by staying in to do something else when all I wanted was to be a pilot, so in February of this year I separated and decided to pursue a career as a civilian pilot.
I need to make a couple things clear before I go on. One, I can hold a First Class Medical certificate. Before anybody replies to tell me I shouldn't work for an airline because I'd be dangerous or something I want to make it clear that my color vision never gave me any trouble before the test at MFS. I'm color DEFICIENT not color BLIND, and I had no idea I had this problem until I went to Brooks. I can tell what color stoplights are and most importantly I can tell red from white on a VASI. To be honest I'm still not clear as to how my perception of red is different from everyone else’s. From the tests they gave me I guess is just isn't as bright. They told me I don't have as many red cones as a normal person.
The second thing is that I've never been in the military for any reason except to be a pilot. I was non prior service when the Guard picked me up. Even though I was employed with the Guard for more than a year, since I was untrained and waiting for my paperwork to be processed almost the whole time I was there, I didn't do much except come to the drills and help out with whatever I could. My official title was Pilot Trainee, but I was basically just the snacko for the pilots.
So I'm not sure how to put this on my resume. I was employed by the Guard, so I can't leave it off, and since the fact that I was accepted to go to UPT (which wasn't an easy thing to accomplish) and later commissioned as a 2nd LT reflects well on me I think it would be good to have it on there anyway. I'm not sure how to put this on my resume without raising any red flags with a potential employer though. I don't want them to get spooked by the fact that I was disqualified from flying in the Air Force and pass me over, but it’s kind of hard to explain the whole situation on a resume.
Any advice?