I have posted on here several times about the difficulties I have had getting an OTS date after already receiving an active duty flight slot for the Air Force. It has been 13 months since I started my flight medical, and I believe it was finished three weeks ago. This is the fourth time I was told it was completed only to get a call weeks later saying they forgot this or that.

It has now gone to the Surgeon General, but has been there for three weeks. I was told it would only take one week until I heard back from them. I call my recruiter twice a week and have only reached him twice. He is a middle man who only asks others if it is done yet and they say no. I am nervous because he just hinted to me that the next OTS class is filling up and if I miss this one, it will be the fourth OTS class I missed. It has been very difficult finding a job because no one wants to hire someone who may be leaving in a few months. My current employer expected me to be in OTS now so my hours were cut from 35 to 2 hours a week!

I am asking for help from those who know how the system works. My recruiter has admitted that the AF dropped the ball on me multiple times, but he doesn’t seem to be fixing the problems. He only tells me that they will start an investigation on the matter soon and that my file is “top priority”. I would like to ask someone who knows about why it is taking so long and when I can realistically get answers, but I don’t know who to contact and I don’t want my recruiter to get offended if I go over his head. Does anyone know how I can contact the Surgeon General’s Office or who else I can ask besides my recruiter?

 

Tough call. This is typical of military medicine, and has been forever. They are very good at some things (ie trauma) but often dysfunctional in routine matters.

You are not going to change anything. If you annoy the wrong person, your file might conceivably get lost, misplaced, etc. Not the norm, but as a recruit you have very little recourse or visibility on military administrative matters so if someone were so inclined they could probably get away with it.

In your present position, I would not push the issue too hard on matters of principle or due to the inconvenience with your current employment situation. If you are going to miss your age cutoff, then use any means necessary to get the ball rolling, you don't have anything to lose in that case.

As far as your employer...wait until you have orders in hand before you give any notice at all. Hopefully you will have at least two weeks notice, but if not...oh well, it's the military nothing you can do about it. No future employer would hold that against you if the military called you on short notice. If you need another job, go get one. The fact the you have APPLIED to the military is totally irrelevant, and none of their business. Since getting accepted is by no means a sure thing, you should not hedge your civilian bets in any way until you know for certain that you are in.

 

Not trying to get political here, but for the education of our younger bretheren, if Government Health Care is passed this is a small taste of what you can expect. Remember they have a hard time administering to young healthy troops, imagine what will happen to old, sick folks who need immediate attention and prompt service.

 

I have been very nervous about applying for another aviation or flying job since I got my slot because it is such small community. I didn’t want to shoot myself in the foot by getting a job for 6 months and then leave for the AF. I know you and most other people understand that going into the military is an acceptable reason for leaving a job, but the bosses at some entry level flying jobs are not that accepting. My last boss, when I was a CFI, was a nice guy but he wasn’t very happy about me leaving for what was supposed to be OTS after only working for 8 months. I don’t want to get another short term flying job, leave after a few months, and then get a bad reputation. Other pilots understand, but my short experience indicates that the bosses and management don’t. I am at the point now where I don't really care about that anymore, I just need a job again.

And Vito, you are being political. The health care bill that congress is debating does not have a government plan in it. Also, those congress men and women on a government run healthcare don’t seem to have any complaints. My grandfather in Canada loves the health he receives, my friend in England is very happy with her healthcare, and I just watched my stepdad (SR-71 pilot, Vietnam vet, and CIA agent) die from brain cancer while both of his insurance companies tried to tell us that although he couldn’t get out of bed or talk he did not need any medical care and was fit to go home. The healthcare debate is not as black and white as many think. Anyone can find personal accounts that support all sides.

Enough of that, thread back on topic.

 

If you go to OTS, get used to waiting, especially for anything from medical. Since you're not in the AF yet, your medical probably keeps getting put at the bottom of the pile. Waivers or other physicals to return pilots to the cockpit are going to take priority. This sucks but is true. I'm in a similar situation waiting to get back in the cockpit after a break in service.

However, why are you worried about getting a bad rep at some CFI gig? If you go to OTS and UPT you'll never look back. Do you think after your 10 years you'll have to start over as a CFI? Even if you're going into the guard/reserve after 8 weeks OTS, over 1 year in UPT, 2-4 months of FTU, and 6-12 months of getting mission ready you will see that CFI gig as a huge step backwards.


Agree with all of the above except for "They are very good at some things..."

 

I know that if I do go into the AF, it will be very unlikely that my short civilian career before I went into service would matter 10 or 20 years later. It’s just that I started my flight training during the downturn after 9/11; became very excited when 1 year before I graduated, regionals came directly to my school to hire all the seniors; and by the time I graduated, major airline pilots were applying to the regionals that took their flying. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be surprised if 10 or 20 years from now I would have difficulty getting an airline job even with a military record. Also, if I get stuck with UAVs, I might have to start at the bottom again.

Right now, I have two potential job opportunities. One is a flight school that only has former AF pilots as CFIs (until me hopefully), the other is a corporate flight department where I would make more money and possible get some turbine time. I could see myself applying to this same corporate flight department when I leave the AF, but I don’t know how they will react when they realize I was the guy they hired who left after 6 months for the AF. Everyone always says to not burn any bridges in aviation, but this is tempting.

 

Why are you calling your recruiter? He has an e-mail address, use that. This forces him to put his reply in writing and gives you documentation of his reply.

Also, the Air Force has a chain of command. Your recruiter has a boss. Ask him for his boss' contact info (both e-mail and phone). Send a non-emotional, professional e-mail to your recruiter outlining your concerns and courtesy copy his boss. In the e-mail, be sure you make a request to be kept updated via e-mail.

Good luck.

 

I have emailed, but I get less of a response than the phone. If he wrote back, it would be nice because it would be in writing, but he never does unless he needs something from me. I am more understanding of his lack to respond to my emails mainly because I know he gets way more emails than calls. Like some said before, since I am not in the AF yet, I have zero importance. When he gets a call or email from his CO or other AF member, of course he is going to call and email everyone else first because they have a higher priority.


This is what I was asking. I wanted to know if I could go over his head. I am just nervous because if I offend him, he could just make it even harder for me. When his office moved and he failed to give me his new number, I spent 3 months emailing and calling everyone I can find. Everyone came back with a different number that did not lead me to my recruiter. In the end, I went down to the base and got another list of numbers from the visitor gate. After about 1 hour, the guard felt bad and got someone to escort me to the new office. So if I asked for his CO contact information, he could easily send me some phone numbers and emails that lead me through another 3 month maze.

I called him again and he told me to wait another week. If I don’t get any information next week, I might have to write him an email or call him asking for him for his CO. I feel bad because he is a nice guy but he is just new to this job. The recruiter I started with was the best. He knew how to twist everyone’s arm and was able to get me to review board even though I started the process 12 days before applications were due. He did such a good job that he got promoted and transferred a soon as I got my slot. If I can find him, I might contact him too.

 

And then come next week, what do you think his reply will be?

If you had record copies of his promises for the last 4 weeks, you could send the entire e-mail chain to illustrate the frustration you've experienced.

If you call or e-mail his boss behind his back, you are going over his head.

If you Cc his boss, you're not going over his head. But it lets him know that you're serious about getting your OTS slot.

You could also go this route:

Recruiter Locator - Contact the U.S. Air Force - AirForce.com

Click on the "live chat" link and tell them your story. Keep us updated!

 

I do have a record showing the difficulties I have had. I have numerous medical visits for things that should have been done in one visit. Every time I talk to someone, they always apologize and say this should have been done a year ago. My recruiter is very careful not to make any promises though. He rarely gives hard dates and says stuff like usually it takes X number of days, or if everything moves along, it will be done this date. I will CC his CO though just in case he is not aware.

I just finished a phone interview for a flying job and they said I would have to sign a 1 year contract. I didn’t want to ask what the penalties would be for breaking it because I at least wanted a chance at getting the job. With my luck, the moment I sign the contract my recruiter will tell me it is time to ship off to OTS. If that is the case, they should understand because the chief pilot and assistant chief pilot are both USAF pilots with over 20 years of service.