Hey, all. After a long absence from flying, I have been getting back up to speed at a regional. I am getting all my apps squared away and trying to put together some letters of recommendation.

Because of the REALLY long absence, I am still working on networking and getting internals, as I have lost touch with so many people over the years. However, I do have some really nice LORs from former squadron Commanding Officers and Department Heads that speak directly about me and my performance with regard to flying and military duties.

Do you all think it is a good idea to go ahead and submit them even though they are old? Should I just edit out the date and leave everything else as-is, or would that be considered dishonest?

I want to put my best foot forward and at least have some LORs on file as I am working on getting more.

Opinions, please. TIA.

I say ok to use. When I write letters of recommendation, I don't think of there being an expiration date on them. It's someone attesting that, based on their experience with you, they recommend you. That shouldn't change. My only hesitation would be if there was something substantial between when it was written and now that might cause the author to reconsider. That's just going to have to be a judgement call on your part. Editing things gets a little murky...a date? Probably ok. But if you're still in touch with these folks, maybe just shoot them a note and ask if they'd mind you post-dating their letter. That way you don't have to sweat it.

I would submit them as-is, no editing. The more, the better. A long, deep documented history of good performance is a good thing. I think if they even suspected any modification of an LOR or other document, they would escort you out the front door immediately.

Ideally you should track down current contact info for every reference you use, but if you lost track of a few olds ones that's no biggy.

I used letters from my flight school chief pilot and mentors from a decade prior.