Official Air Force E-Publishing Link:
http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/
Link to Official Air Force Form 56:
http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/form/af56/af56.pdf
I consider the AF Form 56 somewhat of a formality for the application. It is something that has to be completed but most of the information in the AF Form 56 is actually “presented” to the board in the BOT Applicant Profile (from my understanding). Nonetheless, this form must be 100% error free and should be reviewed in depth by everyone in your chain of command and a few other trusted mentors.
Attachment 8 of the BOT Program Guide provides input on the AF Form 56. Reference the current guide for all information and the latest advice from AFRS. I will go block by block and also explain the stuff which stood out to me when I applied. I found Attachment 8 and the Frequently Asked Questions on the first page of the BOT guide EXTREMELY HELPFUL when completing my AF Form 56.
Page 1
- 1. “LAST, FIRST M.”
- 2. My personal address and phone number, mirrored from vMPF.
- 3. My Home of Record.
- 4. Self explanatory.
- 5. DOB and SSN self explanatory. For date available for training I was stateside with 2.5 years TOS so I put the date the board was scheduled to convene (20150216). Later after BOT class dates were being assigned, the rumor was Rose was using this date to prioritize your departure (aside from age critical or OCONUS selectees). I put the number of kids I have no number of dependents, the rest was self explanatory.
- 6. Get these dates from vMPF. I got the servicing MPF address by calling my MPF. BESO “NA”, Home e-mail address: my personal e-mail address, BESO telephones blank, BESO email “NA”, current unit mailing address I got from my orderly room, CAFSC from vMPF, and PAS code from my EPR. Date departed CONUS “NA”, DEROS “NA”, duty phone self explanatory.
- 7. 7A OTS, 7B blank, 7C “Space Operations, Cyberspace (Network) Operations, Intelligence” in that order. The reason I put “network” is because the AFOCD had 17D as network ops, but attachment 7 still listed it as Cyberspace Ops. 7D volunteer for flying YES even though I was non-rated.
- 8. Blank
- 9. I LEFT AFOQT BLANK IAW the BOT Guide instructions.
Additional Comments:
- Make sure everything on the first page is 100% accurate, and everything should match your Career Data Brief (CDB) and Record Review Update (RRU). I can’t tell you how many times I reviewed my 56, and how many times I thought it was good but found something later.
- I actually received emails from AFRS (downloaded pending QC, board ready, etc) at the email I put in block 6 but I think I put the same personal email in SharePoint when I submitted my application.
- Official mailing address can be obtained from your orderly room or Commander’s Support Staff. Most of the time you can get it from the top of your squadron’s official letterhead but I would always verify this with someone “in the know.”
Page 2
- 10. NO, NO, NA
- 11A. NO, B blank, C NO
- 12. NO the rest blank
- 13. YES, two entries (current AFSC, previous AFSC)
- 14. NO
- 15. YES, I had six offenses for Block 15. I will list the offense and my age. Driving uninsured (16), Speeding (17), Failure to yield (18), Speeding (20), Speeding (21), and Speeding (27). I made zero mention of this in my Personal Statement. My current age at application was 28 so I considered it clear it was something from my past. Last block NA
- The rest of the page NO.
Additional Comments
As a retrainee I put my current AFSC on the top line of Block 13, and previous AFSC on the next line. I used the duty history dates in my vMPF as the from and to dates.
Page 3
- Even though I was a retrainee I put one entry for “USAF, Active Duty” as my employer. “Cyber System Operations” for type of work, net annual salary from LES, and “Still on Active Duty” for reason terminated.
- My degree is in Management/Computer Information Systems with a minor in Information and Computer Science, and I graduated with cum laude honors. Everything else was NA for me.
- For block 21 I referenced every AFI mentioned so I could read straight from the source, and initialed all blocks except F which is blacked out (I did initial F. (1) and (2).) Don’t miss block E.
Page 4
- All NA except K which was blacked out.
- 22A initialed, 22B blank
- Dated a few days before I submitted (20150122), FIRST MIDDLE LAST, E-6, and signature.
- I will do a separate post on the personal statement.
Page 5
- CCAF, A.A.
- XYZ University, B.S.
- CCAF, A.A.
- NA
- All GPA points, hours, etc blank.
- For block 25 my supervisor validated, signature block from EPR
- 26A “X” not NES
- 27 Cmdr wet initials
- 28A Waivers required “X” NONE (see comment below on SRB waiver).
- 28B “ALC O – Enlisted Airman has approved SRB. Member has served 1/2 of the term of enlistment as of 14 December 2014.” See my post about SRB waivers.
- C Cmdr initials, but don’t forget the “X” for Does Not.
Page 6
- I had all “OUTSTANDING” for interview.
- I think I’ll do a separate post about my applicable stats.
- I will also do a separate post about the commander’s bullets.
- Section IV all NA
Page 7
- NA the rest completely blank.
Unknown
hi…can i have your email? i would like to know/ ask some questions. thanks!
airforceotsguy
Sure. airforceotsguy@gmail.com
Anonymous
I see you didn't divulge information on your traffic citations on page 7, even though item 15 requires any incident other than minor nontraffic be explained on page 7 and “may require corroboration”. Is this something typically overlooked?
airforceotsguy
I just had speeding tickets so I considered them minor and didn't elaborate. In the end it never came up. Is it other than minor nontraffic or minor traffic on page 7?
Anonymous
Here's the exact verbiage from Block 15: “(Any incident other than minor NONtraffic must be explained (use page 7) and may require corroboration, see AFI 36-2002, Regular Air Force and Special Category Accessions.) As you've said that the question never came up, I imagine that the requirement was an oversight when they created the form and they just never bothered to change it. I appreciate you sharing your experience.
airforceotsguy
Thanks for clarifying. Yeah in the grand scheme of the package I think this is extremely low on the board's radar.
Unknown
For the Commanders interview/bullets I have filled the space is there an area abbreviations can be placed? perhaps on page 7??
airforceotsguy
The CC bullets area should be completely filled, and I would try to avoid using bullets with acronyms that are not extremely common. Abbreviations are another story. I would avoid excessive use, but most of the time you should be able to figure out an abbreviation based on the context of the bullet. This will be a fine line though because you don't want to overuse them. My best advice is to use them like an O-5/O-6 would use them, but it is hard to explain what this means. I hope this helps. Shoot me another email if you have more questions.
Anonymous
If applying for a rated slot do I also need to apply to a UPT board? Also when to ETP or waiver for age? I'm 29 now and trying to apply to the June board. I do not meet requirements for the waiver according to AFI 36-2013. My reason for late application is that I just became eligible to apply…” within College 365 day grad” any help would be great!
airforceotsguy
I think if you are applying for a rated board you just apply for the board not also UPT but I am really not sure. I have never heard of a separate UPT process. Some of the circumstances are waiver-able and some are not. There are two questionnaires which list all requirements and each item references the AFI on the waiver process if available.
Anonymous
Is this Form 56 up to date? It says it expired in 2009 at the top right on the first page.
airforceotsguy
I don't know what that date means but it doesn't mean the form is expired. The date you need to pay attention to (this is true for all AF forms) is the one on the bottom left. Everything on ePubs is always current and the AF56 I just downloaded from the site is dated 20061030, so as long as yours matches you are good to go.
Anonymous
As Prior Service On page 3 Item 19 did you only list the on line for your previous AFSC? Or did you list previous duty positions, or any previous civilian employment?
airforceotsguy
I only had the one entry “USAF, Active Duty” and “Cyber System Operations” for type of work. I did not include my previous AFSC as a retrainee.
Anonymous
How did you get the dates for all of your speeding tickets? I looked up my driving record and everything was cleared off. I know I've had a few speeding tickets but I have no idea when they were or what was the fee I paid.
airforceotsguy
I had my copies of the tickets because I am a nerd. Check with your DMV but I think they can only go back three years. If not, do your best to recall the info.
Anonymous
As a non-rated applicant, do I have to list three AFSC choices, or can I just list the two I'd actually want?
airforceotsguy
You actually have five choices. When you enter your stuff into SharePoint there is a place for all five, and you will also list all five into your applicant profile. I strongly recommend you list the five most desirable choices to you. If you are selected they go down the list of your job choices and if there are no quotas for job 1 or 2 your number three choice will be whatever the greatest AF need is. If you list five choices they won't get to “AF needs” until preference 6. It all depends on what the numbers are for each career field/that board though.
Unknown
Hi,
First of all, thank you so much for sharing your insights, perspectives and knowledge about the OTS process with the rest of us. This is the most comprehensive, honest and useful resource I have found so far on it as I apply to OTS as a civilian.
My question revolves around the evaluation interview for Form 56 (page 6). Lest this was covered elsewhere on your site that I missed, would you be able to share examples of some of the more specific questions you were asked for this section? I understand they are assessing your potential for leadership with standard questions and that it is essential to know the values of the Air Force, but it would be great to know how to prepare for any specific questions that aren't immediately contingent upon critical thinking or have been covered in the app profile, e.g. applicable work and life experience, reasons for earning a commission into the Air Force, etc.
Thank you.
airforceotsguy
Thank you for your feedback. I hope this information stays relevant for a long time.
The reason I didn't blog much about the interview is because I didn't go through a formal interview. I met with my commander a few times and he enlightened me on his perspective of officership, and he rated me accordingly. However, here is some information I found on the Air Force OTS forums. I hope it helps.
1. Tell me about yourself (had a concise summary of my background and major points from my resume)
2. Why do you want a commission?
3. Give me an example of demonstrated leadership or success (had 3 pertinent examples)
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses and how are you addressing your weaknesses? (none of the “I try to hard” phony baloney)
5. Why should the Air Force offer you a commission?
6. How do you handle stress and pressure?
7. How do you deal with conflict.
8. How do you mitigate discord in a team environment?
9. How do you feel about deployments?
10. THE BIGGIE. If you were physically in front of the OTS selection board, what would you say to them in order to “sell yourself?”
11. What qualities do you believe a great leader should have? Which of these do you have?
12. Try to remember a time in your life when you had to deal with adversity. How were you able to overcome this?
_________________
14OT02 RPA Select
B.S. Physics & Applied Math (UNM, 3.9)
P90/N84/AA97/V92/Q95
PCSM: 51
Age: 28, Civilian
airforceotsguy
Just got back from mine. Was very casual, simply going over different things with a heavy focus on leadership and asset/budget management. I have mixed feelings about it. Hind sight being 20/20 I'm sure there's things I could have elaborated on better or phrased differently, but he typed up the bullets while interviewing and reviewed them with me as well.
wxtecha, good luck on your interview if you haven't had it yet.
Had my interview a few days ago and it went pretty well.
Here are some of the questions that I was asked:
*Are you nervous?
*Tell me about yourself.
*Why do you want to serve?
*Why the Air Force? Have you looked into other branches?
*Would you have pursued a commission earlier, if you could have (I just recently became a naturalized citizen)?
*What makes a good leader?
*Give me an example of you successfully resolving a conflict.
*Why CSO? Are you open to other career paths?
*What are your strengths/weaknesses? He asked to not give him a BS answer such as “I work too hard” or “I care too much” and said he won't include it in his recommendation.
*How do you think your weaknesses impact you as a leader?
*Did you face any difficulties moving to the U.S. as a child?
*What do you do to keep physically fit?
*Tell me about your MIP (underage drinking ticket that I received when I was 17). What did you learn from it?
I'm sure every interview is unique depending on both individuals. We got talking about hunting, family, and his background and AF career as well.
Hope this could be of some help, best of luck to those interviewing!
I want to thank everyone for giving me sample questions. I had my interview yesterday and it went differently than it probably does for most applicants.
He printed out my BOT profile and he asked me questions about that (explain this, how many people for that, my volunteer work, scholarships, etc). Then he asked me some of these questions (not in order):
Tell me about your work experience.
How would you feel about living in a remote part of Greenland and being part of a Forward Operating Base (FOB?)
How do you feel about having to live in a tent?
What qualities should a leader have and which do you possess?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Have you looked into any other service besides Air Force?
If you were not selected, what would you do: Enlist, try another service, or go through this process again?
Why do you want to join in the Air Force?
How do you feel about moving every 2-4 years?
Are you a conscientious objector?
How do you feel about deployments?
What is your workout regiment like?
How do you handle stress and pressure?
Those are the main ones I remember…my interview was an hour long. I then was able to ask him some questions. Most of the interview was a back and forth conversation. I hope this might help future applicants with their interview!
Louis Reyes
Hello. If you have no preference of AFSC and are just glad to become an Officer in the USAF, can you put ‘Needs of Air Force’ for your AFSC choice?
airforceotsguy
You can, but it doesn’t make any difference with selection. You have one limited opportunity to tell the AF what you want to be, you may as well take advantage of it. For another perspective consider this from the board’s perspective. We desire confidence, maturity, and clear and concise direction in our recruits. If you put needs of the AF I may think that you haven’t taken the time to do your homework on what you want to do, perhaps your maturity isn’t where it needs to be. Perhaps you are just indecisive. Perhaps you really don’t care, but as an officer we want you to care. It is okay for an enlisted dude to not care and just go with the flow but for officers, we need leaders. We need someone for those enlisted dudes to follow.
SSgt Moore
I’m not sure why but neither link is getting me to the AF Form 56. I’ve tried on several browsers.
airforceotsguy
You may have to use Adobe to open the PDF, not a browser. Hit me up if that doesn’t work.
Daniel
Hello,
I might be the only one experiencing this but I am having issues opening AF Form 56 on any computer. I have even asked others to try to access the form and they were not successful also. If you have an older version or can walk me through how to open it then I would greatly appreciate it.
Daniel
airforceotsguy
Hmm Adobe has been doing a lot of updates lately, you are for sure opening with a PDF reader and not with a web browser?
Nicole B
Did you have to submit waivers for your speeding tickets? Air University says I need to but the AFI says if its not more than a minor traffic violation I don’t have to. i’m super confused.
airforceotsguy
Are you active duty? The latest guidance, usually the TFOT guide, is usually what you should go with
NicoleB
Yes I am but the TFOT looks like it’s more for OTS even though some forms are the same. I’m going for ROTC
airforceotsguy
Ah okay yes. Air University may have different rules than the baseline AFI because it’s a question of your eligibility for ROTC program, not necessarily to be an officer. Do you have an ROTC POC you can ask? You can shoot me an email if you want at airforceotsguy@gmail.com
Todd
The OTS PA I’m going off of says if it is a prior service violation it is not required. Is this a new update or did yours say that as well?
airforceotsguy
Just replying for completeness for readbacks. Always go off of whatever the latest guidance you can find is, I just run my site to make things easier for people if I can.
Luis
Can anyone look over my question 22. What re your objectives and reasons for desiring an air force commission?
I’m 35 years old and joined the Air Force when I was 27 years. I’ve been in for 7 years and I put on the rank of TSgt next month. I’ve always pushed myself to reach my goals. This is just a rough draft. Thanks in advance.
airforceotsguy
Hey Luis, sorry about that. Anyone reading this can feel free to shoot me an email but I have been struggling to keep up with life and blog.