18OT02 Board Feedback

Here is some very general feedback about the 18OT02 board.  If you notice, the areas they describe below line up perfectly with the post I did about the Board Scoring Criteria.

One thing I wanted to point out about this is one of the quantitative factors, or AFOQT selects.  The board has the AFOQT averages from all of the previous boards, so they have a pretty good idea of where people sit with their scores.  Everyone gets tied up with your specific scores, (e.g., AA 41, Q22, V61) but the way you should think about this is in three categories:  above average, average, or below average.  If you are at or below average, just know that you may have some points to make up in the other aspects of your board score.  Consider how you can best spend the time between now and when you have to submit your application.  In addition to your below average AFOQT scores, how does the rest of your application look?  Work on the area which can gain you the most board score points.

This is actually a theme which keeps coming up in my actual officer career.  Everyone gets tied up with who gets this job or that job, what the proper career track is, or who is getting the DV briefings or TDY opportunities.  The fact is (at least in my opinion), there is a general perception of yourself that you have to continuously be in touch with.  You are either perceived as an above average officer, average officer, or below average officer.  If you are perceived as an average officer you have a lot of work to do to fight the perception of yourself and improve it to “above average.”  Again in my opinion, THIS is why we want our officers to stand out.  Being an outstanding officer isn’t about checking all of the blocks…  it is about breaking the mold to help us to bigger and better things.  It isn’t about the system…  it is about moving us as a force forward, not maintaining the status quo.  Here are three tangible things you can think about while you are navigating your career:

1. No matter what job you are in, constantly think about how your job can be done better or more efficiently.  What is holding your job back?  Do you not have the training or equipment necessary to do your job?  Are your T.O.’s completely outdated and irrelevant?
2. Once you identify the shortfalls of your current job, think about the level above your job (Flt, Sq, Gp, Wg, HQ, etc.)  What specific type of support do you need from the next level up to help you better achieve your job?  After you identify what is needed, what is stopping you from getting it?
3. Now that you know what you need and what type of support to request, there are two options.
   1. If the only thing holding back progress is something you can control at your level, make it happen.  Break down the barriers, solve the problems, and implement the change.  Don’t step on toes but if what need falls within the gray area and and no-one else wants it, fix it yourself.  Develop the new process or procedure, pitch it to who would own it, and execute.
   2. If progress is halted by a lack of higher level support, put together a proposal.  Articulate your idea in a PowerPoint slide or a talking paper.  Polish it up, solicit ideas from your peers, then sit on it.  When the time is right, present your proposal to the person who can make it happen.

I’ll get off my soapbox now.  Here is my post about Board Scoring Criteria.

“The 18OT02 board was extremely competitive and, as in any given year, the needs of the Air Force drove the selection rate.  While specific board scores and non-select record reviews cannot be addressed for each applicant, I can provide some general information regarding this selection board.

The Board considered 829 non-rated active duty applicants from which 152 applicants were recommended for selection 18%.  The Board considered 181 rated active duty applicants from which 135 were recommended for selection 75%.

The board considered applicants using the whole person concept by viewing both subjective and objective categories of Education/Aptitude, Experience/Leadership, and Potential of each applicant to serve as an AF officer.

• For Education and Aptitude board members reviewed the applicant’s academic discipline, GPA, AFOQT scores, academic awards and recognition.
• For Experience and Leadership board members reviewed the applicant’s commander interview, letter of recommendation, profile (resume) of employment history, military experience and job performance.
• They also looked for a demonstrated leadership description that depicted scope of responsibility that led to honors and/recognition, involved community service activities, base involvement, athletics, skill and hobbies.
• For Potential and Adaptability board members reviewed the applicant profile which included information on previous board met, prior service information, any law violations and waivers.  Board members also evaluated written communication skills in the applicant profile written statement, overall evaluation from interviewing officer, letters of recommendation and member statement for more detail of personal leadership experiences.

Overall board scores evaluated the whole person concept, and below are average of selects from the 18OT02 board.

Averages for “Selects”:”