Board Results – My Perspective

The official release for the 16OT03 non-rated board will be released tomorrow (Friday, 6 May), but by now I imagine most of you have a pretty good idea of what the results are.  For this board it sounds like civilian notifications started trickling out on Saturday, 1 May with continued notifications from recruiters this week.  From what I gather on the Active Duty side wings were given the list of names on Monday this week with instructions to not notify the selects until Thursday.  The official list will be uploaded to the MyPers site sometime tomorrow.

For the selects:

Congratulations!  This is a huge step in your career and I speak with experience when I say it is going to cause you to grow in ways you never imagined.  After the celebrations are complete be sure to take the time to thank everyone who helped you along the way.  One of the major differences I noticed going from enlisted to officer was that it is no longer about you.  It is not your career progression or your recognition, it is the recognition of those who helped you along the way.  More importantly, it is about not where you are at, but how you are effecting change in a positive way to those around you.  My biggest advice for you is to not get in trouble for something stupid, don’t injure yourself, start striving for a perfect score PT test, and spend some time with your friends and family before the adventure begins.  Beyond that, enjoy the ride!

For the non-selects:

I am truly sorry that you did not get the news that you wanted.  I am happy for the selects but my heart is truly heavy right now for the non-selects.  Take some time to reflect and regain your bearings, but tomorrow make it your goal to put the news behind you and strategize your next application.  Here are some bullet points:

• Have someone in your chain of command call the AFRS staff to get some honest feedback on your application.  Many of the non-selects I talked to got some really good feedback or insight into why the results were what they were.
• From what I gather the board reviews applications in the following graded areas.  Send me your application and I will provide my insight on how I believe your application was reviewed in light of these areas.
  • Leadership potential
  • Education
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • Ability to Adapt
• The 180-day wait period (waiting in between applications) is no longer in effect!  Applicants can apply for multiple boards as long as they are eligible (as of April 2016)!  Apply again!  In light of the above graded areas, consider what you can do in a short period of time to improve your application.  I can probably help you brainstorm.  Check the schedule and resubmit your application for another board!  The board process is how you are stacked against the other applications and what the established cutoff was, so it is always worth another shot.
• Pull back, regroup, and recover.  Take the time you need to re-assess your motivation for wanting to commission.  Try to take an objective look at your own application to see if you can find areas where you were weak.  Once you are ready, take the next step forward.  You can learn from this and make yourself a better person and leader because of it.  Your dreams may have been crushed but in my opinion we all have our purpose here on Earth, it is just a matter of finding it.  How you respond to failure is one of the defining aspects of your character.