Warrant Officer Flight Training selection (WOFT)

CW5 Jim Steddum — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:43:04 -0500

Today, I was evaluation military briefings from candidates of Warrant Officer Candidate School class 15-05. They present an oral lessons learned brief as a part of their course. The can brief on any lesson learned that they choose. One student today brief on his experiences trying to submit a WOFT packet through multiple recruiting stations in New York and Pennsylvania. I have heard numerous LL briefs concerning the lack of recruiter knowledge and motivation to work WOFT packets. I once received a brief from a candidate that have several years flying experience with the LA County Sheriff's Department went to a recruiting stations and explicit knowledge about applying for flight candidacy. The recruiter asked, "You can do that?"

Does anyone out there have any knowledge of why warrant officer briefings and recruiting battalions have a lack of knowledge of processing WOFT packets on the Active Duty. The Army National Guard seems to have it mostly right.

Response by CW4 Keith Dolliver made Jan 11 at 2015 12:09 AM

CW4 Keith Dolliver — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:09:35 -0500

While I'm not certain if this is the exact reason, I had this same conversation with another Warrant at one of my previous duty stations who also happened to have been a recruiter when he was enlisted. Basically what he told me was that the recruiter was responsible for putting together the same packet that we all do when we apply for Warrant Officer, but even if the candidate is accepted into the WOFT program it doesn't count against the recruiter's quota. So basically what it came down to was that it was a lot of work and hassle with very little reward on the part of the recruiter. This would be my assumption as to why they don't spend much time familiarizing themselves with this program. Are there any other recruiters out there that can confirm that?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 25 at 2016 7:58 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 19:58:53 -0400

As a recruiter for the past 6 years, the answer is simply. They do not teach the program at the school house. They briefly talk about it but they don't teach what it takes to do a build a packet or the requirements for the program. It is something you are expected to learn on the job. It is explained in the regulations but we all know there are Soldiers that rather plead ignorance than educate themselves.

Response by Rodrigo Cortes made Oct 16 at 2017 2:28 AM

Rodrigo Cortes — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 02:28:38 -0400

Greetings CW5 Steddum, my name is Rodrigo Cortes and I am a Warrant Officer applicant (ASVAB/SIFT qualified, Class 1A Flight Physical completed). I have been in the process for over 2 years and the cutoff age is quickly approaching.
Why so long? I need your help. I was wondering if you could lend me your advice. Thank you for your time. Very Respectfully, Rodrigo Cortes.

Response by PO3 Christian Brielmaier made Sep 27 at 2018 7:02 PM

PO3 Christian Brielmaier — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 19:02:31 -0400

Good Afternoon! I know this is a very old posting, but since I've been going through the process now and have spent a great deal of time I figured I'd share my experiences.

I totally agree with your point about local knowledge being sporadic, but I think that mostly has to do with the relatively few "Street to Seat" applicants in any given area vs. traditional applicants. This coupled with "passed down" info from previous recruiters seems to have turned second hand information into the norm.

In the end I wound up finding a point of contact list I found on the Warrant Officer Recruiting page (Which is separate from the GoArmy page, for some reason). This point of contact turned out to be one of a handful of active duty reprogram recruiters- and extremely helpful. She pointed me in the right direction and I wound up speaking with the enlisted point of contact. He in turn did a great job in getting me to a local recruiter.

What I've found is that for the most part the feedback you've gotten from applicants is correct. As an applicant the majority of the effort needs to come from your end, and you really cannot rely on a recruiter. While each person is different I would still argue that this isn't laziness on the part of the recruiter because without exception, each one I have spoken to has been helpful and I never got ten blown off.

I also must agree with another comment on your post detailing the amount of effort vs. credit a recruiter gets for each applicant. I can absolutely sympathize with a recruiter who is hesitant to get involved with an applicant who expects them to do all the work for them, or who hasn't even done the basic research about the program.

Playing devils advocate one might argue that the high barrier of entry, so to speak, is not necessarily a bad thing. In having the process being a bit challenging you very easily weed out the folks who cant be bothered to do any research at all.

I've been in the process for about 2 years but since I was not eligible until I obtained citizenship, I did not initiate what I would consider "serious" contact with a recruiter since there was nothing anyone could do at that point. I spent my time on forums gathering information and doing what I could to complete my packet. Once I received my citizenship, getting in front of an attentive recruiter took about 3 phone calls.

Id bet dollars to doughnut that the same recruiter who answers "I didn't know you could do that" would put forth the effort for the applicant who shows up with packet in hand asking them to schedule a SIFT test or physical :)

Response by Brad Powers made Nov 13 at 2018 1:23 AM

Brad Powers — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 01:23:27 -0500

I wonder if the Army has any faith in the street to seat program.