Hi all, been a lurker for some time, but this is my first post.

I'm an active duty missileer who has been positioning himself for a UPT slot since I've been on active duty. Poor pre-PRK eyesite kept me from UPT out of ROTC.

Anyway I've been doing my best to nail solid OPRs since I've been in....my first was simply superb, SQ/CC made me sound like a rock-star. But this second one had a due date shortly after I've been pulling crew, so my first and last bullets have phrases like "monitor for upgrade" and "continues to make steady progress."

Going from "promote to Flight Commander ASAP" to "monitor for upgrade" is NOT giving me warm fuzzies, y'know?

Now my DO assures me that this is standard for missileers who haven't spent much time on crew....but seeing that I'm applying for UPT (and Guard slots) once I finish up my PPL next spring, it seems like I can't afford one mediocre OPR.

So my question here is, how badly is this going to hurt me? I'm 26 now and plan on applying for these slots until I'm too old or (biting my knuckle here) actually get one...

First, I want to make sure you're carefull about how your CC/DO percieve your goals. It's okay for them to know that you want to be a pilot, but if they think that's ALL you want to do - they won't be too supportive.

About the OPR, as I'm sure you know, "monitor" in a push line is not a good sign. While as a new deputy your OPR won't be great, there are things you can do to improve it. First, what are your T1/3/4 scores like? Did you HQ your upgrade? Do you carry yourself in an professional (confident, yet eager to learn) manner? These are things that will make a difference between being near the bottom in your flight (and gettibg bad OPRs) and near the top - often there is very little quantitative difference between the two in job performance yet a big difference in the OPR.

What to do... First, has the OPR been signed yet? If not, you could ask (don't push, just ask) if you could change the due date. If you haven't had 6 months of continuous supervision (from the same person), then you can't get an OPR - units use this to delay OPRs all the time. Second, talk to your FLT/CC or another line CC that you respect about what you can do to improve yourself - then ACT on it! IMHO one OPR like this isn't the end of the world, a couple just might be.

BTW - Just becuase I'm curious, how did you get a "promote to Flight Commander"? Is that from another job? You should never get a push line more than 1-2 steps above where you are now, so until you upgrade to MCCC/L3, you shouldn't even think about getting that reccomendation.

Clint, thanks for the reply.

My codes and weapon system scores are both 100%. I dug a hole with EWO when I first came up on crew, so I'm trying to knock up a 95% average right now. I believe that's where I'm hitting the "monitor" language. Last 3 tests came back 100%, so I'm on the right track....I think.

You advice on asking for a delay on the due date is excellent....I haven't had six months of continuous supervision yet and no, it hasn't been signed. I put alot into the job, bust ass studying and running the security manager program (which just came back with a 'zero error' inspection), so I was really disappointed when I saw the initial OPR.

The flight/cc line was from an earlier assignment, yes.

Did you pull time on crew? Are you a flier now?

Sounds good.  Just remember to keep a positive attidude about your current job and you should be fine.  The biggest mistake I see people make is to forget that they are a 13S first and a pilot-wanna-be second.  If your leadership senses things are any other way around then you're begging for a hard time in the future.  I've seen that MANY times, and none of those people even got to meet the board.  But I've also seen several 13S's who were humble, hard working and did a good job get picked up - even those who didn't really have the best OPRs, etc.

And, yes I'm a missileer, but not a flier (yet).  Actually, I just talked to AFPC 13S guys about the switch, they said there also is a consideration of how much time is left on your Code 55 before they'll let your senior rater endorse/release you.  So if you've just arrived on station, it may be tough to apply anyway.  Also, (rightly so IMHO) many SQ/CC's won't recommend you right off the bat.  Crosstraining to UPT is supposed to be only for the best - how can they make that recommendation without seeing your performance for a couple years? (If your up against an age/TAFCSD problem, most will understand and expedite things.)

Anyway, if you have anymore questions about the job, etc. I'll be happy to help you out.  What base are you at BTW?

 

 

I never said not to let them know your goals, quite the contrary.

However, I've known several people who made it clear that everything they were doing was to enhance their chances of getting a UPT slot - at this job that is close to career suicide.  None of them were even allowed to apply (SQ/CC wouldn't endorse them).  Fair?  Maybe not, but that's normally the way it is (and it's very likely this career field (Space/Missile Ops) is different than many others in that regard)...

That's unfortunate.  I have heard those stories too.  It seems like it comes more from the operational side.  I knew a MX guy who's boss told him no because, "we need good maintainers."  He ended up getting a nav slot. Hopefully the guy above will have bosses that understand the importance of "looking out for your people," and will encourage him to pursue UPT.  It's too bad when bosses don't; because regardless of job, we're all on the same team.