afrotc-l: Commentary: AFROTC selection: A matter of excellence

This article emphasizes the enlisted force, however, each of us need to read it and apply it throughout our careers. Like Col Seward says, you have to make sure that your stuff is in order, not someone else. Just a heads up from someone that has been there.

C/Lt Col Cox

CW/XO

By Col. Jay E. Seward

Air Force ROTC

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AETCNS) -- Attention enlisted force! Officers with enlisted experience are valued by the United States Air Force. If you meet the entry requirements and have what it takes, you have a chance to lead your peers as a commissioned officer.

How do you make that happen? Simply stated: Excellence, excellence, excellence.

As the president of a recent enlisted scholarship selection board held by at ROTC headquarters, I had the responsibility to cull through the records of many applicants for a few commissioned positions. I did this with the able assistance of an officer with enlisted background and a senior noncommissioned officer. After that board, the three of us sat down and reflected on what differentiated the good records from the weak ones. Here is a summary of our observations.

The first observation is simple to say, but apparently overlooked by many applicants. As this is a boarded process, you are your record. If the wrong information is in your records, or information is incomplete, you have formed a mental image of your attention to detail. The education office or your commander is not responsible, you are.

Consider this interesting observation. During my board, every non-Air Force applicant followed the Air Force selection instructions to the letter. In contrast, many Air Force applicant records had errors, gaps in information and like faults.

If you were selecting future leaders, whom would you select: the deployed Marine who was able to get the application records together perfectly or the Air Force NCO at a stateside base who couldn't figure out the process? With equal records, the Marine wins because attention to detail is critical in our Air Force. You need to show this level of attention.

This expectation of excellence applies to your academic and military standards, too. If your record shows you've taken one course at a time without getting A's, what does that suggest about your ability to carry a fulltime college load?

If your weight and fitness records suggests you are "living on the edge," that will make it more difficult for you to be selected. Finally, you need to realize that most of your competitors have "firewall 5s" on their enlisted performance reports with no record of non-judicial punishment. These are the most competitive applicants. Any markdowns on your records make it that much more difficult to compete with your peers. The same can be said for weak SAT/ACT scores, Air Force Officer Qualification Test scores, minimal GPAs and records containing significant "civil involvements."

Remember that commissioning you is a whole-person proposition and the end result needs to be good for you and also good for the Air Force. You need to convince the board you have the maturity, drive and skills to make the Air Force better.

Everyone wants money for college. The issue is whether that investment in you makes sense from a service perspective. Your application is stronger if you will be a great "whole person" example for other training AFROTC cadets.

Commanders are an integral part of this process. Their written statements speak volumes to the board, and they must retain their credibility. If you are a very junior person applying for consideration, the only significant thing suggesting your potential is your commander's comment.

Likewise, if you have changed for the better and are not what your record reflects, then your commander needs to clearly state why that is true. Commanders should lead, and it is possible to lead the board to a conclusion through the power of the pen as long as the applicant has a strong set of application credentials.

The quality of the officer corps in the United States Air Force is essential to its continued greatness. The standards for selection are extremely high. The Air Force expects officers to demonstrate all core values.

Applicants need to understand that excellence is subjectively and objectively judged in the AFROTC enlisted-to-officer selection process.

"Excellence in everything you do" is good advice this time and anytime.

(Col. Seward is the commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 775 at the University of South Carolina.)