AF alternate list updates

w2cross2blue · Jan 26, 2011

Tee byrd, I feel your pain!! I have contact with my recruiter on the 1st and 15th of each month, either by phone or email. He tells me I am still #1 on the emergency department specialty list. He doesn't have any new news for me either. This wait is definitely painful. I am pretty confident that the new fiscal year doesn't start until October. I don't know if you are on the airforceots.com forum as well, but I have noticed there is a similar situation going on with the "line side" officer recruitment. I am trying to stay flexible and motivated but it is hard to not know when and where my family and I will be going. I feel like I have waited this long and invested lots of time and energy in getting this far in the process. I do wish I had not told my extended family and friends and my current coworkers what I was doing. Each time they ask me about the Air Force I have to repeat my story all over again!!

midinphx, BSN · Jan 30, 2011

I know how hard the waiting part is. I felt like I was never going to get it all done and get an answer. But I did get in and got my 2nd choice (which is great!). Everyone has that same frustrating wait story, none of us is alone in the journey. Hang in there.

Think of the positive as far as family/friends asking..... They are selective about who gets a commission and it will show them how valuable it really is when you finally get it worked out.

Being flexible is going to continue to be your life once you are in, consider this waiting part as a practice.

w2cross2blue · Jan 30, 2011

Thanks Midinphx! I know the wait will be worth it in the end. In the meantime I am going to continue to work on my push ups! Who would have thought 14 little push ups could be so intimidating!

tee_byrd, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

Thanks!! It's just a long process and to know your so close but still so far is frustrating. I know the wait will be worth it. I'm very anxious to start this new chapter in my life and experience something bigger than myself..

Travelcrazy · Jan 31, 2011

Who WOULD have thought 14 push ups would be hard??? I started out being able to do 5. Now I can do 9. I have a month to get to that magic number of 14! AHH!

tee_byrd, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2011

I need to get on the ball cause I don't think I can do 5 straight.. And just to get to 14 is going to be a challange. I was going to wait untill the Summer or the weather is warmer before I started getting my numbers up since I have a long wait to get in...

The Little Greek · Feb 3, 2011

I need to get on the ball cause I don't think I can do 5 straight.. And just to get to 14 is going to be a challange. I was going to wait untill the Summer or the weather is warmer before I started getting my numbers up since I have a long wait to get in...

Just my opinion here....don't wait! Get started now. You may have a long wait, but if you are up to standards long before you commission then you won't have to worry about failing your test. I'm watching people try to skate by with the minimum and it's not working out so well for them. It seems that the med groups have the highest failure rates and commanders are starting to crack down. Despite the fact that the AF did away with "mandatory" PT, many squadron commanders still make it mandatory. And if you fail? Sucks to be you. I have many coworkers that have mandatory 5 day per week PT with sessions lasting 1-2 hrs. That's ON TOP of their 12 hour duty days and all their extra duties. Still can't pass after all that? They are kicking people out of the AF because of it. Just happened to a RN at my base right before I PCS'd. Long story short, make it a priority now so you don't have to pay for it later.

Before I came into the AF I couldn't run 2 minutes without having to stop and now I can run 5 miles. Not stellar or anything, but better than where I started out. I also couldn't do a push up to save my life. Now I can do 36. I only have to do 17 to pass, but I don't want to take that chance.

Please don't let this scare you. I'm just being realistic. I'm watching so many people get in, barely pass, then in 6 months they are in a world of hurt because they aren't up to standards. I'm sure you will all do fine, just make fitness a relatively high priority and you won't have to suffer the consequences later. Good luck!

w2cross2blue · Feb 4, 2011

Little Greek, thanks for the motivation. I don't want to be THAT person that gets in trouble for my fitness level. Being an alternate select is tricky. I could get the phone call and have to be ready to go by July or I might not get to go until sometime in 2012! Is it better to do push ups every day and try to do as many as possible or is it better to wait a day in between? What helped you get to 36?

tee_byrd, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2011

thanks Little Greek.. I appreciate any feedback. How did you get to 36 pushups and what helps with improving my run miles and time.. I was going to enroll in a gymto help me.

The Little Greek · Feb 8, 2011

Let me tell you, it was VERY hard for me to get motivated to get back into shape. I knew that going to COT would be a lot harder if I wasn't in shape when I got there and that was the only thing that got me out there and running. I started out doing the couch to 5K running plan (Google it, it's free). I kinda tweaked it to fit my needs, but having a set schedule and something to work toward really helped. By the time I got to COT I was able to run the 3 miles I needed. If you can follow the plan it really works! I have found that being able to run at least three miles slowly makes running 1.5 miles a little faster a lot easier :) Honestly, running fast is not my thing. Doing sprints helps you decrease your run time, but I HATE sprints so I never do them. I usually run the 1.5 miles in between 12-14 minutes depending on how often I've been running before I test. It's not stellar time, but it gets me a passing score.

As for push ups, doing them daily really helps you increase your strength. Make sure you are going to quality and not quantity. You want to do your minimum number of push ups correctly rather than trying to knock out a bunch of push ups that won't count. That will just make you tired and frustrated. Concentrate on your form. There is another good program, 100 push ups (another free program that you can Google), that helped me. Granted, I've never done the whole program because I don't really need to do 100 of them, but it helped me build my endurance. I mean it when I say I started out only being able to do a couple. Practice, practice, practice gets you there. You don't have to hit the gym for hours or do P90X to get there either. Just hit the ground during the commercials while you are watching tv. You will get better even with just a little effort.

tee bird--I really don't think you need the gym. Everything you need to pass is free and in your home or right outside your door. It's motivation that's the most difficult thing to muster.

way2cross2blue--I was in the same boat as you. I wasn't an alternate, but my COT date was constantly being moved up then back. When I finally got notified of a definitive date, it was only 2 months away. I was glad I had started getting ready months before or the stress would have been overwhelming.

w2cross2blue · Feb 8, 2011

Thanks Little Greek for the motivation! I am trying to "hit the deck" with the push ups every chance at get. I even got busted at work in the break room when I didn't think anyone else would walk in! Yikes!