Class of ’15 preps for career field choices

  • Published
  • By Ray Bowden
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Academy cadets have until Aug. 15 to submit their rated and non-rated Air Force Specialty Code preferences, and the Board Order of Merit Board is scheduled to meet Sept. 8-11, an Academy Manpower and Personnel Office official said.

Other significant dates for cadets are: Aug. 22, the deadline for submission of the U.S. Air Force Academy Form 94s, the Cadet Evaluation for the Board Order of Merit Board; Sept. 12 - 17, the tentative date rated AFSC results are scheduled to be released to cadets; Sept. 18 - 22, when cadets may opt-out of their selected rated AFSC; and Sept. 30, when the Air Force Personnel Center will conduct the non-rated AFSC match for Academy and ROTC cadets.

"The key message for the Class of 2015 is that this is their decision with respect to their careers," said Laurie Carroll, the Academy's Manpower and Personnel director. "They need to seriously consider their rated and non-rated career field choices as it definitely impacts their future career. We've given them the tools and information to make this decision and we stand ready to assist them and answer questions as they make their way through this process. "

In a March interview with Academy Public Affairs staff writer Don Branum, Carroll said the Academy had adjusted its rated classification process. These changes are scheduled to be initiated this fall to meet staffing targets for combat systems officers, air battle managers and remotely piloted aircraft pilots, she said.

Under this process, a cadet who volunteers to be considered for a pilot position will also be considered for three other rated positions based on his or her preference and a Rated Order of Merit, Carroll said in the March interview.

"Under the new rated selection process, cadets have to select their rated AFSCs by Aug. 15 and indicate their preferences for all four rated AFSCs by signing a memorandum of understanding," Carroll said.

The Academy Manpower and Personnel Office will make the rated AFSC matches based on medical qualifications, Air Force Officer Qualifying Test scores, Pilot Candidate Selection Method scores, cadet preferences and BOM scores. The ultimate objective is to fill critical Air Force mission needs, Carroll said.

Academy officials have designed a prototype model to be a single source of information for rated AFSC distribution, and for quickly displaying the results by some of the key demographic factors frequently requested by leadership, Carroll said.

Capt. Clinton Ricks, the Academy's chief of cadet personnel, worked with Dr. Steven Hadfield from the Computer Science Department here to develop the model. The model combines data from four separate sources, reducing redundancy and helping minimize the chances of human error from manually entering information into spreadsheets, the previous method.

"We're automating it as much as possible to reduce potential mistakes, and we'll analyze the results respective to all the qualification factors," Carroll said. "The goal is to meet Air Force mission needs, which we have not met before."

Manpower and Personnel officials hold regular cadet classification briefings here to update and inform cadets on the process. The last briefing, attended by more than 860 seniors, took place Aug. 5.

During the briefing, Ricks encouraged cadets to make sure their career information was updated, discussed available career fields and discussed options available to cadets should they not be assigned to the specialty code of their choice, he said.

Carroll said the non-rated AFSC assignment process remains unchanged from the last several years.

"In late September, we forward those to AFPC where the combined USAFA and ROTC cadet non-rated AFSC match is conducted," she said.

Ricks will continue to spread the word about the cadet AFSC selection process through briefings for the Class of '17, the 306th Flying Training Group and an upcoming dean of faculty meeting for faculty members, Carroll said.

For more information, call the cadet personnel section at 333-1062.