Letter of Recommendation

The letter of recommendation (LOR)is a huge topic of debate whenever you talk about applying for OTS...speaking of OTS I need to stop calling it that.  It is now TFIT/TFOT which I believe stands for Total Force Indoctrination Training and Total Force Officer Training.  I will write more about this later as I am still in the dark.

Anyway it is a huge debate about who should write this LOR.  Many people say it doesn't matter who writes it as long as they personally know you and can explain your leadership potential.  You will see many people state their LT, shirt, or even Chief wrote it.  The justification is that they truly know how they work and how they can lead Airmen.  That is cool and all, but I will tell you that NOT ONE individual knows me better than ME.  So yes, you guessed it I wrote my LOR.

Here is my thought process.  I am the one attempting to gain a commission and only I truly know my life story, career history, lessons learned, and I even dare to say leadership potential.  Think about it...If you were to write a book would you have someone other than you write it?!! I hope not!  I would seriously write my own book and have some cool grammar gucci dude make modifications...dang makes too much sense right?!

So yes, I wrote my own LOR.  Here is what I did.  I followed the example template in the BOT Guide.  It had a unique type of format that I just followed because I was paranoid that they were looking for people with attention to detail.  It was pretty much standard memo format, but a few things that I would never do operationally or seen in the operational Air Force.  You will see what I mean when you take a peak at it.  The BOT Guide states that it should not be longer than two pages.  Well my LOR was exactly one page long.

Think about it...the board members probably rate at least a 100 packages a day.  Do you really think they have time to grasp all the information from a two page LOR?  In my opinion they DONT.  I figured it would be just like the SNCO board where they are under a time crunch.  So my LOR was pretty much like how we teach Bullet Writing in Airman Leadership School--Accurate, Brief, and Specific.

My LOR, in my opinion, was AWESOME (bias?) I polished it up really good and read the BOT Guide again to ensure I got everything right.  The BOT Guide stated:  It is recommended that someone other than the unit commander sign the LOR.  This is because the unit commander should be doing the interview on AF FM 56 (more on this beast paper later).  This was a huge catch because I intended to have my unit commander sign it as well.  This may have been disastrous.

I decided that my deputy commander would be an awesome person to sign my LOR.  I made an appointment to speak with the deputy.  The meeting pretty much mirrored the meet with my unit commander.  In the end the deputy was all about signing my LOR and to e-mail it to her right away.  I  immediately went to my office and started hammering away at the e-mail...

The e-mail pretty much thanked her for the time, my LOR was attached, and that I was open for any feedback.  I also ended the e-mail by stating I truly appreciate her signing my LOR; however, I would truly appreciate her professional opinion regarding my LOR being elevated higher in the chain of command...

I forgot to mention that this was now around October and I still had about 3 months to get my application submitted to SharePoint.  Here is where I went wrong...I sent my LOR off and worked on all the other items in my application package without ever following up!  It was crazy!  Yes I should have followed up, but I ASSUMED (I know) that my deputy commander was on top of it!  Well, lets just say that other things in the squadron took priority...

I will not torcher you with the details of this 2.5 month ordeal with my LOR.  So to make its all short:  My LOR made it to the group commander for signature.  He called me in for an interview, made a few recommendations, and stated that he would be happy to sign my LOR....but that he would not.  He said that his interview with me and my application package was impressive enough to warrant a wing commander (Senior Rater) signature.  I was ecstatic!  I was even more excited when he said he would bring it to the wing commander himself so I do not have to worry about routing it up.  I got my LOR two duty days later and signed by the wing king!

So back to the whole things about it should be someone that knows you!  Well I don't personally work for the wing commander.  I do see him every class and he is always at our graduations and we talk from time to time.  Do not restrict yourself on your LOR.  Attempt to get someone up the chain of command to sign it.  Because lets be real...rank matters with stuff like this!  Also look at it from a board perspective. Do you really think they are thinking hmmm...I wonder if the wing commander truly knows this person.  I don't think so!  If I was on the board I would think "wow, this individual got a wing commander to sign his LOR...he must be the shiznit!"

***A wing commander/group commander/combatant commander doesn't put their john hancock on an LOR for anyone/everyone***

Here is a little snippet of my LOR:

Para 1

It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend....
Since his enlistment in 20xx (name) has distinguished himself as (BTZ, NCOA DG, etc...)
He is my finest (Duty Position) in the wing and held other key positions such as (5/6 Pres, AFSA)
Other notable achievements include (NAF award, Wg Awds, you get the idea)

Para 2

I consider Sergeant So and So as the linchpin of the (Duty Section).  He led his team in inspections and earned outstanding ratings etc...he also pushes his team both professionally and personally as educators of tomorrows leaders.  He was the catalyst to the team being awarded the XXXX Majcom Team of the Year....

Para 3

Sergeant blah blah blah is the epitome of leadership.  His graduates "want" to lead as a direct result of his leadership.  He educates and inspires others to lead and the Air Force is better because of it....He will have a limitless impact on our Air Force.

Para 4

Finally Sergeant Awesome sauce displays high moral courage....sets the example...holds the line of standards and accountability.  He was ranked #X out of 21 eligible TSgts in the EFDP.  Selecting him for commission is in the best interest of the Air Force....I whole heartedly endorse him...if you do not select him...I would like to know why! Please contact me at ......you know how it goes.

So as I mentioned earlier...who best to write a page about your character, career, and leadership potential than you? As you can see I wrote my own book (page) and had the experts modify it and make recommendations and the wing king signed it!  I was truly happy about it!

Please note that a common theme among non-selects this board was that both the unit commander signed the AF FM 56 and the LOR.  I am not saying this is why they did not get selected, but the board is looking at the whole person concept so it is just smart to get other points of view...especially when the BOT Guide recommends that they be two different people!

Also do not be discouraged if someone other than a Gp or Wg commander signs it.  I can think of 3 people that had either their chief, 1slt, and squadron commander sign their LOR and they got selected.  Remember whole person concept!

I hope this helps...I am open to review any LORs or ANYTHING.  Just send it to AFEnlistedtoOfficer@gmail.com.

Take care and GO AIR FORCE!