"E4 because I was in CAP?"

Started by Eclipse, July 01, 2016, 01:06:27 AM

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AlphaSigOU

Quote from: winterg on July 07, 2016, 05:17:09 PM
Yeah. Not a lot of us PA grads around!

1985 PA grad... then they shipped me to Lowry AFB to be a cook!
Lt Col Charles E. (Chuck) Corway, CAP
Gill Robb Wilson Award (#2901 - 2011)
Amelia Earhart Award (#1257 - 1982) - C/Major (retired)
Billy Mitchell Award (#2375 - 1981)
Administrative/Personnel/Professional Development Officer
Nellis Composite Squadron (PCR-NV-069)
KJ6GHO - NAR 45040

winterg

Quote from: AlphaSigOU on July 11, 2016, 10:10:59 PM
Quote from: winterg on July 07, 2016, 05:17:09 PM
Yeah. Not a lot of us PA grads around!

1985 PA grad... then they shipped me to Lowry AFB to be a cook!
We should make a PA commemorative patch or something. 

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.


PHall

Quote from: grunt82abn on July 08, 2016, 08:28:54 PM
Must be nice, I didn't get pinned E-2 until after basic training, made E-3 with-in 6 months after arriving in the 82nd ABN, Specialist at the 24 months, and Corporal after I was boarded 36 months. I went through OUST at the Benning School for Boys in June 1989, and jump school right after.

That's what you get for joining the Army. The PA program was an Air Force program.

grunt82abn

Quote from: PHall on July 12, 2016, 12:22:03 AM
Quote from: grunt82abn on July 08, 2016, 08:28:54 PM
Must be nice, I didn't get pinned E-2 until after basic training, made E-3 with-in 6 months after arriving in the 82nd ABN, Specialist at the 24 months, and Corporal after I was boarded 36 months. I went through OUST at the Benning School for Boys in June 1989, and jump school right after.

That's what you get for joining the Army. The PA program was an Air Force program.

Yeah, but I got a ton of cool guy stuff from the Army: CIB and a couple of Combat Patches from the 82nd, 32nd, 3rd Army, and a chest full of medals. So I can't complain to much!!!
Sean Riley, TSGT
US Army 1987 to 1994, WIARNG 1994 to 2008
DoD Firefighter Paramedic 2000 to Present

PHall

Quote from: grunt82abn on July 12, 2016, 05:43:29 PM
Quote from: PHall on July 12, 2016, 12:22:03 AM
Quote from: grunt82abn on July 08, 2016, 08:28:54 PM
Must be nice, I didn't get pinned E-2 until after basic training, made E-3 with-in 6 months after arriving in the 82nd ABN, Specialist at the 24 months, and Corporal after I was boarded 36 months. I went through OUST at the Benning School for Boys in June 1989, and jump school right after.

That's what you get for joining the Army. The PA program was an Air Force program.

Yeah, but I got a ton of cool guy stuff from the Army: CIB and a couple of Combat Patches from the 82nd, 32nd, 3rd Army, and a chest full of medals. So I can't complain to much!!!

I get a retirement check every month!

USACAP

Yep.
No 2 soldiers will have the same story.
Goalposts are constantly moving.
I'll believe just about anything. "Oh, they made you an E4 because of Girl Scouts and an Associates Degree? Ok, cool."
I got advanced E3 when I enlisted 22+ years ago for my CAP Earhart, or JROTC, or an Eagle Scout or all of the above.


Quote
Service; active or NG; era; program; MOS/AFSC; delayed entry; "bring your pals";  length of enlistment; JROTC/CAP; education; skills- it truly was, and, I suppose, still is, a YMMV thing. I'd never say "No, that NEVER happened!" because, as sure as I'm sitting here, the Navy might have had, during a two-week period in April of 1971, some kind of program for giving instant E-6 to qualified termite inspectors who were also Eagle Scouts or some other seemingly fantastic deal.

GaryVC

Quote from: winterg on July 01, 2016, 01:37:39 PM
1991. I believe the program was called Proficiency Advancement. They called us PA Candidates the whole time.  And not in a pleasant way! I believe the program was ended shortly after  I went through. 

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.

When I was at Plattsburgh we had a cadet who essentially bypassed basic training. He spent about a week at Lackland. This was in the latter part of the 1970s.

AlphaSigOU

Relying on the Mark 1 Mod 1 computer (read: brain) from over 30 years ago.

I got proficiency advancement and a promotion to E-3 (A1C) for having both the Mitchell and Earhart. While pay was computed from Day 1 none of us could sport our advanced grade until graduation from Lackland.

From DOT (day of training; didn't count weekends or holidays) 1-7 it was pretty much inprocessing, uniform issue (pickle suits!), shots and medical testing. On DOT 7 you were offered proficiency advancement. Basically, you were given an appointment sheet by the squadron orderly room and reported to the required training classes and activities after sleeping and eating breakfast with your training flight. In between appointments you were the orderly room runner. Released back to the flight for lunch and the same deal in the afternoon until the end of the duty day, where we had dinner and flight time with our home flight.

All PAs had to be interviewed by the BMT squadron commander, and have few to none 341s pulled. Failure to pass the BMT end of course test, confidence course or missing an appointment without good reason booted you from PA and you would finish the rest of the 6 weeks with your flight. We wound up taking the BMT exam by DOT 8 (everyone else would take it around DOT 25), so we were warned and threatened if we divulged the contents of the test. In my BMT flight (3711 BMTS 'Blue Marines', flight 336), eight were offered PA; four turned it down, the remaining four (including myself) continued until finishing the program or bounced off for disqualifying reasons (too many 341s, busting a red line or blue line inspection). I was the only one in my flight to successfully complete PA. Even then, I was living in sheer terror waiting for the other shoe to drop ('AIRMAN CORWAY, COME WITH ME!') until I outprocessed Lackland and took off from San Antonio International for tech school at Lowry. All total I finished PA in approximately three weeks. It was very hectic and sometimes I felt like I was taking a drink from the proverbial fire hose.

PAs were also known as 'TI targets'; some TIs lived to trip us up.
Lt Col Charles E. (Chuck) Corway, CAP
Gill Robb Wilson Award (#2901 - 2011)
Amelia Earhart Award (#1257 - 1982) - C/Major (retired)
Billy Mitchell Award (#2375 - 1981)
Administrative/Personnel/Professional Development Officer
Nellis Composite Squadron (PCR-NV-069)
KJ6GHO - NAR 45040