Good Day all,
TLDR: Old man looking for adventure before his golden years. Will this be a good fit?
Sorry for the length of this and if this is the wrong place to post this, and for messing up all the terminology or spelling. All mistakes are my own.
A little about me: 40, divorced, no kids, grad degree, citizen, no real sense of purpose, balding, shitty job, yearning for a sense of adventure, relatively fit and level headed, former NCM 15 years ago - 3 years CL A, 2 years CL B.
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I've been thinking of applying as a DEO ACSO for quite some time now and I have some questions the recruiting office could not answer, so I was hoping this community could give me some insight.
If I am going to commit the remaining decades of my life to this, I would really like to know what I'm getting myself into, so any insight would be appreciated. I've itemized many questions below for your review.
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Questions:
1. What is your opinion on the trade?
a. Is it a good trade generally speaking?
b. Relative to your own experiences of courses, i.e. does it fulfill you and give you a sense of purpose?
c. As I am not white, are members in this trade on average non-ethnic?
d. Has anyone experienced discrimination?
e. What is the average age of candidates on training?
f. What is the average age of ACSO's overall?
2. Realistically, what does an ACSO do on a day-to-day basis? I've read the recruiting website, I've looked at the military page about the testing requirements, I've watched the ACSO course video someone posted on youtube, I've read quite a few things about the course. However, the recruiter stated they check sensors and help with putting out fires by marking them with their sensors...and that I would be a good fit. I've looked online and it looks like it's all dependent on what airframe you get training in and where you get posted: Long Range Patrol, Sea, Jet, or SAR etc.
a. Is being on one airframe more "adventurous" than another?
b. Which would you choose and why? I read that the long range ACSO's sleep in better locations relative to those posted at sea.
3. Pension related question: I know the application process could take a year or more, but ACSO's are being accepted under the priority application process. So, lets say I enter in at age 41 and let's say I can get an extension to retire at 65 instead of 60, that is 24 years in, but lets say I can buy back the reserve experience I had - 3 years CL A, 2 years CL b, and lets say roughly that translates to about 2.5 years bought back (I think), so that would bring me to full pension, lets say I finish with 25 years in.
a. Is this how the pension works?: Last 5 years of annual salary averaged over 5 years, multiplied by 2%, multiplied by how many years you served? So, even if I stay a captain for life thats about $70k or so as an annuity for life at retirement?
4. From what I've read, it takes longer to reach captain nowadays than it ever did due to training backlogs.
a. How backlogged is the first training course?
b. Would I have to spend time on PAT or OJE? If so, how many months roughly?
c. Do you think I would stay a Captain for life or do you think being promoted to Major or higher is not out of the question in lets say 15 years?
5. I haven't applied yet, but if I do, do you recommend I apply at a specific recruiting center? I've read too many stories on here about a specific center I should avoid due to them not picking up the phone or returning emails, or losing application, etc. This is actually the closest one to me, the one I went to for an info session, which is why I'm worried. You can DM me on this if you wish.
--
Any other advice or insight would be appreciated. Feel free to either ask me questions here or DM me. I look forward to hearing from you all.
Thank you.
TLDR: Old man looking for adventure before his golden years. Will this be a good fit?
Sorry for the length of this and if this is the wrong place to post this, and for messing up all the terminology or spelling. All mistakes are my own.
A little about me: 40, divorced, no kids, grad degree, citizen, no real sense of purpose, balding, shitty job, yearning for a sense of adventure, relatively fit and level headed, former NCM 15 years ago - 3 years CL A, 2 years CL B.
--
I've been thinking of applying as a DEO ACSO for quite some time now and I have some questions the recruiting office could not answer, so I was hoping this community could give me some insight.
If I am going to commit the remaining decades of my life to this, I would really like to know what I'm getting myself into, so any insight would be appreciated. I've itemized many questions below for your review.
--
Questions:
1. What is your opinion on the trade?
a. Is it a good trade generally speaking?
b. Relative to your own experiences of courses, i.e. does it fulfill you and give you a sense of purpose?
c. As I am not white, are members in this trade on average non-ethnic?
d. Has anyone experienced discrimination?
e. What is the average age of candidates on training?
f. What is the average age of ACSO's overall?
2. Realistically, what does an ACSO do on a day-to-day basis? I've read the recruiting website, I've looked at the military page about the testing requirements, I've watched the ACSO course video someone posted on youtube, I've read quite a few things about the course. However, the recruiter stated they check sensors and help with putting out fires by marking them with their sensors...and that I would be a good fit. I've looked online and it looks like it's all dependent on what airframe you get training in and where you get posted: Long Range Patrol, Sea, Jet, or SAR etc.
a. Is being on one airframe more "adventurous" than another?
b. Which would you choose and why? I read that the long range ACSO's sleep in better locations relative to those posted at sea.
3. Pension related question: I know the application process could take a year or more, but ACSO's are being accepted under the priority application process. So, lets say I enter in at age 41 and let's say I can get an extension to retire at 65 instead of 60, that is 24 years in, but lets say I can buy back the reserve experience I had - 3 years CL A, 2 years CL b, and lets say roughly that translates to about 2.5 years bought back (I think), so that would bring me to full pension, lets say I finish with 25 years in.
a. Is this how the pension works?: Last 5 years of annual salary averaged over 5 years, multiplied by 2%, multiplied by how many years you served? So, even if I stay a captain for life thats about $70k or so as an annuity for life at retirement?
4. From what I've read, it takes longer to reach captain nowadays than it ever did due to training backlogs.
a. How backlogged is the first training course?
b. Would I have to spend time on PAT or OJE? If so, how many months roughly?
c. Do you think I would stay a Captain for life or do you think being promoted to Major or higher is not out of the question in lets say 15 years?
5. I haven't applied yet, but if I do, do you recommend I apply at a specific recruiting center? I've read too many stories on here about a specific center I should avoid due to them not picking up the phone or returning emails, or losing application, etc. This is actually the closest one to me, the one I went to for an info session, which is why I'm worried. You can DM me on this if you wish.
--
Any other advice or insight would be appreciated. Feel free to either ask me questions here or DM me. I look forward to hearing from you all.
Thank you.
