Letters of Recomendation

[Ragansundowner]

Hey Everyone,

I'm currently a college junior and will beginning the application process for OTS this coming summer. I will be taking the AFOQT and the BAT next year, have good grades, and a private pilot certificate. The one question I have that has never been fully answered is about letters of recomendation. I've heard that these letters are important and should be from the best sources possible. Here are the questions in no particular order.

-How many letters do I need?

-Is it going to be a problem that I don't really know anyone in the military who could write me a recomendation?

-Who should I get to write these letters (i.e., teachers, academic advisor, sports coaches, close family friends, ex-employers)?

-Is having a letter from any military officer good, even if it's in a different branch?

Any comments or suggestions on this topic would be greatly appreciated. I tried talking to my recruiter about it, but he wasn't terribly helpful and just told me to get the best ones possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CFIIer]

For an Active Duty Spot, they say a minimum of 3 letters and a maximum of 5. I sent 4 in myself.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a letter from a military person, but it certainly does help to have someone who's experienced it, to say that you could cut the mustard.
I managed to get 3 former military guys to write me letters, along with one guy who is a Police Officer. One of the military guys was a fighter pilot in the Air Force who graduated from the Academy, and had been to Fighter Weapons school, another one was Army, and the other was Marines.

When I had the interview with the Col., he said that the letters were very important, because it enabled them to get an idea of what type of person you are from other people's perspectives. Obviously, you'd want to get the opinions of people who's opinions count for something.

Good Luck

 

[Ragansundowner]

I assume this is a no-no, but are recomendations from relatives ok? What if the relatives are not immediate family, but an Uncle through marriage?

Thanks.

Ragan

 

[NegBalance]

Go guard, don't waste your time going active duty