Lateral Transfer from SWO to Aviation (2024)

The medical will be the biggest hangup right now as NAMI claimed they're months behind. You need to get a flight phys scheduled, and your shipboard IDC (if you're on a small boy) might not be too familiar with it. I'd recommend contacting the nearest medical clinic with a flight surgeon directly and asking them how you can make it happen.
You will have to wait until November as you missed the submission deadline for this board...but it also gives you time to get the medical sh*t done...barely. I had my flight phys done last Nov, various people f*cking sat on it, as a result didn't get a response from NAMI until this May.
If you don't have a medical clearance memo from NAMI by the time the board meets, they won't even give you a look.

ASTB is easy, just figure out where you can take it convenient to you and hook it up...you're an active duty commissioned officer, so you can cut past some of the bullsh*t if you want to press the issue.

Go to the BUPERS website, search around for lat transfer, check previous boards to see what your FY group's numbers are. I don't think FY 09 has anything yet, but once they come out, you need to look at # of transfers allowed OUT of SWO for that FY group, and look at Pilot or NFO transfers allowed IN for that FY group.

You can put in requesting a waiver for the 2 year mark crap, and if you don't get it, just put in for the next board...your medical will be good for one year, so it's a paperwork drill of just changing dates from there. As for chances, the gouge I got from the PERS folks (who you should contact directly for current info) was that it's rare, but if the numbers/demand support, they can make it happen.
Also talk to your CO (at a minimum). You will need a letter of endorsem*nt from him/her, so make sure the CO knows it's coming and is cool with it.

Things may have changed since I did my SWO-to-NFO transition (in 2001), but it didn't require a redes/lat transfer board. It was simply a thumbs-up/-down by the head Air detailer.

How easy it'll be depends on your command's attitude. My captain was actually pretty supportive and I didn't get any flack about re-des'ing. Another SWO refugee started VT-10 right after me and said his CO/XO gave him endless sh*t about it and held up his package as much as they legally could. Your CO doesn't have to like it, but they're obliged to endorse it and send it on...they just don't have to do it quickly, or give you a positive endorsem*nt.

It also depends on how well-stocked your YG is in aviation. Lat transfers are one way communities fill in their shortfalls; unfortunately, it's not really a "hey, this guy seems like he'd be a great aviator, let's take him." If they've got all the jg's-over-2 they need in Aviation, you may be SOL...as with everything else in the Nav, timing is everything.

But that's out of your control. Do the best you can with the things you can control. You're about to get pinned, which is step 1. Do really well on the ASTB, get your flight physical done ASAP. Your flight physical needs to be done at the big hospital with flight docs, as they test hearing in the chamber, vision, etc. It's not something your HMC can do for you. I don't know where that is for Hawaii...K-Bay?

Anyway, good luck to you. Best career move I've ever made, never even slightly regretted it for one second. The first time you're on the Boat and spend GQ playing Halo in your stateroom, you'll know you did the right thing.

Uncle Fester said:

Things may have changed since I did my SWO-to-NFO transition (in 2001), but it didn't require a redes/lat transfer board. It was simply a thumbs-up/-down by the head Air detailer.

Click to expand...

How the hell did you get away with not having to submit a lateral transfer package? You and I were in the same SWOS class if I remember correctly. The SWO community would have had to have a say in your transfer on some level, even if it happened behind the scenes without your knowledge.

thewheelman07 said:

Thanks for all the info! As far as Year Group is concerned, I graduated an got my commission in Dec 2008. Does that make me a '08 or '09 YG? That's good to hear that this isn't quite a lost cause and that SWOs in past years have made the transition. It seems like the paperwork is a beast of a challenge but I think it is definitely worth it. People say that COs endorsem*nt is pretty valuable but is it necessary or required to get other letters of recommendation from higher up people? Thanks again.

Click to expand...

CO's endorsem*nt is the only letter that's required.

The paperwork on your side actually isn't that bad. Read the instruction on the BUPERS website, plug your info into the instruction's format, and you're done. Shouldn't take more than an hour.

Steve Wilkins said:

How the hell did you get away with not having to submit a lateral transfer package? You and I were in the same SWOS class if I remember correctly. The SWO community would have had to have a say in your transfer on some level, even if it happened behind the scenes without your knowledge.

Click to expand...

That was straight outta the MILPERSMAN. Did they talk about it up amongst themselves in Millington? Probably, I guess, but it was nothing I was involved in. They're more about horse-trading numbers than specific people, anyway. You're just a paygrade and yeargroup at that level, unless you've f*cked up in epic fashion.

CO endorsem*nt is good. An endorsem*nt with a smiley-face FITREP is better. Are they breaking out divvos now? They weren't when I was one - you were all MP's and unranked, on the theory that you were all equally clueless and ranking you against each other was pointless. Anyway, whatever constitutes a competitive breakout for you, having that is good.

The paperwork's generally painless. Like BigRed said, plug in your numbers, follow all the instructions.

When I redesed, there was no formal board for URL-to-URL transfers, only going from RL to URL or vice-versa.

Intra-URL was handled between the relevant PERS shops, in what I surmise was a "we've got a YG99 O-2 who wants to go be an NFO; we're understocked in YG99, can you afford to lose one of those?" conversation. And somebody in Pers-41 said yes. And then it was run up to Pers-43 Actual for approval and he approved.

Uncle Fester said:

When I redesed, there was no formal board for URL-to-URL transfers, only going from RL to URL or vice-versa.

Intra-URL was handled between the relevant PERS shops, in what I surmise was a "we've got a YG99 O-2 who wants to go be an NFO; we're understocked in YG99, can you afford to lose one of those?" conversation. And somebody in Pers-41 said yes. And then it was run up to Pers-43 Actual for approval and he approved.

Click to expand...

Was you still under the age cutoff at the time you did the lateral transfer from SWO to NFO? I am curious if there has been instances where guys have took any job they qualified for and then did a LAT transfer to the job they didn't qualify for at the time of their application due to age or or other reasons.... asking for a friend......