If it'll put some minds at ease, or at least add more data, I'm also AFRL and physics (specifically optics) and still December 24 last update. I'm in a kind of unique position cause I won some fellowships last year (including NSF...ended up applying to NDSEG due to weird NSF policies my department has and will have to forfeit NSF if I win NDSEG. I did disclose this to NDSEG.). I don't want to disclose too much cause of whatever internet privacy I have left haha, but I'd consider myself somewhat competitive. That doesn't mean much though cause a lot of people are competitive and NDSEG has very particular things it's looking for, or so it seems.