Direct Officer Commission

I understand we have a few service members (active and retired) on this forum and I figured I might as well ask the question here, along with on various military forums.

I'm very interested in obtaining officer commission in either the US Navy or Army with a planned path in Combat Specialty...preferably an Armored Assault Vehicle or Infantry Officer. From what I was told by my recruiter, once I recieve a bachelor's degree I can apply for OCS or OTS.

I'm currently a sophmore in highschool and earning a 3.3+ GPA regularly.
What should I be doing to set my sights on this career goal?

I'm pretty much blind as to the specifics of my path and maybe someone can give me a bit of insight.
"This branch will be better for my career", any tips, and all that good stuff are welcomed!

Thank you!

Since I went through the same thing you did I can give you a bit of advice, since your looking at infantry or armored I would recomend Army.
You have several options to becoming a officer in the Army and the easiest, the one I chose, is doing ROTC in college, this way you do your training while in college, and some schools like NGCSU allow you to join a reserve unit on the campus that doesnt deploy. If you do this you will also have to pay $0 for college and as I said it is the easiest. The next option is to apply for OCS, OCS is very selective and I have little experiance here so not much I can offer.

If your looking at the navy your best bet would be the marines, agian ROTC or OCS is a option, you however have a third choice here and thatis PLC (Platoon Leaders Class) You do your training during your junior and senior year of college and then you get your commision.

The Marines don't offer as much money as does the Army, also in the Marines promotions aren't as common since the force is so small. Career wise the Army is the better choice however theres perhaps a bit more pride involved in becoming a Marine officer but thats just my opinion.

Ok great, thats exactly the kind of answer I was looking for.

The Army does seem to be what everyone is pointing me towards (even my Navy recruiter) for that kind of career.

As I understand, the four Senior Military Colleges in the US have EXTREMELY competitive enrollment...like ivy-league status (which I have no chance with). So my best paths are through ROTC or OCS I guess..but I just looked at the explaination of Direct Commission OCS on Military.com and it seems to be more for people looking into "academic" careers in the military...like doctors, lawyers, chaplains, etc.

So ROTC seems to be the biggest suggestion from everyone I've talked to also. Now I just need to find a college with ROTC and set my sights! Well, now the real hunt begins

Aye and if you do go ROTC take a look at NGCSU, some consider it on par with West Point and if you do ROTC you get in state tuition, since you are commisioning the Army will pretty much take care of the rest. Good luck.

^ ( Co-ED mil college is ftw )

personally i would go army. theyre a very stable and ground base opperation.

Zane, are there any youth programs you'd recommend to give me a boost? Im in JCAP, but that probably wont help too much in an armor/infantry career. Are there any US Army cadet programs that I should look into, is what I'm trying to ask?...And how much competition should I expect applying to NGCSU? I understand the Air University requires 2 years in college to apply, is that the same with NGCSU?

See if your highschool offers Army JROTC or if any other nearby schools do, and you can check if they have after school classes and enroll with them.

DrummerBoyz95 wrote:

See if your highschool offers Army JROTC or if any other nearby schools do, and you can check if they have after school classes and enroll with them.

I'm hoping to transfer to a school with JROTC next year, so at least I'll get junior and senior year's worth. But im wondering about something thats not school-sponsored to go along with it. I was looking at Young Marines, but I'm wondering if theres anything like that for the Army.

After 4 years of JROTC and serving as our battalions S-3 I can tell you (overall) It's nothing but a bunch of BS and, in most schools it serves as a dumping ground for eh..special needs. I was lucky in my first two years to be in one of the best programs in the nation and also to lead our unit to HUD, my next two years however were unsavory, class consisted of first grade civics, PT that was a joke and constantly having to adapt my lesson plans to fit those who couldnt keep up.

If you were to join JROTC talk to the SAI, ask to see thier weekly schedule, talk to the cadet XO, S-3 and CSM and get a feel for the school your going to, make sure they have a active drill team, rifle team, and raider team. Also understand that these programs want to recruit you into the army even if its not official. If the program has those programs go for it, Raider will help you prepare physicly, and rifle and drill will prepare you in disciple. If you are lucky enough to find one of those few good JROTC programs go for it! if not familiriaze yourself with the army, and army cadet rank structures, the roles in a squad, platoon, company, battalion and brigade, this will give you a leg up.

Asfor NGCSU the reqs are as follows:
Freshman applicants must:

* Be at least 16 years old on or before the registration date.
* Have graduated from an accredited high school or a high school that is approved by the University.
* Present credit for the following 16 (17 for students graduating in or after 2012) CPC (College-Preparatory Curriculum) units:

English


4 units (Grammar, Literature, Advanced Composition)

Mathematics


4 units (Algebra I and II, Geometry, and an additional mathematics course that has these courses as prerequisites; note that Consumer Math and Business Math cannot be the additional mathematics course)

Science


3 units (at least one laboratory course from the life sciences and one laboratory course from the physical sciences. Students who graduate Fall 2012 or later must have 4 units of science. Graduates must have at least one unit of biology; one unit of physical science or physics; one unit of chemistry, earth systems, environmental science or an advanced placement science course)

Social Science


3 units (must include a unit focusing on U.S. studies and a unit focusing on world studies)

Foreign Language


2 units of the same foreign language (2 units of American Sign Language may also be used to satisfy this requirement)
* Have satisfactorily completed the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) or the American College Test (ACT), and any other entrance examination required by the University, with an acceptable score.
o Minimum SAT requirements for regular admission are Math 440 and Critical Reading 480
o Minimum ACT requirements for regular admission are Math 18 and English 20
* Send all transcripts from any previously attended colleges.
o Freshman applicants who have attended a college must also meet our transfer admission criteria.

Freshman applicants must submit the following:

* Application for Undergraduate Admission with $30 non-refundable application fee
* Official high school transcript after 11th grade has been completed
* Official SAT or ACT score report (scores noted on official high school transcripts are accepted)
* Applicants who are U.S. citizens and were born outside the U.S. must submit proof of U.S. citizenship
* Applicants who have been granted permanent U.S. residency must submit proof of permanent residency
* Applicants seeking F-1 or J-1 visa must complete the International Student Application
* Prior to enrolling a student must submit a North Georgia Certificate of Immunization, showing proof of immunization as required by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Admission to North Georgia College & State University is a selective process and meeting minimum admission requirements will not necessarily guarantee acceptance. Typically, over 2,500 applications are submitted for approximately 700 freshman openings for the fall semester. The middle 50% of recently enrolled North Georgia freshmen had SAT-I combined critical reading and mathematics scores between 1050-1150, and a (College-Preparatory Curriculum) high school GPA of 3.10-3.60.

Admission to North Georgia is ultimately determined by the freshman applicant's Freshman Index (FI), which helps determine the student's potential to successfully complete the academic programs of the University. The FI is calculated in the following way:

* FI (w/SAT) = 500 x (High School GPA of CPC courses) + SAT Critical Reading + SAT Math
* FI (w/ACT) = 500 x (High School GPA of CPC courses) + (ACT Composite x 42) + 88

The university reserves the right to refuse applicants when it appears that the number of students already accepted will fill the University to its capacity.

heres a few links to some of thier recruitment vids
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Aggressor_Platoon.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Colombo.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Ranger_Challenge.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Shooting_Sports.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Blue_Ridge_Rifles.aspx

Zane wrote:

After 4 years of JROTC and serving as our battalions S-3 I can tell you (overall) It's nothing but a bunch of BS and, in most schools it serves as a dumping ground for eh..special needs. I was lucky in my first two years to be in one of the best programs in the nation and also to lead our unit to HUD, my next two years however were unsavory, class consisted of first grade civics, PT that was a joke and constantly having to adapt my lesson plans to fit those who couldnt keep up.

If you were to join JROTC talk to the SAI, ask to see thier weekly schedule, talk to the cadet XO, S-3 and CSM and get a feel for the school your going to, make sure they have a active drill team, rifle team, and raider team. Also understand that these programs want to recruit you into the army even if its not official. If the program has those programs go for it, Raider will help you prepare physicly, and rifle and drill will prepare you in disciple. If you are lucky enough to find one of those few good JROTC programs go for it! if not familiriaze yourself with the army, and army cadet rank structures, the roles in a squad, platoon, company, battalion and brigade, this will give you a leg up.

Asfor NGCSU the reqs are as follows:
Freshman applicants must:

* Be at least 16 years old on or before the registration date.
* Have graduated from an accredited high school or a high school that is approved by the University.
* Present credit for the following 16 (17 for students graduating in or after 2012) CPC (College-Preparatory Curriculum) units:

English


4 units (Grammar, Literature, Advanced Composition)

Mathematics


4 units (Algebra I and II, Geometry, and an additional mathematics course that has these courses as prerequisites; note that Consumer Math and Business Math cannot be the additional mathematics course)

Science


3 units (at least one laboratory course from the life sciences and one laboratory course from the physical sciences. Students who graduate Fall 2012 or later must have 4 units of science. Graduates must have at least one unit of biology; one unit of physical science or physics; one unit of chemistry, earth systems, environmental science or an advanced placement science course)

Social Science


3 units (must include a unit focusing on U.S. studies and a unit focusing on world studies)

Foreign Language


2 units of the same foreign language (2 units of American Sign Language may also be used to satisfy this requirement)
* Have satisfactorily completed the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) or the American College Test (ACT), and any other entrance examination required by the University, with an acceptable score.
o Minimum SAT requirements for regular admission are Math 440 and Critical Reading 480
o Minimum ACT requirements for regular admission are Math 18 and English 20
* Send all transcripts from any previously attended colleges.
o Freshman applicants who have attended a college must also meet our transfer admission criteria.

Freshman applicants must submit the following:

* Application for Undergraduate Admission with $30 non-refundable application fee
* Official high school transcript after 11th grade has been completed
* Official SAT or ACT score report (scores noted on official high school transcripts are accepted)
* Applicants who are U.S. citizens and were born outside the U.S. must submit proof of U.S. citizenship
* Applicants who have been granted permanent U.S. residency must submit proof of permanent residency
* Applicants seeking F-1 or J-1 visa must complete the International Student Application
* Prior to enrolling a student must submit a North Georgia Certificate of Immunization, showing proof of immunization as required by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Admission to North Georgia College & State University is a selective process and meeting minimum admission requirements will not necessarily guarantee acceptance. Typically, over 2,500 applications are submitted for approximately 700 freshman openings for the fall semester. The middle 50% of recently enrolled North Georgia freshmen had SAT-I combined critical reading and mathematics scores between 1050-1150, and a (College-Preparatory Curriculum) high school GPA of 3.10-3.60.

Admission to North Georgia is ultimately determined by the freshman applicant's Freshman Index (FI), which helps determine the student's potential to successfully complete the academic programs of the University. The FI is calculated in the following way:

* FI (w/SAT) = 500 x (High School GPA of CPC courses) + SAT Critical Reading + SAT Math
* FI (w/ACT) = 500 x (High School GPA of CPC courses) + (ACT Composite x 42) + 88

The university reserves the right to refuse applicants when it appears that the number of students already accepted will fill the University to its capacity.

heres a few links to some of thier recruitment vids
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Aggressor_Platoon.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Colombo.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Ranger_Challenge.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Shooting_Sports.aspx
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Cadet_Admissions/Programs/Organizations/Blue_Ridge_Rifles.aspx

Great, thanks so much. I'm going to show my guidance counselor the requirements and see if my projected academic levels will meet the level needed to have NGCSU even look at me.

yeah its a great school, its the top senir millatary college and the only co-ed one which is ftw lol

Zane wrote:

yeah its a great school, its the top senir millatary college and the only co-ed one which is ftw lol

Heck ya. Thanks so much for all your help. I couldnt get straight answers from local recruiters.

yeah recruiters don't much like talking to officer wannabes, they don't get paid for em lol.One more thing, don t ever fall for the go enlisted before officer stuff, its a lie most that do it that way are terrible officers

Zane wrote:

yeah recruiters don't much like talking to officer wannabes, they don't get paid for em lol.One more thing, don t ever fall for the go enlisted before officer stuff, its a lie most that do it that way are terrible officers

Kewl kewl, will do.
I feel like I finally have it kindof sortof figured out, at least in the area of "what I need to be doing now".
Im stoked

Quote :

yeah recruiters don't much like talking to officer wannabes, they don't get paid for em lol.One more thing, don t ever fall for the go enlisted before officer stuff, its a lie most that do it that way are terrible officers

First off your Recruiter does not get paid on who he/she Recruits, your 00R has a quota to make, if they miss it, is reflects on their NOCOER, there are no bonus´s, added cash, and the such, they get their normal pay based on grade, the Rumor of added cash is a load of B.S.

As far as Troops that take the Green to Gold program in order to join the Officer Rank, the ones that turn out less than standard are the ones that change branch, and end up having worthless NOC´s training them and supporting them when they show up as a young Butter Bar.

One of the best Officers I ever had was a former Trooper of mine, left my Squad as a young Gung Ho E-4, showed up 6 years later as a fresh baked 2nd Louie, and was phenominal.

Your officers only turn out as well as the Noncoms that train them, if the NCO chain is weak or worthless, that young Troop or Officer is going to be the same, the Officer branch knows, whithout the Noncom, nothing is going to work out right, and the Noncom knows that if the young Butter bar is not ready to listen and learn, it will relect on his OER and after 18 months he gets a new Officer to train.

Quote :

One of the best Officers I ever had was a former Trooper of mine, left my Squad as a young Gung Ho E-4, showed up 6 years later as a fresh baked 2nd Louie, and was phenominal.

Before I joined ROTC I considered going that route but was informed by several NCO's that all the officers theyve had that went through OCS's were crap, they were insecure in thier post. and treated everyone like "Watch your language". Maybe they just had bad experiances, or maybe a good one is rare and you were lucky. I know from what I was told so meh. As for the officers learning from thier NCO's, straight on there, a young LT who doesnt listen to his platoon sarge will fail I was told and I believe that.

Well be that as it may,

I would say that the worst that I had were as a rule, Rign knockers, OCS, or Green to Gold on the average were better than the rest, and later became super CO´s or Staff Officers while waiting their turn for command.

Ok so my plans have changed a bit since enrolling in the middle college program. I'm going to start work on my prerequisites for nursing school and hopefully have them all finished before senior+1 year (the middle college has an ''overlap'' year where I can stay a year after senior year to finish up my course work). I still would very much like to be an officer, so would I be better off going to nursing school and getting the degree as a civilian then doing direct commission into the Navy Medical Corps(?) or once I finish the prerequisites is there a way to enter the military and get my nursing degree through them? I figure the second option may be ''better''/cheaper? I'm looking into emergency care, if that makes any difference...or any specialty that would raise my chances of serving abroad/afloat.

Depending on your ASVAB scores, you may qualify for the School right out of Basic ( Army ), you will have to do time as a Ground Medic First, gather your reccomendations, then submit for further schooling, many of the Large bases in CONUS offer an OJT Program for Medics that are interested in Emergency Medicine, consider it a Pre-Nursing prepatory Schooling, this is offered because the Drop Out rate at FT. Sam ( Slam ), is extremely high, mainly due to the female distractions.

Also you agian have the option of going to college and doing ROTC while you learn...like I said earlier I pull all my experiance from my school..but the nursing program there is integrated in to the ROTC program so they do both.

Link
Link
Also..I don't know if other schools have this, and I might have mentioned it, but NG has a reserve detachment on the campus itself, that way you stay on campus for your drill.

But yeah just another option to keep in mind.

Killer links, Zane! I think thats exactly what I'm looking for... Do you know what kind of acceptance rate that program has? I'm sure I'd be elligable for it...it's just a matter of actually getting accepted. Being a caucasian male from a middle class family, they're not going to see me and be like ''ZOMG WE WANT HIM!'' . Hmm...definitely beats going to school in California though Cool stuff, thanks for your info as well Slob...I'm keeping my options open.

I've never really even looked at the US Army yet. If I were to go that route, they \"Watch your language\" well better have gotten rid of this ACU arpat crap hahah...I'm sitting here at the gate at O'Hare right now waiting to board and there are a few servicemen on my flight wearing ACU. I chuckled inside when I saw them, then composed myself and shook their hands

I wasn\'t able to find the %age admited but link are the requirments

Quote :

1. All applicants seeking admission to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program
must be accepted to North Georgia College & State University prior to January 9th. This
university acceptance must be in place before acceptance into the nursing program.
Applications may be obtained from the college catalog or the Admissions Office.
Apply Now


2. Successful completion of an Associate of Science in Nursing degree or a diploma in nursing
is required.

3. An active Georgia Registered Nurses's license is required before beginning any clinical courses.
Completion of a current American Heart Association Basic Life support course for health care
providers is required as well as proof of health insurance and professional liability insurance.

4. Following acceptance to North Georgia College & State University, applicants must contact
the Department of Nursing to initiate the admission process for nursing classes. Deadline date
for nursing application with college acceptance is February 1 of each year

5. Applicants must have a 2.5 overall grade point average on all courses accepted at North
Georgia College & State University for transfer.

6. Applicants must have a 2.0 ("C") grade point average or higher in Biology 2250 (Anatomy),
2251 (Physiology) and 2280 (Medical Microbiology), either taken at North Georgia College &
State University or accepted for transfer. Applicants must have a "C" or better in ENGL 1101
and MATH 1101.

7. The North Georgia College & State University BSN program has adopted the RN-BSN
articulation model approved by the University System of Georgia. Validation testing
will be required of all Associate degree or diploma graduates who graduated from non-
NLN accredited schools outside the state of Georgia, who graduated more than four years
ago, and have less than 1,000 clinical practice hours. Contact the Department of Nursing
for additional information.

8. Students are held accountable for mastery of all psychomotor skills representative of
technical education. The Department of Nursing will provide students with a list of
selected skills and evaluation criteria.

9. Names of references should be listed on the application to the nursing program (one
reference from an employer and one from a former professor are preferred).

10. Applicants must appear for an interview if requested. Faculty have the prerogative to request
a student interview.

11. Students who meet all admission requirements other than passing NCLEX scores will be
admitted to the program and allowed to enroll in level III non-clinical nursing courses
(Nursing 3110, 3150, 3330, 3410 and/or 3580).

12. Students seeking readmission must request readmission in writing to the BSN coordinator
at least one semester in advance of enrollment and must have a 2.5 overall grade point
average in order to be eligible for readmission. Readmission is based on availability and
discretion of faculty.

So it looks you get admitted to the schoold first and take those courses before you apply for the nursing program.

From the schools website it looks like 2500 freshman apply and 700 are accepted.

The middle 50% of recently enrolled North Georgia freshmen had SAT-I combined critical reading and mathematics scores between 1050-1150, and a (College-Preparatory Curriculum) high school GPA of 3.10-3.60.

But yeah heres a link for further info on req's

Actualy the first is for the BSN

heres the link for ASN
http://www.ngcsu.edu/Nursing/Default_1col.aspx?id=4206

Those're some seriously intense prerequisites. I've already gotten everything minus some science courses to fulfill prerequisites for Loma Linda University...and that's one of the best nursing programs on the West Coast! NG has some seriously high standards...possibly out of my reach.

But I'll talk to my GLC and she if she thinks I have any possibility of getting accepted.

So if NG falls through (which it seems it will), I will likely be going to Loma Linda (where I was planning on going in the first place)...so if I were to get my degree as a civilian, what would be the path to a military nursing career for a civilian-educated nurse?