Posted on Dec 22, 2013
LTC Tony C.
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<p>Where do the best company commanders come from:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>1. West Point?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>2. ROTC?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>3. OCS?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We've all had them. Cast your vote.</p>
Posted in these groups: Ea9b1aff West PointOCS
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1SG Eric Rice
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I can honestly say that i have had company commanders from all 3 categories and I do not believe that it matters. It all depends on the individual commander regardless of what path they took to being commissioned. If an individual commander is all about themselves and obtaining the next higher position regardless of how they achieve it they are not going to be loved by the troops. It is hard to earn respect when you do not respect yourself.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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Majority in my field were ROTC a few Anapolis. I like both equally. I always liked hearing the stories from the "Academy" that I got from the young Ensigns.
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MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
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I ran into a few "Pointers" during schools and such, never served directly with any, and honestly of the one's I encountered, there was nothing that screamed, "I went to an Academy" that made them stand out from ROTC or OCS.
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LTC Dr Richard Wasserman
LTC Dr Richard Wasserman
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I had several AF Academy grads work for me downrange and they were very Smart people. Loved having them around. Also, several Army and they were good, also. None of them bragged about being ring knockers. Just regular folks that had their educations paid for with a little commitment afterwards.
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SFC MLRS/HIMARS Crewmember
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Whether it be ROTC, OCS, or a military academy, past PLs and CDRs who still stand out in my mind years later as superlative were always prior-service NCOs with 4-6 years of experience enlisted.

All three programs have benefits and downfalls. IMO it boils down to character and experience.
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SGT Tom Cole
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The best officers I knew while I was in were either OCS or ROTC.  They made more of an effort to get to know the soldiers they were working with.  The West Point officers I knew didn't seem to make the same effort, as if they were better than us peons.
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MSG Timothy Smith
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Back in the day, the mid 70's to be exact, being Infantry and all, it was the common consensus that of the 3, the Direct Battlefield commision was by far the best. West Pointers knew it all and couldn't be taught, ROTC didn't know it all, but at least they (sometimes) could be taught, and OCS had the head knowledge, but not the experience. Fresh out of Basic, so to speak.Battlefield commisions, on the other hand, knew what to do, how to do it, and were capable of doing it. After all, they did survive Viet Nam. That was our choice to who we would follow.
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CSM Command Sergeant Major
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Can't answer that question it's like asking who's a better 1SG, infantry, aviation or artillery NCOs? I've had many commanders throughout my career, I couldn't pinpoint the best of them, they all had positive affects on their soldiers career in their own way
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Capt Michael Wilford
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Character, not source of commissioning determines who will be a great commander at any level. Some of the best commanders I served with never set foot in a service academy and some of the most arrogant officers I commanded came from the service academies. Then there were the Mustangs like me who came through enlisted commissioning sources, some good officers and some not so good officers.
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CW4 Craig Urban
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ROTC. West pointers are overrated.
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SGT Jerrold Pesz
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I never had an academy grad but I did have OCS, ROTC and prior service officers and they were all pretty good but different. The prior service ones seemed to be better at dealing with people at first but the others learned and turned out fine. No problems with any of them.
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
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You forgot direct commission. But in reality I've seen and had great commanders in all of these and horrible ones in all of these. I will not generalize. Some will argue prior service are best, yet I've seen all too recent that that is not always the case. Trying to pick ones sets yourself up for generalizations and you will either not give someone a chance or give too much credit to some who probably shouldn't even be in.
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