Posted on Mar 6, 2020
Could you still able to switch from OCS candidate back to enlisted after you already signed the contract?
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Hello everyone, I have a quick question. So I signed the contract with the ARNG last week as an officer candidate. My original plan was to enlist as a 12T Technical Engineer. Everything was going great until I arrived at MEPS when they told me that because they had to make a slot for me as a 12T, I won't be able to qualify for the student loan repayment program. I was in shock because my recruiter didn't mention this to me before I went to MEPS. They told me that I have to pick another MOS, but then they advised me to go for federal OCS since I already have a college degree. Since I didn't do any research about OCS and they didn't have any position open for my second and third MOS pick, and they were kind of rushing me, so I chose to proceed with the OCS option. I will be shipping out to BTC in September and OCS right after. That's six months from now. I asked if I could ship earlier, but they said I couldn't because OCS won't start until November.
After MEPS, I went home and did some research about OCS and found out that the OCS graduation rate is like 60%. If I fail OCS, then they will not pay for my student loan. I have a degree in Construction Management and have more than a year of experience in construction. I recently just quit my job (I hate my job) because I expected to be shipping out immediately. My recruiter told me that it's going to take 15 to 30 days after the contract is signed. Now I'm jobless and have to wait six months for basic training. Even if I pass OCS, I still have to attend BOLC. I found online that some people have to wait six to twelve months for a slot to attend BOLC. So basically, I have to wait six months to go to BTC and OCS. Then if I pass OCS, I might get sent home and wait another six months or more for BOLC. That's more than two years of my life, and I might lose all of my recent work experiences. I'm 28 years old, and I don't have more time to waste. So I'm thinking of switching from OCS candidate back to maybe another MOS or wait until another 12T slot opens up. I haven't spoken to my recruiter about this yet. I want to ask you guys first before coming to talk with my recruiter. Please give me some advice. Thank you very much
After MEPS, I went home and did some research about OCS and found out that the OCS graduation rate is like 60%. If I fail OCS, then they will not pay for my student loan. I have a degree in Construction Management and have more than a year of experience in construction. I recently just quit my job (I hate my job) because I expected to be shipping out immediately. My recruiter told me that it's going to take 15 to 30 days after the contract is signed. Now I'm jobless and have to wait six months for basic training. Even if I pass OCS, I still have to attend BOLC. I found online that some people have to wait six to twelve months for a slot to attend BOLC. So basically, I have to wait six months to go to BTC and OCS. Then if I pass OCS, I might get sent home and wait another six months or more for BOLC. That's more than two years of my life, and I might lose all of my recent work experiences. I'm 28 years old, and I don't have more time to waste. So I'm thinking of switching from OCS candidate back to maybe another MOS or wait until another 12T slot opens up. I haven't spoken to my recruiter about this yet. I want to ask you guys first before coming to talk with my recruiter. Please give me some advice. Thank you very much
MOS
OCS
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army)
Enlisted
Edited 5 y ago
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 10
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Where did you read that the OCS graduation rate was 60%? It’s closer to 99%. If a class got anywhere near 60%, the Cadre would be fired. I can understand that you are apprehensive about OCS, but you also failed to do the proper amount of research. Just go to OCS. It’s not that hard. As long as you can pass a PT Test, Height and Weight, and you don’t do anything illegal, or immoral, you will be fine. If you screw up and fail a test multiple times or get kicked out by your peers, that is entirely on you. The tests aren’t overly difficult and you have to be either selfish or incompetent for your peers to rate you low enough to get booted.
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CPL (Join to see)
Sir, I signed for Federal OCS but still. I did a lot of research and the people that failed land nav and history are high. Plus even if i pass, it's going to eat at least 2 years of my life if i'm lucky and get a slot to go to BOLC right after OCS.
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MAJ (Join to see)
CPL (Join to see) A lot of people fail Land Nav, History, and the Military Intelligence test at OCS, but nobody in my class failed any of them twice. We only had 2 people get recycled; they both graduated later. One guy was recycled for cheating on a survey about 3 days before graduation. It wasn’t even part of the curriculum, but he looked at his neighbor’s survey and then lied about it to the Cadre that watched him do it. The other recycle was my roommate. He never failed anything, but he only passed tests by a point or two and his PT was marginal. He was recycled for “failure to progress.”
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1LT Rich Voss
MAJ (Join to see) - Major, maybe he heard stories from the "bad old days" of OCS during Cold War/Viet Nam era...in other words, when I went. 6 months at Fort Knox to become an Armor officer (at 19 with zero college). Our company lost at least a third of the original candidates. Whole host of reasons. Physical, psychological, mental, test taking ability (lack thereof), TAC officer/s finding a weak spot and working it until you broke, etc. Most of the guys that got booted or left of their own accord were guys with the most enlisted time and some rank, i.e. SP4s and duck SGTs. Anyway, I agree with all of you that have suggested he "stay the course" and go to OCS. Best thing I ever did in my life for myself, and my country !
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