Posted on May 29, 2019
Does being a 17c give you a leg up on the competition for getting an OCS slot?
3.35K
7
8
0
0
0
I have a bachelors in chemistry with a 3.15 gpa. I was curious if the army would like to pick up soldiers with this MOS for officer slots or is it the opposite? As in they put a lot of training into you and therefore want to keep you in your current enlisted position.
Posted in these groups: 
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army)
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
2
2
0
Not at all! You apply for OCD (some units have boards) and if selected based on performance and CoC endorsement up you go!
(2)
(0)
2
2
0
No. Unless you direct commission into your job specialty, which I think cyber has one, your branch slot is a function of how well you do at OCS and the needs of the Army.
(2)
(0)
LTC Jason Mackay
To pile on, your enlisted MOS doesn't predetermine your Officer Branch during the accessions process. What the needs of the Army are at the moment you are looked at the end of OCS. It is all behind the curtain.
(0)
(0)
PFC (Join to see)
Does it seem reasonable that I could be a competitive candidate for OCS after day two years at my first duty station?
(0)
(0)
MAJ (Join to see)
PFC (Join to see) You are using a criteria that is not really that relevant for the OCS application process. Time on station isn’t really a factor. It’s the “whole leader” concept, i.e. everything you are and have done in terms of leadership and Soldiering. As stated earlier, given where you are in your career, it will be much harder for you to be competitive than a Sergeant or Staff Sergeant who have held positions as NCOIC, team leader, squad leader, etc. This isn’t to say you aren’t competitive, I just don’t know you.
I think the best advice might be to get with the officer you respect the most (preferably captain or above). Learn what he/she does. Let them know that you are interested in this path and see if they will give advice, mentor ship, and support. I base this on my own experience. I didn’t consider OCS until the officers above me started to offer their support for me to go WO or Officer. Then I started doing the research as to what I wanted to do. But I had my battalion commander on down supporting me in this effort. If the officers above you do not think you should pursue a commission at this time, they will surely tell you and they will hopefully tell you what things you should concentrate on to get there. The probability of success of your application process is greatly increased if you have the support of your chain of command.
I think the best advice might be to get with the officer you respect the most (preferably captain or above). Learn what he/she does. Let them know that you are interested in this path and see if they will give advice, mentor ship, and support. I base this on my own experience. I didn’t consider OCS until the officers above me started to offer their support for me to go WO or Officer. Then I started doing the research as to what I wanted to do. But I had my battalion commander on down supporting me in this effort. If the officers above you do not think you should pursue a commission at this time, they will surely tell you and they will hopefully tell you what things you should concentrate on to get there. The probability of success of your application process is greatly increased if you have the support of your chain of command.
(2)
(0)
1
1
0
Needs of the Army my friend. A specialty MOS could give you an advantage. It's all what the board needs at that moment when they make those selections.
(1)
(0)
0
0
0
0
0
0
My bad. I read your post incorrectly. Your prior service MOS does not give you a leg up on the competition. The OCS board is concerned with leadership, decision making, tactical/strategic planning skills, etc. It is more helpful if you are an NCO with established NCOERs with a published record of you actually doing these things. Of my group that boarded with me from my unit, I was the only Staff Sergeant with one Sergeant and a Specialist. I felt like, after talking to them, they had a lot more trouble articulating to the board that they had an ability to effectively do these things where my board mainly asked me why I wanted to be an officer and then asked me questions based on leadership positions listed in my NCOERs. The Specialist actually didn’t get recommended by the board. The Sergeant was a 35PKP, which is a Korean crypto-linguist and he ended up getting branched Field Artillery. So in short, your MOS is not as important as the enlisted leadership positions you have held that are congruent with the officer skills they look for in your application/board process.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google