Posted on Aug 9, 2020
How long should I wait before talking to my chain of command about going officer?
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Getting ready to go to my first line unit as a prior enlisted specialist
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 11
Start the conversation early. I enlisted in 1999 and had I talked to my CoC earlier, I might have been commissioned earlier. Might be a little different for you but you should always have an open line if communication about your career goals. They should mentor you towards those goals...if they are decent leaders.
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SPC (Join to see)
Should i wait until I’ve kind of proven myself at the unit, or initiate the conversation and prove along the way?
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LT (Join to see)
Initiate right away. You have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself. Show them who you are by your actions and leadership style. Stay humble and good things will come your way. It might take some time, but you will succeed.
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ASAP, try and get mentor that's a 2LT (I say 2LT only because they are closest to the current way things are done) and went through the process you are planning on. ROTC, OCS, Green to Gold, Direct, etc..... I'd have soldiers come to me, and I'd point them to platoon leaders who had a similar path. I'd give them as much, but I for one have no idea how ROTC or OCS works when it comes down to the details.
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CPT (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) - I had no problem someone coming directly to me. I don't know the sensitivity of your Platoon SGT or your 1SG. You certainly want them knowing your ambitions so I would start there, and hopefully you can go directly to the commander from there. I do know one thing, when I was in your place, it took forever to go through the chain, and I know the value of time in regard to getting packets together.
Whatever path you choose to commission with, your current Company Commander at the time will be at the very least giving you the OK to proceed, and probably have to be at least one of the letters of recommendation.
Whatever path you choose to commission with, your current Company Commander at the time will be at the very least giving you the OK to proceed, and probably have to be at least one of the letters of recommendation.
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SPC (Join to see)
If you don’t mind me asking sir, which route did you take? I’ve considered both OCS and G2G ADO. I’m married with a baby on the way. So I figured those two options are what might fit for us the best.
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CPT (Join to see)
I direct commissioned, and I GAMED the system, and chose the MOS/Branch with the most vacancies. So I knew the USAR was no way going to fill all those positions and I wouldn't get bumped out by a better candidate (I failed the prior year chasing an Intel slot). If you go OCS you need your degree in hand. If you don't have your degree yet then it depends on how far away you are for what your options are.
Without a degree you are dead in the water. Get the degree.
I see you are NG. I presume the staffing challenges are similar as the USAR. Now is a good time to pursue becoming an officer. The bar is being lowered about as low as it can go.
1) I was waiving OCS candidates sub 110 GT score (105-109 could be waived) as a 1LT company commander so I could get them in the unit.
2) There was recently a bonus retention incentive pushed out to qualifying CPTs and MAJs (I have never seen a RETENTION bonus, only an INITIAL bonus for officers).
3) My higher command within the USAR is literally funding college scholarships themselves for Officer Candidates. They didn't break any rules and the details followed along Green to Gold (so commissions are just a legit as anything else), but by them FUNDING the scholarship themselves at their level they could lock in the new LT for themselves and their initial assignment.
If you want it, it's there. Jump through the hoops, and if you check all the boxes without a waiver for anything your chances are very good.
Without a degree you are dead in the water. Get the degree.
I see you are NG. I presume the staffing challenges are similar as the USAR. Now is a good time to pursue becoming an officer. The bar is being lowered about as low as it can go.
1) I was waiving OCS candidates sub 110 GT score (105-109 could be waived) as a 1LT company commander so I could get them in the unit.
2) There was recently a bonus retention incentive pushed out to qualifying CPTs and MAJs (I have never seen a RETENTION bonus, only an INITIAL bonus for officers).
3) My higher command within the USAR is literally funding college scholarships themselves for Officer Candidates. They didn't break any rules and the details followed along Green to Gold (so commissions are just a legit as anything else), but by them FUNDING the scholarship themselves at their level they could lock in the new LT for themselves and their initial assignment.
If you want it, it's there. Jump through the hoops, and if you check all the boxes without a waiver for anything your chances are very good.
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SPC (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see) I was NG. I actually re-enlisted on the active side. Tried to reup for OCS and wasn’t selected but was told it’s a little bit easier to drop a packet and get picked up as an in service candidate? And I have my bachelors already. But nothing beyond that yet.
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Ask for an office call with your Company Commander. Put yourself on their radar so that they can observe your performance and assess your capability and potential for becoming an officer.
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CSM Darieus ZaGara
Yo do need to inform your section leader that you would like to seek the commanders guidance, from there I am sure that the 1SG will speak with you and set your expectations right. But yes it should be that easy. Commanders are supposed to depend time with their Soldiers.
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Josh.... you should talk to them right after you talk to PSG and LT. (I thought you were already on track) I still have you on FB so hit me up there also if you have questions!
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SPC (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) since I was prior service coming back in, they wouldn’t allow me to sign up for SLRP. So I had to take the GI Bill.
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SSG (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) - that's good it will cover your Masters or Doctorate! As I understand it the 2 years do not have to be consecutive and if deployed you can always help at the Chapel. Or do like Earl Hooper, Dave Koonce ect did and get a Commission and work in the church.
Have you looked at Officer Shortage MOSs in say Social Work I don't remember what you were studying.
Maybe a WO billet. Intell WO re always in short supply. Most bases have Warrant Recruiter there quarterly
Have you looked at Officer Shortage MOSs in say Social Work I don't remember what you were studying.
Maybe a WO billet. Intell WO re always in short supply. Most bases have Warrant Recruiter there quarterly
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SPC (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) ill look into it. The chaplain was saying that there’s a waiver to be able to go to school and do your church pastorship. It like keeps you in the army but on like a reserve status? But you have to have two years left on your contract.
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My recommendation for you is to state your intentions right away with your chain of command so they can support you and your career. They can help you with which options you should choose and start looking at the MILPER message requirements and the deadline for each program. When you're ready to submit the package, make sure you meet all the requirements and importantly draft a letter of recommendation for both the company and battalion commander so they can endorse it. It's important because you're new to the unit and they don't have a chance to assess you and your potential yet. By giving them a draft, at least they can have something to write about you.
I earned my commission through OCS on the active-duty side and sat on a couple of brigade OCS boards. If you need help with your OCS package or have questions about the OCS board, I'm more willing to help you out.
I earned my commission through OCS on the active-duty side and sat on a couple of brigade OCS boards. If you need help with your OCS package or have questions about the OCS board, I'm more willing to help you out.
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CPT (Join to see)
Not a generic letter but a letter that tailored to your skills and potential to lead. Talk about past performances that you have accomplished. If you don't have a lot of time in the Army, focus some of the stuff you do outside like volunteer work. There are plenty of letter of recommendations online, it doesn't have to be a military specific since it's all come down to what you did and the impact of it. Look into AR 25-50 on setting up your memo, basically you will need you unit heading, letter should address: Memorandum for President of the OCS Board. You will need to slightly adjust the writing for the company and the BN commander so it doesn't look like a cookie cutter recommendation.
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SPC (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see) I’ll look into it. I always thought the LORs were drafted by the commanders.
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CPT (Join to see)
It's both you and your commander. Since you're new to the unit, the commander doesn't know you enough about you to effectively provide a judgment on you. Would you want someone don't know much about you to write a letter of recommendation for you? By providing a drafted letter of recommendation, you give the commander ideas/suggestions on what to write about you. You eliminate the guesswork out of it. The commander can either accept your draft letter or write a different one, and that's commander purview. 9 out 10 times the commander would take whatever you wrote and accepts it as is. So why not put what you want to talk about you to the table?
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SPC (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see) that makes tons of sense plus allows me to have ownership of what’s on paper. I’ll get to work on that.
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Likely ASAP if not ASAPier. But you need to pay attention afterwards because the folks you let know will be depending on your sergeants and bosses and your counseling statements for an opinion of you. We had a PFC, later Specialist, who wanted a commission but he was lazy and had a reputation for not being too bright in spite of a Bachelor's degree. He could never pass a room inspection and his boots and uniform were always wrinkled and scuffed. Even though you have the prerequisites, hold yourself to a higher standard. The person in question retired as a Sergeant. We had him transferred to Admin at Battalion because he was holding our Firing Platoon back from the live fire exercise and the V Corps Distinguished Small Unit Award.
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Really it should be in your initial counselling with your FLL. They should be asking about your career goals, and you should be let them know. It takes about a year to even get accepted and you need your CMD team to sign off, so you'll want to include them as soon as possible.
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SPC (Join to see)
Coming from an NCO, what should I expect from my platoon sergeant and such? Anger, or anything like that? Or support?
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2LT (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see), definitely support. The advancement of your Soldiers' careers is one of your top priorities as an NCO. Anyone who holds your back, for whatever reason, without helping or even just supporting you, needs to take a hard look at why they became an NCO.
I was promoted into a new unit, the first thing I did was tell them that I'd submitted an OCS packet. It meant that within a year I would be transferring back out. It didn't mean I wasn't going to put in the same 100% work ethic that I would have put in if I were staying.
I was promoted into a new unit, the first thing I did was tell them that I'd submitted an OCS packet. It meant that within a year I would be transferring back out. It didn't mean I wasn't going to put in the same 100% work ethic that I would have put in if I were staying.
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What's the route you want to go? The requirements for G2G are different than OCS. If you don't know that then the first step is to get to those briefings and learn the process before asking for your CoC letters of recommendation
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SPC (Join to see)
SFC (Join to see) so it’s sounding like G2G ADO might be a good option. The only thing is, I saw the info booklet said that GI Bill usage is limited.
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SFC (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) what’s limited is that you must have served three years already to receive your full GI Bill tuition rate and it will not pay you the additional BAH because you’ll already be receiving BAH from the Army
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SPC (Join to see)
SFC (Join to see) so since my contract is three years, I’d have to apply for G2G ADO at the start of my second enlistment?
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SFC (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) you’ll be eligible to reenlist about a year from ETS. Use that chance to reenlist for a duty station you want, it’s the last time in your career you’ll get to pick once you become an officer. I suggest something like Germany or Hawaii.
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