If a ROTC cadet's ultimate goal is to work for a 3 letter agency, is it better to commission active duty or NG/Reserves?

Purely out of curiosity, only as you hadn't mentioned it, what major would you want, or are you doing? And, have you done any assocs level stuff thus far, or looked at any other svcs at all? I just typically ask stuff like that whenever I see career/educ threads like yours, honest, it helps us all be able to try to give advice more coherently, I'd found, honest...also, grades? GPAs? Research interests, if any? Specific topics that interest you, so far as you might be able to elaborate at all? And I gather, as you're apparently in now, are you SMP? Green to Gold? Hobbies? Reading tastes? Sport, esp any martial arts at all? The more you give all of us, the more we can possibly suggest for you, that's my sole point, so far as you'd care to say, honest, OK?

It makes common sense that NG members would have more, they can serve on both fronts. AD is limited to separation. NG can apply and apply again, while AD can only apply upon separation, after that of course apply and apply. Anyway, not sure you can truly know unless you are in HR for the 3 letters. Thank you for your service.

If your ultimate goal is to work for a federal agency that is not the Army, please don’t waste the Army’s time and money training you to be an officer. If you want to be an officer in the Army be an officer, don’t have a mistress that is some vague 3 letter agency.

If you choose to not be an active officer then get a degree in a field of study that interest you and be a reserve officer. Just don’t take that active slot from another young officer that wants to devote his entire career to the army.

I know I am oversimplifying the way commissioning works. I am simply saying we need officers that are dedicated to soldiering and not using the service as a stepping stone. Too many enlisted do that already.