Is commissioning into the Navy as prior service Army achievable? Has anyone had any experience with commissioning in their 30s?

2022-08-21T08:05:03-04:00

Hello,

I have recently been thinking of trying to commission into the Navy. I am 29 years old , and served active duty in the Army (infantry), which I ETSd in 2017. I left AD to attend college. I earned an associates degree in Criminal Law, and I’m working towards my bachelors in the same.

In 2019 I began working full time in law enforcement. I am in pretty good shape, and work out regularly. I have no VA rating from active duty. I have no family, legal, or finical ties to where I am at now. I have a clean background and a 3.6 college GPA.

I am interested in the Navy Intelligence Officer branch. I reached out to a recruiter the other day but I am still waiting a reply. I have a close friend who is AD Navy (enlisted) in the Intel field and he loves it.

I want to return to active duty for a multitude of reasons, mostly for the military lifestyle. I want to be an officer because I want to lead and take on bigger responsibilities.

With all of this being said, is commissioning into the Navy (active duty) achievable? I would be in my early 30s if I could. Has anyone had any experience with officers commissioning in their 30s? Has anyone attended OCS with someone in their 30s?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2022 8:09 AM

2022-08-21T08:09:40-04:00

Also, I wanted to mention I served just under 4 years on AD, If that makes any difference.

Response by CPT Enrique M. made Aug 21 at 2022 9:30 AM

2022-08-21T09:30:46-04:00

Back in the day when I was looking into commissioning I did look into the Navy. There are many programs in the navy that will let you go into active duty as an officer until the age of 42. So, you are in luck. The only thing is if you want to be a rated officer and want to go through command tracks that will lead you into being a ship captain,pilot etc. You have to be commissioned in before the age of 32 when prior service (this might change too, so I would ask a recruiter about it).

I know you have your eye set to the Navy, but I would seriously look into the other branches, just in case. I hate to say this but sometimes you can't be too picky when you are going up in age :) and trying to commission. I ended up in AMEDD DC, I would've never known that I would be in the Army. I wanted Air Force so bad lol. But I don't regret my choice, especially in the area I work in now in the reserves.

As far as 30 and OCS. I can tell you that my friend went to Navy OCS and he said he was one of the oldest at the time he went at the ripe age of 32, he went through fine and made friends either way, and enjoyed his time. Remember Age is just a number, and it only becomes an issue if you make your age an issue.

Good Luck

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 21 at 2022 1:05 PM

2022-08-21T13:05:26-04:00

You should contact you local Nary Recruitment Division for guidance.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Aug 21 at 2022 5:51 PM

2022-08-21T17:51:22-04:00

The Services all publish the requirements for commissioning on their websites. Review them to make sure you can meet the requirements before going much further. Waivers can be had. As far as I know all of the Services require a bachelor's degree to commission.

You probably know there are several routes to a commission in any of the Services. Here's a brief synopsis.
-Army, Navy, Air Force ROTC. If you have a couple of years left to get your degree, you might be able to take ROTC and commission. IMO the easiest route.
-Army, Navy, Air Force-Space Force, Marine, and Coast Guard Officer Candidate/Training School (OCS/OTS) is available to applicants who have completed their degree. Quick, but more painful than ROTC.
-Military Academy. You can pursue an appointment to one of the Academies. If you've already completed two or three years of college, this may be a bit of backtracking. On the other hand, it's a great, free education. Most painful option.
-Direct Commission. Services may choose to direct commission prior-service applicants in highly specialized fields that meet the needs of the Service. Examples include medical administration, doctors, nurses, some scientist types. School is about a month long.

The Services offer enlisted-to-officer programs. The Army one I hear about the most is "Green to Gold." If you are still active duty, talk with you installation education office or retention NCO. I'm not sure how this works with the Guard or Reserves.

For now, I'd look seriously into ROTC. Find the closest college or university with an ROTC program, check their website, or give them a call. They can explain the programs available for prior-service applicants.

Good Luck!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2022 11:58 PM

2022-08-21T23:58:39-04:00

In Navy OCS, just like Army OCS, you don't get to select your branch after you graduate. You could just as easily be selected to transportation or quartermaster branch as you could for MI.

You could join a Reserve or ARNG unit as an MI officer, the reserve component is manned by filling slots so you find a slot that needs MI and join. Don't expect to join the reserves and come active, it's much more complicated as an officer.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Aug 22 at 2022 2:26 AM

2022-08-22T02:26:15-04:00

Doable? Maybe, but the fields are limited. Some cap input prior to 29 years (SWO). Others vary. You can look up possibilities on the Navy officer recruiting site and look at the eligibility requirements and read up on the varied application requirements. All that is skating the short program. The long program is a different story. Never, never, never get in a holding pattern with a generic enlisted recruiter. Your package needs to get in front of an officer accessions type aka a real officer. If you pass the initial filters (50+% won't), then your package goes in front of a reviewing officer who typically does a deep dive interview and makes a judgement if you're worth the investment (60-70% of the prior 50+% won't). You are competing against others. Your degree in criminal justice equals "generic" as you need a LLD etc. for JAG. Many designators have "preferred" degrees so you're already behind others there. Reserve programs have essentially the same process. I was a long term Reviewing Officer, hence was involved heavily involved but obviously dated at this point. And, like everything else, the number of slots in any particular designator varies every year, hence different pucker factors with the competition. BTW, your ENL record will be looked at early and often. Better not be any boogers there.

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Aug 22 at 2022 4:05 PM

2022-08-22T16:05:29-04:00

At your age and position in life, you absolutely can do Navy officer and had I knew what I know now at your age, I would have commissioned Navy Nurse Corps instead of Army. That being said, you need to get with Navy officer recruiting and if you do not like the message the first one gives you, find another. Recruiters are recruiting for themselves and the branch they serve, NOT YOU. You probably could go talk to a professor of military science in NROTC at a college and get some officer questions answered. Those people want to see successful officers. I turned 29 the year I commission however to your question, I did not have to do OCS or any commissioning program as I had a specialty the military needed.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 22 at 2022 9:14 PM

2022-08-22T21:14:19-04:00

Good Luck in making uour decision I hope you do what you are most passionate about.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Aug 23 at 2022 8:37 AM

2022-08-23T08:37:57-04:00

Officer MOS's aren't like enlisted side. You are just another Salmon swimming up stream competing for the available school seats for the available MOS's at that given time. An exception are those that screen for and get accepted for a Flight package. You need to speak to an Officer recruiter to get the real scoop and the latest information. Everything you will find here is slightly dated.

Response by Cadet SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2022 1:49 AM

2022-08-24T01:49:58-04:00

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Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2022 10:03 AM

2022-08-24T10:03:46-04:00

Steve, come to the Navy, it is great over here! The short answer to your question is yes, you can do it. Navy OCS is ~13 weeks, and the hardest part of any accession program is getting along with everyone else. The following link will give you a little more insight into the community you want to join. You ARE able to tell recruiters what you want to do, and you can go into OCS with a designator picked, just beware that you can also lose it depending how well you do in school. There is an email address for the the Intel (1830) community manager that you can ask questions to, but they may point you right back to Navy Recruiting Command.

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Officer/Active-OCM/Restricted-Line/Information-Warfare/

Also, here is the program authorization for the intel community, this will have specific requirements for your designator of choice.
https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Career/OCM/PA-108A_INTEL_May-2022.pdf?ver=TlUDrZ25Jjf4Ij2uhdHsuw%3d%3d

If you want to look at other options, here is the page link:
https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Officer/Program-Authorizations/

Information Warfare

The official website for MyNavy HR / Navy Personnel Command

Response by LCDR Robert Luckie made Aug 25 at 2022 1:42 AM

2022-08-25T01:42:40-04:00

I believe you are out of luck. Please see my response to Lt Col Jim Coe comments.