USAF First Sergeant vs. Commissioned Officer

What a great question. First, do a serious "gut check." Where is your particular "happy place" and I don't mean gazing at your navel. Are you more of a teacher or more of a results person? Teachers like to work with students. Result seekers work to results and gather talent along the way. Do you enjoy coaching? Do you prefer solitary experiences? Is money important to you? Is it more important that your opinions be respected or simply heard? First Sergeants can really make a significant difference in a young troop. When I was an Airman (E-2) I think I pretty much had my head up my ass most days. My original First Sergeant, MSgt Benny Aspell (dead some years now) was a guy who would talk to each and every one who cared to and mentoring long before the label was popular. He guided discussions (and this during the Vietnam War in 1972) and was just a great guy. I never forgot him. I also never again experienced an orderly room (do they even have those anymore?) that was a place you felt comfortable in and could get good coffee and some solid advice.

So you certainly can make a difference in the lives of many troops and if that's your passion, then follow it and have many happy years.

A downside can be that your opinion value will be "capped" by some who will only see the stripes on your sleeve and you won't make as much pay while in and later in retirement.

Go commissioned and you'll be responsible for many things involving many people, but ultimately, success or failure is yours alone to bear - because a good leader always takes the hit.

Go the commissioned route and while your troops might always respect and admire you, there will be much, much fewer chances to ever be loved and remembered fondly by subordinates.

Shadow some Shirts at your base. See if one of your Chiefs will let you shadow them as well. Get invited to the really long Power Point briefings to your commander or ask to sit in on Wing Stand up. Ask some 1st Lts in logistics or admin if you can shadow them and see the "Day in the Life of.." Find some recently commissioned Mustangs and ask them about their experiences.

Final weights and balance check is this: Over a career you will have to suck a lot of pond scum (things you don't like/want/care to do) and listen to a lot of nonsense from superiors and bite your tongue on many occasions and might sometimes have to stand up for common sense and be the "non-team player". Try to maintain your principals and beliefs, but don't be so sanctimonious or cocksure that you cannot reflect or reconsider.

The fact that you are asking the questions shows loads of excellent potential.

It can be a great life. Mine was.

I did 20 years total, 10 as an E and 10 as an O. My recommendation for you would be to:

1) Get your Bachelors degree
2) Apply for OTS
3) EXCEL at your PME
4) Get your Masters Degree
5) If you get picked up for OTS then good on you...if not, you can always go the First Sergeant route

BUT, the best advice I can give you is this: DO WELL WHEREVER YOU ARE PLANTED. Be the best you can be at whatever job you have NOW and everything else will fall into place.

i was enlisted for 5 years, made SSgt...then i went to OCS and became an officer. There are definite advantages to becoming an officer, not the least is pay. I had to support a family and enlisted pay, while sufficient, was nothing like officer pay. The level of responsibility, once i was past 2nd Lt was about the same as SSgt; i was fortunate in that i had an enlisted staff, so i had the opportunity to interact with the junior, staff, and senior NCOs. Put differently i got to continue to learn from the senior guys and mentor the staff and junior guys.

Either path will, if followed with the same dedication and drive, result in what you want to accomplish.

Great advice all the way around.
1. Take advantage of TA no matter which career path you take
2. Talk to both straight commissioned officers and prior enlisted officers get both view points

I got my commission through OTS after a mere 2 years of enlisted service; was still an A1C at the time of my selection. The increase in pay and prestige was nice, but I also had to deal with a lot more politics as an O. But then again, even those measly 2 years of enlisted service gave me a lot more credibility with my enlisted colleagues compared to the non-prior LTs, and I still valued my NCOs' inputs.

Best of luck whichever route you pursue, and keep us posted, hooah.

I can speak from the Army perspective. I tried a few times to become an officer as my father once was. My packets were both complete, just need my support chain of commands blessing. I recall my First Sergeant and Sergeant Major throwing my packet in the trash can. I guess that was the Army culture back then and attitude fostered at the time. As I look back on my career (Retired now), I am glad that I stayed an NCO. I wanted to become an officer for selfish reasons and the status that it brings. More pay, better living conditions, more retirement pay etc....and that is a shame in itself the disparity between officer pay and senior enlisted pay that is probably still going on to this day. The rewards of mentoring junior enlisted, NCOs and senior NCOs was amazing. Having the ability to be hands on with the troops was invaluable. Senior NCOs make all the decisions anyway. Show me a successful officer, and I will show you a great First Sergeant!

While both senior NCOs and officers make an impact on the lives of their SMs, they do it in different ways. Senor NCOs like 1SGs make a direct impact on the SMs at the supervisory level. They have direct interactions with SMs everyday. Officers tend to make the impact at the corporate level. They are the ones who create and drive policy. Officers do have some direct interactions with the "worker bees", but mostly at the junior levels, and as you progress in rank, you move farther away from that direct leadership to a corporate leadership role. Again, both are important, you just had to decide which is a better fit for you.

As a former first sergeant and retired CMSgt I would say this; IF your desire is to help people and be a better leader vs. push your own agenda (i.e. power trip or get promoted) then I say yes, it's a great move. I saw too many shirts who never really understood they were there to help and not be the hammer. I had countless conversations with commanders on this issue that THEY must be the hammer because the shirt has to pick up the pieces and ensure the proper follow-through is done. Being a shirt can have some excellent effects on future promotions, but don't do it because of that. In my case, I found that I loved the Human Resources career field and went on to get my MA in HR and now work as an HR Business Partner for The Home Depot. Best of luck to you.

My only input would be this:

Commissioned officer if you want to have more of an impact on policies, procedures, mission. As you rank up you may, through no fault of your own, loose that personal connection with the younger troops.

First Sergeant if you want to have more of direct impact on young men and woman's lives as they make their way in the service (First Sergeants have a direct impact on the lives and development of everyone in the unit).

Both are admiral ambitions....I have done First Shirt duty and if you like some insight into that (maybe some stuff your Mom wont share with you) please feel free to contact me.

BTW was nice to see the money was not mentioned in your post....you are most certainly looking at this decision from the right direction.

Good luck and best wishes no matter what path you decide to take.

Since you already seem to have made up your mind in regards to making the military a career, the big question you have to ask yourself is this: What is your long term goal? That goal will determine which path you take.