What do you think should be requirements for becoming an officer?

I personally believe all officers should be required to serve at least one tour of duty as enlisted and achieve the payGrade of e5 and not aquire a njp.

My husband is a Warrant Officer. Spent 4 years reserves and now he's been on Active Duty for 10 years. He is now a CW2 at the moment. I certainly undoubtful think he is an amazing leader. Plus I also get told this multiple times. When we were at Fort Story my husband's commander and the headquarter's commander were fighting over him. My husband didn't even know they were fighting over him until I told him. I heard all of this at steering meeting (FRG). It was pretty exciting. LOL

Officers have a role within the military which is different than the role of the enlisted. One isn't better than the other, although one carries more legal responsibility than the other which is reflected in the pay scale. Being an enlisted leader has its value, but I would say that most of that value ends at roughly 6-12 months commissioned. Why? Because a Team Leader is in charge of four Soldiers. He ensures that they are where they should be and that they have what they should have. He has direct responsibility over them. How does that translate to a 2LT? His concern is the element. The PLT. Were he to rely on his NCO days, he would be stepping on the toes of his Platoon Sergeant. Being a PL isn't analogous to being a TL. It isn't just the same only with more Soldiers. It's a different mindset and mission set. He is looking outward, planning, and implementing guidance. The NCO is looking inward, taking care of his men and executing that guidance (all the while mentoring the 2LT about his plans and guidance and how they would effect the men).

The two roles are completely different from one another, and outside of general Army culture and knowledge that enlisted service brings, I just don't think it matters that much in the commissioned world. Petraeus, McCrystal, McMaster, Powell, Eisenhower, Marshall, Pershing, Sherman, Grant, and Washington were never enlisted.

I am a non prior-service OCS grad. I can only speak to that experience. But, let me tell you. If a 2LT comes straight from BCT, OCS, and BOLC, and doesn't at least listen to his NCOs before he makes a decision, then he wasn't paying attention during his training. It is inculcated from day 1 that 2LTs may have the authority, but they do lack operational experience. They should rely on those NCOs for guidance, mentorship, and execution. It's emphasized to such an extent that it almost makes a brand-new 2LT afraid of his own Army shadow. He has heard so much just how much that he doesn't know that he almost feels like an idiot, which, of course, he isn't.

any officer and I don't care what school he went to or what his education level or if prior enlisted will not amount to a hill of shit with out the proper traing and guidance he receives as a new plt ldr fron his platoon sgt

One problem about enlisted first. Is if they were an NCO, I've seen where they cannot leave that mentality. I had a PL. Who would tell his Staff Sergeants something. Then instead of letting them do it. He was there to micromanage them.

If given a task and it's done. Let it be done however the person you have do it wants to do it. As long as it's safe.

Chances are those NCOs have more TIG and TIS. they know what needs to be done and how to accomplish it.

Well one thing learn to read a map or a blue force tracker. Listen to NCO'S that have been deployed.

I have actually put a lot of thought into this I went to OCS, and worked in ROTC and at West Point.

You must have Desire and Heart, and the requisite Physical and Mental abilities. Assuming you have the basic physical and mental attributes, the Army will provide you training, education and experience. Desire is the X factor, and heart is what makes you different from the rest.

Where you are commissioned from matters not, nor does it matter if you are prior service. Good officers come from all 3 main commissioning sources, as do an equal number of not so good ones.

Prior service can help, or hurt, but it is not needed for commissioning.

Combat deployments can't be a screening criteria either, because believe it or, not, we have many periods we we are not in sustained combat operations. How many officers would we have had on D-Day, if prior service and prior combat experience were the prerequisites.

75% of our officers come from ROTC, about 15-20 from USMA and OCS fills the rest. Generally even OCS is 50% active Army and the rest are college options; they joined with a degree to be an officer - BCT then OCS.

Desire and Heart are what matters. And also one who lives Army Values!

I think there is one truth that many in the army have forgotten. There is a difference between leading and commanding. They require different skill sets. A four year degree might not prove that someone has what it takes to be a combat leader, that's why Lt's get baby sat by NCO's. Do I like the current system, no, but until a better idea comes along that will work better we might as well stick with what we've got.

My perspective of being in the Officer training environment is that it does not require someone to be prior-E. Granted the dynamics between Air Force enlisted and officer are different than the Army. This was what I observed in the training environment years ago. We had two types of prior E cadets. Those who knew that they were taking a different leadership role in the Air Force. Than we had those who thought they were too cool for school.

The first set understood the new way of things. They were able to use their prior service as a way to guide the other cadets on the enlisted perspective in a positive way. The latter would always complain and moan that this was not the way they did things on active duty. They were right about that because they were no longer enlisted on active duty. They were a cadet in the training environment like everyone else learning the basics on leadership at a different level. The ones who seemed to moan the most were the dudes that had only 2 years of service and got picked up for a commissioning program. Our commander who was prior enlisted would tell them very frankly that he can arrange for them to go back to Air Force they once knew, i.e. "here's the door go back to your prior job.

IMO what you ascribe to would only work for someone that had leadership at the NCO level, that would not be practical. I am not convinced that someone who just served a few years as an Airman would be much better than a guy off the street. In the Air Force an Airman with a couple years is just becoming proficient at their job at the 3 level and is working towards being a 5 level. They do not have that much more experience than their peers in the ROTC program.

What it boils down to is training. From the comments on this board it sounds like the Army is not forcing those ideals early on in the training program. Or they are being completely disregarded.
I think what you are getting at is empathy. That could be due to the fact that this new generation of kids, the Millennials, lack it. When I was going through training we were always told the importance of the Enlisted personnel and that our success was due the performance of everyone who works for us.. If they are successful than I am successful. If they fall short, then I also fall short.

The question is how do you get that empathy back into the folds. The answer is that the training curriculum for officers needs to emphasize the importance of the personnel of the people they will lead more.

at the end of the day there will always be those who get it and those who don't. The ones who fall short generally don't go very far in their career, with some exceptions.

I've seen some comments about USMA being the same as ROTC just with more discipline or regulations. If you think that's the case, you are sorely mistaken. Now, I'm not saying one commissioning source is "better" than another, but, they are all different and have different experiences. One of my first real eye opening experiences with other commissioning sources (besides some summer training where a handful of ROTC would come) was at OBC when I met the straight out of college commission guys. It blew my mind that they went to college, no military involved, graduated with their degree, and then did some OCS and bam, they get commissioned. Huh. Oh well, I didn't make the rules I just follow them for the most part. Although I did have a superior officer that I really didn't get along with and argued with plenty of times because, well, I was right and he was wrong. Everyone else knew it but they were scared of him. I believe he was ROTC.