Posted on Apr 1, 2019
What opinion and insight do you have about choosing to go from enlisted to Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer?
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Currently an 11B looking to move on and get out of the infantry. Right now I’m weighing options and looking to pick some brains. So please any opinions!?
Two options I am looking at are;
A) go Warrant and fly for the Army. 153A
Or
B) I’m currently working on my B.S in IT was considering trying to get a commission.
Only issue with commissioned officer is I’m prior service and they counted my time in the IRR towards my AFS time so I’m over the limit, if I go this route has anyone gotten a waiver for the AFS since the requirement is less than 6 upon arrival at OCS?
Two options I am looking at are;
A) go Warrant and fly for the Army. 153A
Or
B) I’m currently working on my B.S in IT was considering trying to get a commission.
Only issue with commissioned officer is I’m prior service and they counted my time in the IRR towards my AFS time so I’m over the limit, if I go this route has anyone gotten a waiver for the AFS since the requirement is less than 6 upon arrival at OCS?
Commission
Officer
Warrant Officers
Posted 5 y ago
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Yes, it is possible to get that waiver. No guarantees, but it is possible.
You really need to ask yourself what you want to do, though. Do you want to fly helicopters? Good luck as a Commissioned Officer. Go Warrant. Do you want to create grand plans for execution? Good luck as a pilot. Go OCS. Do you want to get Joe where he is going and make some days a little less miserable? Go Warrant. Do you want to have a direct impact on the daily life of "Joe?" Go OCS. Do you want to make sure Joe is ready for battle and have an indirect (through training) impact on whether Joe lives or dies? Go OCS. Do you want to have a DIRECT impact on whether Joes live or die in the heat of battle? Go Warrant.
Also, recognize that OCS may ask you for a wish list for branch assignment, but that doesn't guarantee anything. While you may have BS in IT when you go, there is no guarantee you will be doing anything related to computers (or whatever branch you ask for). Needs of the Army. If you put in for 153A and are accepted, you can pretty much guarantee you will be flying helicopters. May or may not get the specific bird you want, but you will be flying.
You really need to ask yourself what you want to do, though. Do you want to fly helicopters? Good luck as a Commissioned Officer. Go Warrant. Do you want to create grand plans for execution? Good luck as a pilot. Go OCS. Do you want to get Joe where he is going and make some days a little less miserable? Go Warrant. Do you want to have a direct impact on the daily life of "Joe?" Go OCS. Do you want to make sure Joe is ready for battle and have an indirect (through training) impact on whether Joe lives or dies? Go OCS. Do you want to have a DIRECT impact on whether Joes live or die in the heat of battle? Go Warrant.
Also, recognize that OCS may ask you for a wish list for branch assignment, but that doesn't guarantee anything. While you may have BS in IT when you go, there is no guarantee you will be doing anything related to computers (or whatever branch you ask for). Needs of the Army. If you put in for 153A and are accepted, you can pretty much guarantee you will be flying helicopters. May or may not get the specific bird you want, but you will be flying.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SSG (Join to see) - You should know better! If the Army had wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one!
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1LT (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) - I'm not sure how far along you are on your BS, but if you have between 60 and 72 credit hours I highly suggest you look at the green to gold active duty option if you are considering a commission. ROTC and OCS use very different methods to determine your career field. It is entirely possible your could go OCS and no one in your class is offered cyber, whereas in ROTC it will just be highly competitive.
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SSG (Join to see)
I’ll have to look more into it but Do you know if botching an ROTC scholarship would make me ineligible? 1LT (Join to see)
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1LT (Join to see)
I can't say for certain, if you go any route for commissioning (green to gold, OCS, or otherwise) you are going to get asked if you have ever been removed from a commissioning program. That said the the maturity difference between where you were then and where you are now is probably considerable. If you are serious, you should contact the ROTC recruiting operations officer at a 4 year institution you are considering enrolling in. They should be able to tell you more about green to gold and if your specific situation is waiverable.
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If whatever reason you don't get a waiver, you can still go Warrant (and not just flight warrant, but in IT as a Technician with that degree potentially unless things have changed). There are also many other Warrant Officer MOS's (some do require time in a feeder MOS though such as mine). I am also not sure that limit applies to National Guard/Reserve Officers. Regardless, there are a lot of options out there for you if your first choice doesn't pan out. Just don't give up.
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How far into your B.S. are you? If it's possible and in your interest, you can consider a direct commission through the cyber program by doing a possible degree change, which isn't too much of a stretch from a general IT degree. https://www.goarmy.com/army-cyber/cyber-direct-commissioning-program.html
As far as deciding between the two, it really depends on your personality. In retrospect, if Chaplaincy hadn't interested me I probably would have pursued being a Warrant officer. I am much more interested in being a subject matter expert than a more generalized leader - and I kind of get best of both worlds as a Chaplain! Granted, there _are_ Function Area officers, but I don't believe you can start off as one.
As far as deciding between the two, it really depends on your personality. In retrospect, if Chaplaincy hadn't interested me I probably would have pursued being a Warrant officer. I am much more interested in being a subject matter expert than a more generalized leader - and I kind of get best of both worlds as a Chaplain! Granted, there _are_ Function Area officers, but I don't believe you can start off as one.
Cyber Direct Commissioning Program
System admin, web developer, programmer. Put your civilian experience to work and become an officer in the Army through the Cyber Direct Commissioning Program.
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