Which route is better, traditional OCS or accelerated OCS?

2018-04-10T20:25:46-04:00

I am prior active duty Army, I recently got out and now interested in the Missouri National Guard, my question is which route is better, traditional OCS or accelerated OCS?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2018 8:27 PM

2018-04-10T20:27:45-04:00

Having gone through Traditional OCS, I would highly recommend accelerated if you are able to get a slot and your lifestyle affords you the opportunity. You will be happy you did.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2018 8:32 PM

2018-04-10T20:32:26-04:00

You will have OCS completed and your commission in 8 weeks time versus the traditional route that can take up to 18 months. Then add on your BOLC and you have an additional potential for 6 more months of training. All in all traditional route will take you 24 or more months to complete to become a qualified officer.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2018 8:46 PM

2018-04-10T20:46:11-04:00

Given the choice again,I would chose Accelerated. Both are very challenging; However traditional OCS is something else. You would think going on weekends will make it easier on your life and job, but it doesn’t work that way. Traditional will demand a very large portion of time outside of the 3 day monthly drills (not counting the week long trainings between phases) as you prepare for the next challenging drill. The TAC Officers will do everything possible to increase pressure and stress on you and it will have an affect on your work and home life. Multiply that over 18+ months. Oh, and add your own home life and regular life stress on top of it. Many dont make it through traditional just because it’s so stressful and challenging for so long. With that said, no matter how you chose to commission, it will probably be the greatest accomplishment of your life and is worth the effort. good luck!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2018 9:56 PM

2018-04-10T21:56:33-04:00

SPC Onyol,

The answer depends on your flexibility and your current civilian employer's flexibility. While the civilian employer can't deny you your rights under ESGR, it can make working there more uncomfortable. Once you assess that potential speed bump, assuming that civilian employment will not be a factor, State OCS accelerated is the way to go. In the end, while there is much to learn in being a leader, being an officer is about completing the requirements. For working folks, that means as quickly as possible. FED OCS 14 weeks, Traditional OCS 18 months and Accelerated, 8 weeks. You can embrace the suck for 8 weeks, 14 weeks or 18 months...only you decide how much crap you want to endure...though I doubt they are forcing you to square your meals in this day and age, it is a bit of crucible, a challenge and a life changing event. I personally wanted to commission as quickly as possible so accelerated met my career goals both in civilian employment and military career. If you are considering branches, I would recommend transportation (lots of slots), Signal (lots of civilian career crossover) or Medical. If you are choosing Signal, let me know and I can put you in touch with members of the Career Management Board for Missouri and they can help you find a slot. If you want accelerated, I believe they still have the summer session but you'll have to move fast as they are probably already doing Phase 0 down at Fort Leonard Wood. If not, you'll assess for accelerated for next Feb or the Summer (2019) and pin that Spring or fall...Good Luck!!!

Response by CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana made Apr 11 at 2018 7:15 AM

2018-04-11T07:15:05-04:00

Traditional OCS Champ. Accelerated OCS is a shortened version that, although doesn't take away from training, it pitches it at a rapid fire pace and this can become your Achilles Heel. Take traditional and understand the content at normal speed. This is my advice, but the final decision is your own.

Response by CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana made Apr 11 at 2018 8:47 AM

2018-04-11T08:47:05-04:00

Traditional is worth the gut and glory test; the mental and physical stress and; the gratification of achieving success after going through it all. I toughed it out and enjoyed my journey, which is an experience I can never forget.

Perhaps; eight weeks is best, but it is the shortcut. Maybe; eight weeks is as tough as 18 months, but the ride is not the same. It is the difference between speeding in a Mustang for eight weeks or enjoying the countryside in a caravan for 18 months.

Response by CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana made Apr 11 at 2018 8:51 AM

2018-04-11T08:51:27-04:00

Our OCS was just 179 days and it was at Fort Benning in GA; the red clay stains on my old BDUs are permanently etched to remind me of those hollowed words in those hallowed halls that gave us courage to cross the finish line with Honors.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 9:00 AM

2018-04-11T09:00:29-04:00

Accelerated or Federal OCS if you are a PT stud. I did Federal, 12 weeks and then I was commissioned. Accelerated is 8-9 weeks. Traditional 14-18 months of drills and FTXs. So if you can put your life on hold and you can PT do Accelerated or Federal.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 11 at 2018 9:29 AM

2018-04-11T09:29:20-04:00

I went to Accelerated OCS. I didn't want to drag it out over a year. It was a very instance course. Usually states interview their candidates for AOCS. But you bring prior service shouldn't have an issue. I would whole heartedly recommend going to AOCS.

Response by 1LT Jacob Weir made Apr 17 at 2018 10:38 AM

2018-04-17T10:38:08-04:00

If you are between civilian jobs and think you can handle the physicality of accelerated, do it. I did traditional, and it was a unique experience that I enjoyed because of the people. But if you can knock it out all at once, i think thats the way to go.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 4:04 PM

2018-05-01T16:04:57-04:00

If you can get it go Federal OCS. I was a ARNG Soldier and went to Fort Benning. I heard nothing but horror stories from my ARNG brothers & sisters who did State tradidional or Accelerated.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 13 at 2018 10:12 AM

2018-08-13T10:12:36-04:00

I'm currently in phase 2 of traditional, but I did do my phase 1 in Alabama where they do accelerated, so I was able to see what it would've been like. There are pros and cons to all 3 routes to take.

Federal - If I had the option and time to take off of work and away from family, I'd definitely do this route. It's a much more "laid back" (certainly not going to be easy, I don't mean that) course. From what I've heard, you get weekends off, and it's much slower paced and far less intense, physically and mentally, simply because you have more time, so it doesn't need to be so intense.

Accelerated - The pro is that you get it over with. Many states will only allow prior service or PT studs to go accelerated, and I can certainly see why. You won't learn a whole lot in accelerated. It's a way to get 2LT quickly. You can learn how to be an officer after you get commissioned. If you were going into it as an NCO, you'd likely have leadership experience and know a bit about what officers do, etc. Physically, it's a beast, quite possibly the hardest thing you will ever go through. It's extremely frustrating, because it's generally hard for no particularly good reason. It's not like you're getting smoked to teach a lesson, you're getting smoked because the officers before you had it hard, so they want to continue the "tradition" and make it hard for you, too. It's a rush to get commissioned, and that's about it.

Traditional - The major con for traditional is, of course, that it takes FORREEVVVER! The good part is that you really do get a feel for what it will be like to be a National Guard officer. You get to face the struggles of "I'm trying to pass word to my platoon, but I can't get a hold of Joe Snuffy", maybe someone changed their phone number and didn't give anyone their new one, planning between drills, etc. You get time between drills to prepare for the next objective, whether it's your APFT, 5 mile run, 12 mile ruck, the history exam, whatever it is, you'll have that month to prepare for each major event. For me, I'm not going to be going into a combat arms branch, so a lot of the stuff we're learning won't really be relevant to me, and it doesn't really matter if I retain it, but it is still nice that I do have a better chance at retaining it compared to at accelerated where you're taught a class in the morning, test on it that evening, then forget about it.

So if you're okay with just speeding through content, forgetting everything, getting commissioned, THEN learning how to be an officer, I'd suggest federal first, and accelerated if that's not an option. If you want to come out of OCS as a more prepared 2LT, I'd say traditional.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 9 at 2019 8:09 PM

2019-12-09T20:09:51-05:00

My friend attend basic at the same time I did. We work for the civilian employer so we see each other daily. We were both 35-ish and the oldest in our companies. I went to AIT, he went the traditional OCA route. I was finished and he wasn’t 1/3 of the way through. He was frequently stressed and when he finally finished, still had to go to school for 4 additional months. I was a split enlistee and was doing my actual job w/the MOANG almost 2 years quicker. Since you’re an 88M, you already know how great FLW is, and you’re going to go there by 5 on Friday until 5 on Sunday one weekend a month for 18 months. I haven’t done, but after watching him try to be both places, I would do one of the other options.