Posted on May 26, 2019
Would anyone be willing to share tips/offer advice on the type of questions asked at Army OCS Board interviews?
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I'm a prior-service Marine and I'm putting together an Army OCS package for Active Duty. As I understand part of the process is a board interview at battalion level. What type of questions are usually asked at this interview? Any specifically pertaining to prior-service applicants? Thank you in advance!
Junior Officers
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army)
Officers
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 11
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The variance of questions they could ask is high, however I think my esteemed colleagues who answered before me have it right. When I went through, a few folks failed because they had no idea, really, what an officer does. I was fortunate as the S2 NCOIC and assistant battalion CLPM that I had a lot of hours with officers learning what they do. Make sure you are clear on exactly what we do, what an OPORD is, and what the scope of responsibility could be even for a 2LT. This feeds into “why you want to be an officer.” Guarantee that theme will be prominent especially for a prior service NCO. Have an idea of what branch you want and why. And then there will be some early discussion to “loosen you up” that talks about your background. Be prepared to talk about your past career.
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LTC Jason Mackay
Sgt George Kinyaevsky - I sat on an OCS Board in 1999. We were left to our own devices to develop questions. The most prominent is as MAJ (Join to see) said, Why do you want to be an officer. Looking for any obvious red flags, but as long as the answer made sense and was sincere it was good to go. We asked some background questions just to feel out their experience and just to understand them.
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Sgt George Kinyaevsky
LTC Jason Mackay - Thank you for your answer Sir. Any particular red flags the board was looking for?
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LTC Jason Mackay
Sgt George Kinyaevsky - stupid stuff....power trips, selfishness, greed, exceptionalism, money, anything else that was incongruent with leadership
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When I went through 3 years ago the board was comprised of 3 Cpt and a major. they asked me questions like -
*Why become an officer?
* Why should we approve your packet?
* Give is an example of you displayed leadership?
* they asked about my background like what school i went, what was my major etc.
by no means was this an enlisted promotion board lol. A lot of guys that go through this have no military experience so they won’t be asking you to quote ucmj regs. Having a marine prior service background is going to put you on at the top of the list I wouldn’t sweat it.
*Why become an officer?
* Why should we approve your packet?
* Give is an example of you displayed leadership?
* they asked about my background like what school i went, what was my major etc.
by no means was this an enlisted promotion board lol. A lot of guys that go through this have no military experience so they won’t be asking you to quote ucmj regs. Having a marine prior service background is going to put you on at the top of the list I wouldn’t sweat it.
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Sgt George Kinyaevsky
Thank you for the insight, Sir! I just wanted to at least prepare my responses ahead of time, just so I don't get caught off guard and hinder my chances. I appreciate it!
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LTC (Join to see)
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The Animated Monster skit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail I do not own any of this material it's all courtesy of Monty Python at www.youtube.com/MontyPy...
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LTC Jason Mackay
Sgt George Kinyaevsky - prepare an elevator speech about yourself so you don't get the awe shucks bashful thing talking about yourself. What do you want the board to know about you? Why you personally want to be an officer. They will expect you to think a second before you speak. It's not a promotion board type environment where they quiz you on regulations.
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I was OCS Class#006-17, enlisted to commissioned with no break in service. My interview was conducted by 2x CPTs and 2x MAJs from 6th MP Group; there was no BN level interview. They stuck mainly to the questions outlined in the structured interview worksheet (DA Form 6285 - linked below), but did have a few additional off-the-cuff questions that covered some of the topics I wrote about in my pre-interview "Why I Want To Be An Officer" essay. If you would like additional resources, feel free to DM me and I can also provide a copy of the OCS SOP for read ahead purposes. Best of luck.
http://www.armyreal.com/forms/pdf/A6285.pdf
http://www.armyreal.com/forms/pdf/A6285.pdf
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Sgt George Kinyaevsky
Sir, this is perfect, thank you! In your case, did you ask the board any questions at the end? Would you advise on doing/not doing so?
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Sgt George Kinyaevsky
Also, I noticed on your profile you are an Armor Officer, that branch is in my top 3, so I was wondering if you would be open to me shooting you a DM about your experience? Thank you in advance. 1LT Benjamin Flasher
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1LT Benjamin Flasher
Sgt George Kinyaevsky - I know this was included in my DM to you, but for group discussion purposes:
I would certainly have a couple of questions on standby for the interview. It shows genuine interest and is a great way to begin learning the job. I do my best to take advantage of any opportunity to ask my superiors about what to expect and how to prepare myself for the tasks ahead. It has served me well. For the interview, you could ask along the lines of what they as CPTs and MAJs expect from a Lieutenant fresh from BOLC. Maybe even advice on first interactions with your Platoon Sergeant.
I would certainly have a couple of questions on standby for the interview. It shows genuine interest and is a great way to begin learning the job. I do my best to take advantage of any opportunity to ask my superiors about what to expect and how to prepare myself for the tasks ahead. It has served me well. For the interview, you could ask along the lines of what they as CPTs and MAJs expect from a Lieutenant fresh from BOLC. Maybe even advice on first interactions with your Platoon Sergeant.
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