Posted on May 28, 2015
Would enlisting in the NG be a good way to get a commissioning in Cyber and not simply be in the interest of a NG recruiter?
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A friend of mine is a senior COMP SCI major at a highly competitive university who wants to do Cyber Security for either the Army or Air Force. He was not eligible for ROTC because he transferred in late. I suggested that he apply for OCS, but my recruiter says it's not a good idea, because there is no way to guarantee him getting Cyber and suggests he enlist in the National Guard first to get experience and then do green to gold. North Carolina does not have a Cyber unit until 2017 and my friend graduates December 2015.
My questions are:
1. Is there a way to secure your branch in your contract before you begin OCS?
2. Would enlisting in the NG be a good way to get a commissioning in Cyber and not simply be in the interest of a NG recruiter?
3. Is there anything else my friend can do to branch cyber?
Thanks in advance.
My questions are:
1. Is there a way to secure your branch in your contract before you begin OCS?
2. Would enlisting in the NG be a good way to get a commissioning in Cyber and not simply be in the interest of a NG recruiter?
3. Is there anything else my friend can do to branch cyber?
Thanks in advance.
Posted in these groups: 
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army)
Cyber
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (Army) Cyber
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
Well I take you are in North Carolina. I am an officer in the NCNG that went to OCS. There are a few ways to do what you want. First if you wanted to do ROTC still you could do it while working on your Masters. By doing that you would be able to do your two years in ROTC and contract.
Getting a branch of choice in the Guard is a bit harder than many think. There are a lot of factors that play into it. First in the NCNG we only have 3 signal companies in the whole state. The NC ARNG is about 9K strong. So you would be competing with anyone coming from withing their own ranks, straight OCS, and then ROTC.
When you enlist you could get signal. That wouldn't be too hard. But when you commission there would have to be a slot for you and then you would have to be the highest on the order of merit last that wanted signal. I wanted signal when I commissioned. But I was prior infantry and so I went back into the infantry. There was only one SIG slot in the state at that time.
With all of this there is no way to lock down a branch of choice you want before OCS. I have known some to defer their commission until a slot opens up. That means you complete OCS and don't commission right away. You can wait up to two years at most. If a slot opens up at anytime you can think accept the commission. I have never heard of NC doing this but that is not saying it can't be done. Cyber is such a new field I doubt even a recruiter would even know.
Getting a branch of choice in the Guard is a bit harder than many think. There are a lot of factors that play into it. First in the NCNG we only have 3 signal companies in the whole state. The NC ARNG is about 9K strong. So you would be competing with anyone coming from withing their own ranks, straight OCS, and then ROTC.
When you enlist you could get signal. That wouldn't be too hard. But when you commission there would have to be a slot for you and then you would have to be the highest on the order of merit last that wanted signal. I wanted signal when I commissioned. But I was prior infantry and so I went back into the infantry. There was only one SIG slot in the state at that time.
With all of this there is no way to lock down a branch of choice you want before OCS. I have known some to defer their commission until a slot opens up. That means you complete OCS and don't commission right away. You can wait up to two years at most. If a slot opens up at anytime you can think accept the commission. I have never heard of NC doing this but that is not saying it can't be done. Cyber is such a new field I doubt even a recruiter would even know.
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I went OCS and just applied for the vTIP board and was picked up. I was signal, then went 53, and then that route. So it could be a journey.
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Traditionally in any of the OCS programs...you do not have 100% control over what you branch as a general branch officer. There were a few and I stress the word "few" people who got what they asked for prior to the branching ceremony...they put in a packet of sorts...someone help me with what DA-Form I'm speaking of...and that packet went to the BC & to the Branch managers & they essentially made a "go" or "no-go" decision from that. Only guy I saw that got what he wanted was a CW2 (maybe a CW1) that moved over and branched Aviation...I'm sure him having been a Flying Warrant def helped.
The Army's Cyber Command is being extremely selective with who it brings into its force structure right now (very competitive) There are a list of requirements of what "E's" and "O's" would need to fall into to be competitive.
From the sounds of it, your friend has a couple of choices:
1. He can wait till the Cyber Unit(s) are integrated & operational in the NG as a whole & contact them later down the road as to whether he wants to make the commitment to the Army in general
2. He could call here:
http://www.arcyber.army.mil/index.html
It doesn't hurt to ask questions & be proactive! Maybe someone up there can point your friend in a solid direction.
3. He can always go through OCS & branch Cyber in CCC if your state is flexible about allowing him to re-class upon his promotion to or after O-3.
Nothing is guaranteed though! With a Masters in Russian Lang / Lit I was originally going to branch MI but I got switched to QM after folks a few pay grades above me figured out that they needed more QM officers. No regrets though!
The Army's Cyber Command is being extremely selective with who it brings into its force structure right now (very competitive) There are a list of requirements of what "E's" and "O's" would need to fall into to be competitive.
From the sounds of it, your friend has a couple of choices:
1. He can wait till the Cyber Unit(s) are integrated & operational in the NG as a whole & contact them later down the road as to whether he wants to make the commitment to the Army in general
2. He could call here:
http://www.arcyber.army.mil/index.html
It doesn't hurt to ask questions & be proactive! Maybe someone up there can point your friend in a solid direction.
3. He can always go through OCS & branch Cyber in CCC if your state is flexible about allowing him to re-class upon his promotion to or after O-3.
Nothing is guaranteed though! With a Masters in Russian Lang / Lit I was originally going to branch MI but I got switched to QM after folks a few pay grades above me figured out that they needed more QM officers. No regrets though!
News, career information, and links to cyber-related topics.
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