Would it be possible to ETS just to try and become a Cyber Officer?

2018-09-03T06:23:32-04:00

A little background: I have a BS and MS degree in IT security management as well as 6 years experience in the field. However, I am currently a Dental Tech (68E). I have been in for 11 years now and currently working on my Warrant packet for 170A (Cyber Tec). I just recently found out that the Army offers a direct commission program for the cyber field but with the stipulation that you have to apply as a civilian and must not be active. I wanted to know if anyone had an opinion on if to stay and try for warrant or roll the dice and ETS to Direct commission.

Response by LTC Martin Glynn made Sep 3 at 2018 8:49 AM

2018-09-03T08:49:34-04:00

Personally, I think you should first evaluate whether it’s worth it to become a commissioned officer versus a warrant officer. As a commissioned officer, you’ll wind up having to do a lot of management, a lot of staff time, and you’ll have “ticket punch” requirements such as serving as a commander, serving as an S3/XO, etc. If that’s what you want to do, great. However, if you’d prefer to remain more hands-on and up-to-date in your field, becoming a warrant officer is the better option. Also, if you become a warrant officer, the Army will restart your 30-year clock when you become a WO-1. I know several warrant officers who retired as CW-5’s with a total of 40 years of service and 100% of their base pay as a pension.

That being said, anything you do without a contract in place is a gamble, but at this point in time, with your degrees and six years of experience, you should have an excellent chance for a direct commission into the Cyber Corps, possibly as a CPT / O-3. But is that what you really want? I recommend that you closely examine the commissioned and warrant officer career paths before making your choice. Also, have a look at promotion rates and pay scales, and carefully consider where you’d like to be when you retire. I think you’ll see that retiring as a CW-5 with 40 years in and a 100% retirement is a pretty attractive career goal.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2018 3:10 PM

2018-09-03T15:10:38-04:00

For any service member of any branch of the military to get out with the plan to immediately come back in is a risky proposition. Many different negative things could arise to block you from coming back in. Pursue all avenues for promotion from the position you are in now. Ask for waivers, exceptions, etc. Also, you might love being a warrant officer. In any service a warrant is more hands on. A chief warrant officer engineer usually spends more time in the engine room of a ship than the actual engineering officer. Also, does the Army have a promotion path/program for chief warrant officer to (O-3) like the Coast Guard?

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Sep 4 at 2018 12:42 AM

2018-09-04T00:42:11-04:00

WO1 Jose R. my two cents. The reason I think they want "civilian" applicants is to get extensive civilian experience and their innovation. My fear for you is if you got all the way out, then applied, your application for direct commission may get passed over. I say may. I think doing a warrant packet is the safer route.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 4 at 2018 1:17 PM

2018-09-04T13:17:23-04:00

My own thoughts for you are to consider what you want to do in the Cyber CMF. As the other officers have chimed in, a lot of the officer side will be more management. One of the required pieces of training is the cyber ops planners course, and the majority of the positions for the officers are as the CND managers. My squad leader on the civilian side loves doing the cyber stuff, but when we're on mission, he gets to play battle captain and doesn't get to touch the keyboards that the rest of the team including our warrants are doing. His guidance is invaluable, but you can tell he's itching to get on a keyboard.

Warrants are meant to be the system architects, the technical experts. The officers are meant to be our leaders. Figure which direction you want to lean and what lines up with your long term goals.