Posted on Oct 27, 2020
PFC Indirect Fire Infantryman (Mortarman)
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I served for a few years in the Army National Guard. Back in 2018 I popped hot on a drug test for cannabis and received a General Discharge under honorable conditions and a RE code 3 (with no letters following it). I made a mistake and paid the price.

I am about to graduate as a IT major with a specialty in Ethical hacking. I have several technical certificates and 4 years working in the IT/Cybersecurity field. I was thinking of attempting to join the Army as a Cyber Officer. I understand I would need a waiver in order to rejoin, but how likely will this waiver be granted taking into consideration my experience and the demand for Cyber Officers? Also, what is the best way to go about this?

Thanks for the help.
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Responses: 6
CPT Advisor
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Edited >1 y ago
As a cyber officer, you wouldn't go to OCS, you would be a direct commission and go to the direct commission course. That's good news for you because you will have a better chance at a waiver going that route.

You need to speak with a cyber recruiter and lay it all on the table. If you decide to go NG, the state TAG would have to sign a memorandum for your waiver request which would then have to be approved by either USAREC or the cyber proponent (can't remember which). It's a tough road given that it is so recent and you were booted over the incident, but it can't hurt to talk to the recruiter.
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PFC Indirect Fire Infantryman (Mortarman)
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Thanks for this information, very helpful going forward and gives me an idea of who to talk to.
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MAJ Operations Officer
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I got an RE-3 when I got out of the active Army in 1989. They were passing them out like candy until the Gulf War kicked off a year later. I've met hundreds of people who got them. Apparently it was part of the Bush(41) Administration's plan to eliminate prior enlisted and thin the force after the Cold War ended. I didn't do anything wrong but I got the code anyway. I didn't know what it meant at the time but only found out how they screwed me when I tried to reenlist in 1992. They literally lied to my face when I signed my DD214 and told me that my "RE code will enable to me to reenlist anytime I want to." The Regular Army (RA) flat out rejected me in '92 and it took a year to get the waiver through the USAR. I switched from USAR to ARNG 3 years later without any problem. It could take a while but it's not impossible. That's the bad news.

The good news is that the Army is DESPERATE for Cyber officers. If you want active duty try them first. They might be willing to take you based upon your career field. You'll have to do an OCS enlistment which means you'll probably repeat Basic Training and then go to Ft Benning for the 14 week federal OCS course. Both will suck and if you do even a single day in OCS that is the only commissioning source you'll ever be allowed to go through. Something to keep in mind. Go to any additional schools (airborne, air assault, etc.) you can after BOLC because you may not ever get another chance.

If going RA fails go to BOTH the ARNG and USAR and get them competing with each other. ARNG now has an entire cyber brigade with many AGR positions. USAR is simply short of officers in general, especially field grades. The biggest downside to USAR is that you must accept a position anywhere in the US to get promoted whereas ARNG its only within your state. I knew I guy in the Captain's Career Course who lived in Austin and drilled in San Diego. He didn't mind but for some it is cost prohibitive. ARNG has state OCS programs that aren't any easier than active duty but they're accelerated course is shorter (8 weeks). The traditional course takes about 18 months (two week AT, 14 monthly drills, and a final two week AT) and has about a 70% drop-out rate.

One big hurdle that you'll have is getting the necessary TS-SCI clearance for cyber officers with a hot drug test on your record. That has been a hard No-Go at times the past but has been waivered depending on the needs of the Army (PFC Manning was an example of this). Your best bet is to be 100% honest with your recruiters because they'll find out everything anyway and it will go against you when they do.

Lastly, any subsequent DD214 will erase previous RE codes. Any deployment 180 days or longer with the ARNG or the USAR will generate a new DD214 with a new RE code. I'm working on my 5th one which I'll retire on. A new DD214 can be presented with an application to transfer to the RA and should smooth the process, though they'll still see your old DD214. Again, BE HONEST. When you do your security investigation look the investigator in the eye and tell the truth. Admitting mistakes is considered far better than hiding things. Your clearance is all about trust and if the investigator thinks you can't be trusted, you won't be.
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MAJ Operations Officer
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SFC Dan Thomsen - The biggest hurdle these days is cultural. Too many AGR colonels think that because they were majors for 10-12 years that everyone should be. The minimum TIG is four. I'm coming up on 7 and I'll be retired before I hit 12. OERs are tricky too. Currently I'm a T10 AGR in a RA unit being rated by an RA O-6. Can you guess who isn't going to get top-blocked? Then the promotion boards keep changing their criteria and ROE. The T10 AGR board met last July and usually publishes by September. It's nearly November and still not out. Part of the problem is that COVID has sent the entire DoD into a PC panic, shutting down stupid things and furloughing people at random. I've been "mission critical" since the beginning so no paid vacation for me...
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SFC Dan Thomsen
SFC Dan Thomsen
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-sigh- Well I know we had 2 field grades on a deployment get top blocked by a AD colonel and 1 star. It was a lot of work but they were doing what their contemporaries didn't consider because it wasn't what they were used to seeing. Out of the box things that made the commander and generals look good on their OER's. It's never an given, it is uphill at best. Don't let them be able to ignore you! Hang in there and hopefully you end your career damn proud of what you achieved rank be damned. 30 years an retired an E-7, I never was a yes man and I always stood up for what was the hard right not the easy wrong happening. I'm proud of my achievements and those around me that made soldiering everything worthy of the twinkle in teenager's eye when he considers this profession.
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PFC Indirect Fire Infantryman (Mortarman)
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MAJ (Join to see) This was the response I was looking for. Very detailed and extremely helpful with examples. I'll try my luck, be honest and see where this takes me. It would be an honor to serve again, thanks again for your valuable input.
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SFC Dan Thomsen
SFC Dan Thomsen
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Get your hand's on your commanders OER support form and if possible his bosses OER Support form. Know what they are saying they are working to achieve and make things better that allows them to achieve it. Best of luck!
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SSG Intelligence Analyst
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The odds of you getting a morale waiver to attend OCS are slim to aliens invading earth
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LTC Hardware Test Engineer
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last I checked, Cyber officers require a TS clearance. Your chances of being granted a TS clearance with recent drug use that resulted in being discharged are slim. You have nothing to lose by trying but don't get your hopes up and have a plan B.
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MAJ Operations Officer
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SSG (Join to see) - Hmmm... who, exactly, is being self-righteous here?
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SSG Usar Recruiter
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Your comment must be a joke SSG. PFC (Join to see) Keep pounding man. Mistakes were made and lessons were learned.[~SSG (Join to see)
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
CW4 Keith Dolliver
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As one of the other comments mentioned, Cyber is Direct Commission, not OCS, so your chances are slightly higher. If it was OCS it would be slim to none. Honestly, you need to talk to a Cyber recruiter or accessions, they are the only ones that can give you accurate information about the current policy. In any "normal" branch it would be highly unlikely, but Cyber is a whole different animal right now, so you never know.
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