Question about military service.
I really don't know so I am asking.
Is a college degree required to be an officer in the armed forces? Is it possible to go to OCS without a degree? I know that back in the days of WW II it was possible for an enlisted man to work his way up through the ranks and receive a commission without a college education (I think that Gen. Omar Bradley did it this way) but can it still be done?
Is a college degree required to be an officer in the armed forces? Is it possible to go to OCS without a degree? I know that back in the days of WW II it was possible for an enlisted man to work his way up through the ranks and receive a commission without a college education (I think that Gen. Omar Bradley did it this way) but can it still be done?
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Don't know, I was (and still am according to my wife) a grunt.[}:)] 0 -
For an enlisted man to be accepted into OCS, he has to have 90 hours of college completed. I'm sure that requirement is waiverable though.
There IS warrant officer training and no degree is required to apply and be accepted for that.0 -
to be a line officer, yes.
but one can go enlisted first, finish college in service, and then apply to ocs.0 -
You don't necessarily have to have a degree, but there is usually a certain number of credit hours you have to have completed to be able to apply for OCS. 0 -
Unless they changed, OCS will take anyone without a 4 year degree. When I was still in the Army Guard I applied for OCS and at the time I only had a 2 year degree, they would not take me. I reapplied when I got my 4 year and was accepted. I never did go though, could not get time off of work for that long. The WWII days were different, battle field commissions were done but I remember reading that a lot of them were demoted back to enlisted after the war. But allowed to retire at the highest rank they had ever held if they stayed that long. General Omar Bradley was a West Point grad, not OCS or battle field commissioned. 0 -
i think the term college 'degree' is being misunderstood here. bottom line, to put that officer uniform on, you need college. one way or another, be it before or during training, you need that degree to lead and order enlisted around with the presidents blessings. 0 -
During my time in ...many moons ago (73-76) all you needed to do was pass the O.C.S. exam. But then they had to want you too. I had scored high enough on the general aptitude exams that I got to take the O.C.S. exam, me an about 15 others. I was kind of excited about it, until the SSG giving the exam said not to get to excited, O.C.S. school was full up, so unless you max'd the test "you ain't going no where!" ...and he was right! *G* 0 -
quote:Originally posted by bobski
i think the term college 'degree' is being misunderstood here. bottom line, to put that officer uniform on, you need college. one way or another, be it before or during training, you need that degree to lead and order enlisted around with the presidents blessings.
What does that all mean? I am confused by your answer. Do you need the degree or not? How could you get it during the 3 month OCS? From the other comments, it seems it has changed over the decades.0 -
If you can get a Congressmen to appoint you to West Point you will be an officer.
Are you 'in' with politicians?0 -
Unrestricted line officers require a four year degree...most also have a Masters. Warrant officers do not require a degree. Limited Duty Officers(LDO)who can attain the rank of up to O-5 do not require a degree...but usually have 14 years of enlisted service before they transition to the officer corps. My father retired as an 0-6 without a degree of any sort; with a BA and a MA I retired as an 0-5. My father explained to me that they always promote the Most qualified!!![:D][:D][:D]Beach 0 -
Back in the 50s and 60s all one needed to do was score high on the AFQT and then take the OCS tests. No college was required, however very few that passed the test got accepted. Remember Nam, the 90 day wonders? 0 -
OCS is just one of several officer programs. Some require a degree and some don't. Some offer a degree as part of the program. Officer programs change with the "needs of the service". What was true years ago ain't necessarily true today and what's true today won't be true tomorrow.
I don't know a lot about "other services". The Navy has a Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program which doesn't require a degree, but having one greatly increases the odds of being selected. LDOs can advance to the grade of Captain (O-6). The Navy's Warrant Officer Program used to be open to First Class, Chief, Senior Chief and Master Chief Petty Officers (E-6, E-7, E-8 and E-9). PO1 (E-6) received a warrant to Warrant Officer (W-1). When a W-1 was advanced to W-2, he received a commission to Chief Warrant Officer Two (W-2). CPO and SCPO (E-7 and E-8) were commissioned as Chief Warrant Officer Two (W-2). MCPO (E-9) were commissioned as Chief Warrant Officer Three (W-3). The Warrant Officer Program is now closed to E-6. The Navy doesn't have any "Warrant Officers" (W-1) now. Everybody in the officer grades has a commission.
I don't know if the Army still has the program, but they used to try to get Navy E-5 and E-6 into their Warrant Officer Program. The Army at one time had the world's second largest navy.
I'm pretty sure the Army's Helicopter Pilot Warrant Officer Program doesn't require a degree. I believe the Army still has their Warrant Officer Program for other career fields similar to the Navy's.
When I was in Boot Camp one man in my company was in an aviation program I think they called "NavCad". His deal was he had to go through Boot Camp like any other deck ape except he was a square knot petty officer. After Boot Camp he went to OCS and then to flight school. He had two years of college, but I don't know if that was a requirement. I don't know if that program still exists.0 -
Heck, the MP Corps is so small and competitive that you practically have to have a degree to make E-7. That's why I'm working to finish mine. Hopefully....in the next 18 months.
I could probably make O-1 faster than E-7 if I started the paperwork now.0 -
A friend of mine got commisioned back in '89 with only a two-year degree but he had to have a four year degree before he could be promoted to Major. That was with the Army Natl. Guard. The Air Force and Air National Guard require a four year degree but we have higher standards than the Army.[}:)][}:)][}:)][}:)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by idsman75
Heck, the MP Corps is so small and competitive that you practically have to have a degree to make E-7. That's why I'm working to finish mine. Hopefully....in the next 18 months.
I could probably make O-1 faster than E-7 if I started the paperwork now.
ids, you might be saying that in jest, but in the old days enough sailors pulled that trick to get the Limited Duty Officer and Warrant Officer Programs changed.
Before the Vietnam War opened up all rates for advancement, some rates were frozen so badly that they would advance one person per year to E-7 to keep everybody from totally losing hope, and they didn't even bother with the pretense of advancing anyone to E-8 or E-9.
People would put in their letter for LDO/WO and if they were selected their permanent grade was their enlisted grade and they were commissioned or given a warrant to a temporary officer grade. As an officer all they had to do was pass the exam for the next higher enlisted grade and they were advanced to that grade. As soon as they made E-9, they put in their letter to revert to enlisted status. Now when you accept a commission (no more warrants), your permanent grade is a commissioned grade.
I have a cousin who did something similar to that. He never reverted to enlisted status on active duty, but he retired when the pay scales were kind of screwy. He was a Chief Warrant Officer Four, but his retirement would be more as a Master Chief Petty Officer, so he retired as a Master Chief.0 -
im in the army and just went through the officer process. You can be an officer buy just having a degree by going to OCS. But your going to have to get strings pulled to go to ocs. And first you will have to go to basic which is 9 weeks then OCS which is 14 weeks, then BOLC 2 which is 7 weeks then your job training or OBC which is 10-15 weeks depending on job. Without a degree and no prior service you will not get an officer slot, not a chance. Now if you have prior service and no degree you can get into OCS, but you will have to get a degree before your a captain or they will kick you out. 0 -
Do they have mustangs anymore? 0 -
Times change. When I went from E-6 to 0-1(E) I did not have a degree. The OCS program NOW does require that you have a minimum number of hours of college completed. If you go to West Point, Annapolis, or Air Force Academy, you graduate with a 4 yr degree, and THEN become on officer (you are a cadet or midshipman until commissioned) ROTC- you are in college while participating, get commissioned when you graduate. To make the jump from 0-3 to 0-4 you must have a Bachelor's degree. Omar Bradley was not a "mustang"- or direct commission- he was a West Point grad. 0 -
the credits is like 90. And they wont let you to O3 untill you have a degree. The army is really pushing a DCP program right now, which means you do your officer training and then go to school, after school you head to your unit, which by then you very well could be an O2. If you did that, you very well wouldnt get to a unit for 2-3 years. But again without being in the serivce and not having a degree, you WIll not get in, dont matter what that recruiter says. 0 -
I think you're talking about a Battlefield Commission. Audie Murphy was such an example in WW2.
As to Commissions without a degree. They existed at least up to the end of the Korean War. There was a route in the USAF known as the Cadet Program that could be entered out of high school provided you had the scores and could pass the physical. If you washed out, you were separated from the service.
In the Army as a Draftee or Enlisted Man you could enter OCS after Basic Training if you passed the OCS written test, passed a separate physical & mental exam and FBI and background checks that included interviews of friends and neighbors..0
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