Should all OCS rec letters be from military and/or government people? Or should I diversify my packet with letters from colleagues in my civilian professional career? I've been out of school for a while.

Two recruiters at my recruiting office have given me different answers.

#1 said to get as many as I can get from people in positions of authority ie: the full 6 letters.

#2 said to focus on getting them from 0-5+ military folks, i.e: only 3 but they have to be from high-ranking military/govt to matter.

I currently have two solid rec letters from high-ranking officers. I'm working on getting one from another 0-5+, but if that falls through, I can get an 0-4 and/or one from an executive in my civilian career.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Overall, they said I'm in very good shape for these upcoming boards with my test scores and college GPA, but I just want to put my best foot forward with how competitive things are, even for reserves, which is what I'm applying for.

Thank you!

Good afternoon,

I just got my REFRAD from the AGR program approved, I have a January class date for OCS.

For other AGRs that went from compo 3 to Compo 1 did you guys turn in all your gear prior? Or bring everything? I have a lot of things that are extra on my clothing record. Any guidance is greatly appreciated

I have a question regarding laptop use during OCS. For assignments such as OPORDs and other coursework, is it highly recommended or even required to have a personal laptop?
I also saw another thread where someone mentioned bringing a printer. Since my current laptop is a government issued computer, I’m no longer able to upload documents or email files to my personal email.

Does OCS provide printers that the class can use to print assignments and other required products, or is it recommended to bring a personal printer as well?

Hello. How are you supposed to get house rent and car and everything figured out once you are done with OCS? I've heard that depending on BOLC, you only get a day or two to report? My wife is not able to drive, so I have to do most things.

Also, I've heard holdover can happen, and it can be months. Does that mean I have to be separated from my wife for that much of extra time after all of BCT and OCS?

Thank you.

09s here shipping out to BCT in a week. was curious about when and where to buy boots and other quality of life items after BCT and before OCS. I assume there is an exchange we are permitted to use given we have to buy everything else on the packing list. Does that purchasing happen when you get to OCS?

I‘d also like to bring along a laptop to OCS but I heard that‘s a no no for BCT and I don't have any family that will be attending my graduation so an exchange of items can’t really happen.

Also, any boot recommendations would be great

Thank you!

So I am a former Navy officer with honorable discharge. I’m trying to figure out when going through the OCS process, if I have to go through basic again and then OCS or do I get to skip basic and go straight into OCS.

So if a recruit is put in med hold at basic and can't complete their training on time, what happens to them? Will they just be assigned another OCS class date, or will they be reclassed to a needed MOS?

I'm an 09S graduated with Charlie Company. Lmk if any of you want tips on how to not get recycled

As the only Active Duty Cyber slot recipient in my OCS Company, I can give a unique insight on how the entire process went for me personally.

If you are going for a packet branch (Cyber, Medical Services, Aviation and EOD) you better START that process BEFORE you arrive. If you are an O9S like I was you should be completing your packet and starting your interviews BEFORE you ship out to BASIC, if you THINK for even ONE MOMENT that the Cadre will give you TIME to work on the packet you are in for a rude awakening.

For me personally, I submitted my packet prior to basic and was able to complete the first step which is the HireVue interview. If you think thats gonna be hard and do what I did and study a bunch for it, guess what? Its easy asf all you have to do is give some generic answers for some goo goo gah gah questions about leadership, there is absolutely NO technical questions in the first interview outside of giving a basic background about yourself.

Now I completed the first step right before I shipped. Went off to basic and thought “surely the drill sergeants or the basic training command will give me some insight on what OCS is gonna be like or maybe If Im lucky they might even know what Cyber might be looking for”. Guess what? They don’t know SHIT about OCS, I went to Benning and even though OCS is right across the street they still had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

For the O9S, if you think you are gonna get outta basic and be like “wow that was tough, surely OCS is gonna be a cakewalk” then you have literally no idea what the hell you signed yourself up for because OCS is just Basic 2 Electric Boogaloo. “Surely I’ll get more privileges though right?”, depending on your company you might get some freedoms based on your phase, in one company you might get a weekend pass every weekend where the cadre reads you bed time stories and tucks you in at night, or you might get the one where the cadre hopes you fail, steals your sleep, greets you with misery before every sunrise, and spends each waking day trying to convince you to make a mistake that causes you to restart the entire cycle from day 1.

If you haven’t been able to tell by now I was in the latter. Besides that point, if you are like me you need to complete the second step of the packet process which is the second in-person interview, now the Branch itself doesn’t give a singular fuck about what the Cadre wants you to turn in, Cadre will ask you to give them a bunch of documents but the only real thing you need to give them is the 4187 which essentially tells them you are “switching” branches. Additionally you’ll need to speak with Cadre to setup a time for your second interview, easier said than done. I HIGHLY recommend you get this step done before shipping out so you don’t have the same experience as me getting on your hands and knees begging cadre for a 20 minute gap in the day to complete your interview. The interview itself is easy asf, again no real technical portion, just a background about yourself and your leadership potential. I personally did mine after completing the 6 mile ruck with all my gear still on as that was the only available time for me to complete it.

Now the good news is, you may have read somewhere that you have to complete some bullshit ahh cyber questionnaire and if you had the ability to find some examples of previous ones you might be like “oh my god this is impossible”. Well… they got rid of that, so all you actually HAVE to do is the HireVue Interview and the Zoom Call! Once everything is done, 4187 turned in, interviews completed, packet sent in, you will just wait for the Branch to contact your chain of command at OCS through the S1. Now this can happen before or after the official branching ceremony at OCS. We had one guy in a different packet branch (Aviation) find out his results AFTER, in my case I was SUPPOSED to find out BEFORE but cadre withheld that information from me so I wouldn’t shitbagmaxx the rest of the course. (All packet branches are OUTSIDE the OML, your rank in the class and the grades you achieve WONT MATTER if you are going for a packet branch)

The attached image is all you’ll need for your packet and where to send it, if you haven’t shipped out yet, start this the second you get your spot for OCS, if you are already in OCS, good luck trying to balance getting your packet ready while doing the other course requirements.

Blah blah blah, something something something, standards are compromised.

Anyone doing this now w their spouse??

Any prior service enlisted that went to OCS please dm. I have questions.

Graduating today with a few others, wanted to pay it forward and ask any questions folks have on the process and cycle. I am a NG Candidate so I can answer USAR/NG questions as well.

As the title suggests, I had a question about prior service individuals who went reserves. I was active duty, then guard & reserves briefly. I got out during Covid but was not separated because of it, I was allowed to just walk off clean.

I just finished college and wanted to explore potentially getting a commission through OCS before I’m 32 and missed the age requirement, although I know waivers exist for prior service, at least from what I’ve read. I went into a recruiters office while I’m home on vacation for the month and the conversation was less than a minute and they flat out said no after I told them I was at 100% with the VA.

However, I was at 90% when I was in the Reserves prior and knew plenty of people at 100%. Would it be because of having to go to OCS as opposed to coming back as enlisted? Was hoping somebody has gone through similar process. Also, my IRR time is over now as well.

Thanks if you made it this far.

I’ve got some admin questions in regards to an In service OCS application.

I work at an NCOA. My immediate commander is my commandant, a CSM with assumption of command orders and 0-6 authority.

The current OCS application requirements include:
2 memorandums for endorsement (brigade commander and CSM)
“Why I want to be an officer” signed by immediate commander
And DA 5339 signed by immediate commander

My question is, can any or all of these documents be signed by my commandant, or do I need to look outside of the NCOA for these signatures.

Greetings all,

I am currently going into my Junior year of college and have been weighing all sorts of options post-graduation.
As a preface, I am working towards my major in Political Science with a minor in Economics, as well as a certificate in National Security and Intelligence (3.62 GPA).

I have always been eager to join the military and serve my country with the opportunity to lead others. Not to mentions while I’m young having the ability to do something exciting/honorable. My dad is prior enlisted and a retired O from the AF. Due to this, and aspirations for eventual Federal Law Enforcement service, I have been looking for ways to gain valuable experience. I’ve thought about straight up enlisting as an E3/E4 (branch dependent) for one or two contracts. Though I believe going the Officer route would be more sensible and beneficial for my goals. Furthermore, I could definitely see myself actually turning the military into a career instead.

With the time-consuming and competitive process of directly commissioning via OTS/OCS, I have recently discovered enlisting in the 09S MOS. From my research I can enlist under 09S, complete basic, and then move on to AIT (which in this case would be OCS). Following the success of OCS I would then be given an MOS from a list of 5 that I were to list.

I would love to hear any information, feedback, and advice regarding the entire process. Such as: how difficult is getting an 09S MOS? Are there any better alternatives to the officer route? Any input is greatly appreciated.

I’m 35 with a bachelor’s degree. A recruiter today told me the civilian OCS age limit is now 34 with no age waivers and that my only option is to enlist first and apply later.

Has anyone recently received an OCS age waiver at 35 or older as a civilian applicant? If so, what was your situation?

I would really appreciate any insight or guidance. Thank you!

So this is my background
I am 34 male
2.9 GPA for ADN
3.3 for BSN
Have 5 years of experience of med-surg at a university hospital.

I heard 66h is filled with ROTC nurses and barely leave 0 slots for direct commission
Do I have a chance?

I haven’t received any updates regarding the OCS packing list or welcome letter yet, and I’ll be shipping to BCT soon. Could anyone share the most recent packing list and welcome letter for an upcoming OCS class?

I got my bachelor's degree last year and I am a few months from finishing my obligated time in the Marine Corps Reserves (I hit 6 years in October; I have 10 months of Active-Duty experience from a mobilization). After glancing around a few posts in this board, it seems that the process is already very difficult for soldiers as it is and that it's actually not very easy to find an Officer Selection Officer in any given geographic area. I am not very knowledgeable in the process nor am I familiar with the details, but it seems my chances are slim. Any ideas on my chances on being able to commission in the Army as an active-duty officer and how to find an Officer Selection Officer? Anything else I should know before moving forward? I live in the El Paso area by the way.

Edit: My GPA/stats and other info

I am an E3/LCPL (admittedly took a while to get my shit together; by then the cutting score was too high). For the past 2 years my leadership experience has been limited to guiding boots in tricks of the trade (I am the USMC equivalent of an 88M).

ASVAB: 81

GT/GCT: 121

GPA: 3.86