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Navy - Probably competitive for active duty slots at OCS. Problem is your age. 35 is the cutoff for SWO/Supply/Intel. You're past the age for NFO and Pilot.
Your first step is contacting a Navy Officer Recruiter. Keyword: Officer. Do not, under any circumstance, talk to a enlisted recruiter. At your first meeting ask for a business card. If it doesn't say Officer Recruiter on it, then walk away. Do not take the ASVAB or fall for any games enlisted recruiters try to play. Talk to an Officer Recruiter. You need to take the OAR/ASTB depending on the designators that you're interested in. After you take the test, you'll need to do some interviews and put together a package to apply. Start now. The process can take over a year and you're pressed for time.
Do not under any circumstances enlist. You will regret it with your age and educational background. Trust me when I say you won't like being treated like a kid and having 18 year old peers.
If he's got the military itch, but can't get an officer slot, he can enlist in the AF. Enlisted in the AF is better than being an officer in the other branches (except for the money!). A lot more fun to be had as enlisted, but more money and maybe better job prospects after service for an officer. If enlisted, I would look at loadmaster (see the world on Uncle Sam's dime) or CYBER.
The Air Force and the Navy are most likely going to require a STEM degree.
You have a shot at the Army though. You are too old for the Marines.
I received a direct commission in the Navy Reserve as an intel officer with a History/German degree.
There were a lot of other new newly-minted O's at the time, and other than those applying for medical-related commissions (which is a slightly different process), most did not have a STEM degree or background, mainly because we were all in jobs which did not require it: Intel, Public Affairs, Logistics, Crypto, IT, etc. This was circa 2005, but I don't think it's changed that much, re: the number of different fields that DCO's enter into and the backgrounds that are desired for them.
I received a direct commission in the Navy Reserve as an intel officer with a History/German degree.
There were a lot of other new newly-minted O's at the time, and other than those applying for medical-related commissions (which is a slightly different process), most did not have a STEM degree or background, mainly because we were all in jobs which did not require it: Intel, Public Affairs, Logistics, Crypto, IT, etc. This was circa 2005, but I don't think it's changed that much, re: the number of different fields that DCO's enter into and the backgrounds that are desired for them.
The Naval Reserve is different though. They are often more willing to take people with degrees that active duty turns away.
The Marines don't care at all, as long as you can run 3 miles in under 18 minutes, do 20 strict pull ups, and do 100 sit ups, you're good.
The Naval Reserve is different though. They are often more willing to take people with degrees that active duty turns away.
The Marines don't care at all, as long as you can run 3 miles in under 18 minutes, do 20 strict pull ups, and do 100 sit ups, you're good.
As I said, my experience was around 2005, but from the time we spent with our AD counterparts, that certainly did not seem to be the case.
Since I am also a former enlisted Marine, I can tell you for a fact that there's a lot more that goes into officer candidate selection than a PT score.
The Naval Reserve is different though. They are often more willing to take people with degrees that active duty turns away.
The Marines don't care at all, as long as you can run 3 miles in under 18 minutes, do 20 strict pull ups, and do 100 sit ups, you're good.
When I was in the Marine Corps, 3 miles in 18 minutes, 20 pull ups and 80 situps in two minutes or less was a perfect 300 score. Very few people max all three. I could max the situps and scored high enough to still make a first class score. 46 years later, I would fail all three!
The Naval Reserve is different though. They are often more willing to take people with degrees that active duty turns away.
Nonsense. In my community, the DCO Reserve program process is much more selective than the AD process was (for me). They require, in effect, a master's degree and significant business experience. If I'd tried to get into the DCO program back when I first applied for OCS, I wouldn't have been selected.
By the way, it's NavY Reserve. Not Naval Reserve.
Quote:
The Marines don't care at all, as long as you can run 3 miles in under 18 minutes, do 20 strict pull ups, and do 100 sit ups, you're good.
More nonsense. It takes a hell of a lot more than being able to do pull ups and sit ups to be an officer in the Marine Corps.
you might take a look at public affairs positions. or intelligence. or Army Civil Affairs.
there are two things about reserve positions......
you will probably be limited to units near where you live. and the openings they are currently recruiting for.
and, in the AF reserve world, there is no shortage of enlisted personnel with bachelors degrees and military experience.
Units do not have to look for civilians to commission.
in the old days, AFR would only send civilians to OTS if they were headed for flying positions.
I suggest you try for a reserve/guard enlisted position in civil affairs/public affairs/intel.
get that going as a side hustle, then get your civilian career going.
after several successful years, you can seek a commission.
My uncle became a commissioned officer through ROTC in college, and decided to join the Army Reserves.
After his active service was finished, he came home, bought a ranch, and became a school teacher. Both were good choices, as he came from a ranching family, and teaching school during the winters doesn't conflict with raising livestock, which always takes up the summers.
But his Reserve duty always messed him up every summer for the next 20 years. Just at the time when he needed to fix all his fences after winter snow pulled them down, and all his cows were calving, he had to go off to the Army for a month or more. So he was always off in Oregon on some Army base when his cattle needed him most.
He was frozen in his rank for most of that time. He was a Captain when he went into the reserves, and never made another grade, but he hung in, hoping the lack of grade would be made up by his retirement benefits.
And then, with less than 2 years to go before full retirement, the Army cut him loose during the big personnel cuts that followed the end of Nam. So he got squat for retirement. All that time and the trouble he went through went for nothing.
If I was thinking about becoming commissioned, I think the wisest choice would be to consider the military as a full career, or do some time in it, using the experience to find something in civilian life, and then resign from service.
The reserves never know when a future Congress is going to start cutting, and my uncle was left quite embittered from his experience. It would make me think twice about becoming a reservist, but his example may not apply to everyone.
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