What are all the options to become a Naval Officer?

[parentofmen]

From what I understand, you can be one of the lucky to get into the Naval Academy. The other route is through NROTC at a university. Someone asked me why my son would go through NROTC while in college (if not accepted into the Academy), when he could enlist after graduation from college and go to officer candidate school. I didn't know how to answer. Is this a definite alternative? My husband thinks that you have to apply to officer candidate school, and you might not be accepted. So then you've enlisted with a college degree, but no officer rank. Just curious. My son is still waiting to hear from the academy, no word yet on NROTC scholarship, but at least has been accepted to a number of great universities with NROTC programs (which he is determined to do with scholarship or not--and reapply to the Academy).

 

[usna1985]

One very good option is to attend college and then apply to Officer Candidate School. That is for college grads w/o ROTC or Academy experience. Aviation candiates are funneled through AOCS (Aviation OCS) . OCS/AOCS is what you saw in "Officer and a Gentleman" (that was AOCS). As I recall, the course is about 16 weeks long -- sort of a crash-indoc into the military. And from there you go to your warfare community schools.

Here's a link to OCS: http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs.asp

Enlisting is a great way to serve your country; it really is not the best way to go about becoming an officer. Yes, it does happen and there are several routes from enlisted to officer (USNA is but one of them). But, you really must be prepared to complete your enlistment w/o having that opportunity b/c it is rare and may not come along.

 

[parentofmen]

Do you know what the chances are of getting accepted into officer candidate school if you enlist out of college? What I mean, they obviously don't take everyone, but is there some criteria they look for?

 

[Kero]

I don't know odds but it depends on a lot of things including your chain of command, performance, availability, etc...

If your son wants to become an officer and does not go to USNA or a NROTC school, do not enlist, just apply for OCS. If he just wants to serve then enlistment is an option just have him do his own homework and take anything a enlisted recruiter says with a grain of salt because they have their quotas to fill.

 

[Subdude]

I would not wait until graduation to try to get into OCS.

There are several US Navy programs that pay good money to current college students for something like up to 36 months of college with a commission at the end.

Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NUPOC): http://www.navy.com/nuclear/program/

Bachelor Degree Completion Program (BDCP) details here: http://www.navy.com/benefits/education/earnmoney/

 

[usna1985]

You can also check with the officer recruiters in your area. They are there to answer questions as well as recruit.

As a GENERAL rule, officers are college grads and those without college educations enter the military as enlisted. (Yes, I know that some enlisted personnel, especially CPOs, have college degrees and also that warrant officers often do not -- which is why it's a "general" rule).

Thus, if you want to be an officer, you basically need a college degree. You can do that through the military (USNA, NROTC or other programs) or can basically do it on your own and then apply to the military. And a few programs in-between as mentioned above. You do not need to enlist to do any of the above.

If you are not interested in college (at least for now), don't get into a college of your choice, or can't afford college, and still want to serve in the military, enlisting may be right for you. You can earn money for college and there are some limited means of becoming an officer via the enlisted ranks. However, it is not an easy, direct path to becoming an officer nor is it a necessary one.