Cyber Officer - Direct Commission - No Basic Training or OCS Required

Day-Tripper

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US Army now has a Cyber Officer Program.

https://www.goarmy.com/army-cyber/cyber-direct-commissioning-program.html

So if you have a BS in computer science/computer engineering, can pass a physical & want to be a 1st lieutenant right away, consider this program.

Unlike traditional OCS pathway, you don't have to go to Basic Training for 10 weeks & then spend another arduous 3 months or so at Fort Benning in OCS training before commissiong.

Like Army doctors & lawyers & chaplains, cyber officers simply have a 6 week "Direct Commissioning Course". Pretty much, learn how to wear your uniform, stand up straight, how (and who) to salute, how to line up at the Mess Hall, etc. No sergeants yelling at you angrily! Then 12 weeks of cyber training. Then, voila, you're a 1st lieutenant.
 
a 1st lieutenant

a 1st lieutenant

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank


"Qualified civilians can now directly apply for a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army Cyber branch. That means you could join the Army at the rank of First Lieutenant or higher. You will help to build the future of Army Cyber and electronic warfare."

Unreal, eh?
 
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Yeah, but this is likely going to be for professional officers with little opportunity for command down the road. Similar to the AF's non-line officers.

A lot of times these shortcuts don't pay off in the long run as priorities and goals change as you get older. OCS/OTS/WOCS isn't all that hard or bad. If you are able, it's always better to just do the regular normal route- less hassle down the road, more growth, and no asterisks...

Also, I'd be surprised to hear there is no yelling while "learning how to line up at the mess hall"... or while "learning how to stand up straight"... I'm pretty sure there are going to be some motivational statements from helpful military training instructors along the way.

Bypassing O1 is also nice, but again every other job that has rank skipping like that pretty much means it is non-command, meaning progression options really narrow after Major.
 
a 1st lieutenant

a 1st lieutenant

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank


"Qualified civilians can now directly apply for a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army Cyber branch. That means you could join the Army at the rank of First Lieutenant or higher. You will help to build the future of Army Cyber and electronic warfare."

Unreal, eh?

I wanted to shed some further context on this. These are not my personal views, just my attempt at explaining the rationale behind the Army’s decision.

The Army and military in general has struggled to recruit people with knowledge/talent and backgrounds in cyber fields and many higher-ups believe that this has made America vulnerable since cyber warfare is becoming more and more important, especially to our enemies in NK, Russia, China, and Iran.

Many IT and cybersecurity professionals are already paid in the six-figures out of college in civilian jobs. Put yourself in their shoes - subtracting patriotism and a sense of duty from the equation, why would you subject yourself to the gruelling training of OCS and the relatively strict discipline of military life and take a substantial pay cut as well as run the risk that you won’t even be doing anything related to your field? It’s not unheard of for people with CS degrees to get voluntold to become combat arms officers and since the field moves so fast, stagnating for a few years can often impede a future career in the civilian world. For them, going the traditional OCS route and getting booted all the way to O-1 as well taking the risk that they won’t even get put into their field of study is a dealbreaker. Many are also not interested in the typical career progression of an Army officer; they’d much rather stay working with a small team of skilled technical experts than ever command a large unit, and that therefore the progression to command can actually be a downside for them.

The Army’s goal is simple. By assuring these professionals that they will remain in the cyber field (And not have to endure the training of BCT and OCS) as well as raising their rank of entry to at least O-2 to make military pay more competitive with the civilian sector, they will attract more professionals and talent to the field. Furthermore, by managing cyber officers through a specialized direct accession program, they can ensure that they are being put where they are needed the most. Yes, learning to put the needs of the service first is important for them, but finding someone who is willing to take the (still rather significant, even as a O-2) paycut out of the desire to serve their nation is rare, and these men and women need to be out into the field where their expertise can help the most. The officers that are coming from this program aren’t likely to be from some podunk university with a degree in basket weaving too - they’re likely to be coming from reputable schools with STEM degrees or to have years of experience in the field, experience that can greatly benefit the US military. Many might even be prior-enlisted.

Does it go against tradition? Maybe. Should it disgust you because their commission path is much easier than others? Perhaps. But with our rivals in China and Russia both vastly improving their cyber warfare capabilities and operating their own incentives programs for cyber personnel, it would be foolish if the US military didn’t try to revamp their techniques to make themselves competitive among high-paying companies in Silicon Valley or the tech giants of Google and Apple. Maybe in the past special incentives like this weren’t needed, but culture and technology and times have changed, and failure to adapt and revamp the recruiting efforts towards those with important technical skills could prove disastrous in a future where cyberspace is a battlefield.
 
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@curiousas250's post is precisely what our cadet was told about this path to Cyber. This is a brand new branch that needs to bootstrap itself in a hurry, and the Army does not have the internal resources or institutional knowledge to get Cyber to the competitive level it needs to be quickly without some serious help from the civilian sector. The fact that the age limit mentioned in the requirements is up to 42 indicates that the Army is reaching for deep experience, not offering an express path to just anyone looking to bypass some military training. Getting booted "all the way to O-1" is no plum to the level and types of skill sets the Army is looking for compared to what these civilians have already achieved and been paid in the civilian sector. I'm not sure what the Army can offer these people or why anyone would consider this route other than pure patriotism. The related problem is retaining the Cyber military personnel the Army already has when the civilian sector entices with so much more pay. The sixth ADSO year for this branch isn't going to make much of a dent in stemming the attrition rate. The Army needs this form of direct commissioning both to enrich what's coming in and offset what's going out.
 
Excellent reply @curiousas250. I think you are dead on the money, and this is an attempt to lure in experienced folks who otherwise would not be able to afford to start out serving at O-1. This is very similar to what the AF does for doctors, dentists, lawyers, and chaplains.

However, my caution is to those that view this as an "easy" way to jump ahead (i.e. those for whom the concept of a lighter version of OCS is attractive). A lot of the time, these types of commissions come with strings, and for those who later decide they want to make rank and progress in the Army, those strings can really bind. The Air Force calls them non-line officers. The Navy and Marine Corps use Limited-Duty Officers. Going past O-5 as a non-line officer is difficult in the AF (mainly because O-6 is a group/wing-level position, which typically necessitates command experience, which only line officers are eligible for under most circumstances). O-6 LDO's are also pretty rare--again due to the restrictions on command.

The thing that strikes me as unusual is that they are only offering O-2. It's a slight bump in pay, but not a lot, and while it saves you two years, it also kills two years of buffer before you start having to go to your officer schools (and also puts you in a position where you would have two years' less seasoning time before making Captain...). If you're going to jump people ahead, why not bring them in at Captain, where they will have 4-6 years' TIG before promoting anyways. Also, why not just go the GS route to fill these spots??

So, my suggestion is that if you have the capacity to go through the "normal" way into Cyber (start at O-1, go to normal OCS), do it. Otherwise, definitely take a look at this program.
 
a 1st lieutenant

a 1st lieutenant

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank

Is 1stLt a typo??? Don't tell me six weeks of training lets you skip ahead a full rank


"Qualified civilians can now directly apply for a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army Cyber branch. That means you could join the Army at the rank of First Lieutenant or higher. You will help to build the future of Army Cyber and electronic warfare."

Unreal, eh?

I wanted to shed some further context on this. These are not my personal views, just my attempt at explaining the rationale behind the Army’s decision.

The Army and military in general has struggled to recruit people with knowledge/talent and backgrounds in cyber fields and many higher-ups believe that this has made America vulnerable since cyber warfare is becoming more and more important, especially to our enemies in NK, Russia, China, and Iran.

Many IT and cybersecurity professionals are already paid in the six-figures out of college in civilian jobs. Put yourself in their shoes - subtracting patriotism and a sense of duty from the equation, why would you subject yourself to the gruelling training of OCS and the relatively strict discipline of military life and take a substantial pay cut as well as run the risk that you won’t even be doing anything related to your field? It’s not unheard of for people with CS degrees to get voluntold to become combat arms officers and since the field moves so fast, stagnating for a few years can often impede a future career in the civilian world. For them, going the traditional OCS route and getting booted all the way to O-1 as well taking the risk that they won’t even get put into their field of study is a dealbreaker. Many are also not interested in the typical career progression of an Army officer; they’d much rather stay working with a small team of skilled technical experts than ever command a large unit, and that therefore the progression to command can actually be a downside for them.

The Army’s goal is simple. By assuring these professionals that they will remain in the cyber field (And not have to endure the training of BCT and OCS) as well as raising their rank of entry to at least O-2 to make military pay more competitive with the civilian sector, they will attract more professionals and talent to the field. Furthermore, by managing cyber officers through a specialized direct accession program, they can ensure that they are being put where they are needed the most. Yes, learning to put the needs of the service first is important for them, but finding someone who is willing to take the (still rather significant, even as a O-2) paycut out of the desire to serve their nation is rare, and these men and women need to be out into the field where their expertise can help the most. The officers that are coming from this program aren’t likely to be from some podunk university with a degree in basket weaving too - they’re likely to be coming from reputable schools with STEM degrees or to have years of experience in the field, experience that can greatly benefit the US military. Many might even be prior-enlisted.

Does it go against tradition? Maybe. Should it disgust you because their commission path is much easier than others? Perhaps. But with our rivals in China and Russia both vastly improving their cyber warfare capabilities and operating their own incentives programs for cyber personnel, it would be foolish if the US military didn’t try to revamp their techniques to make themselves competitive among high-paying companies in Silicon Valley or the tech giants of Google and Apple. Maybe in the past special incentives like this weren’t needed, but culture and technology and times have changed, and failure to adapt and revamp the recruiting efforts towards those with important technical skills could prove disastrous in a future where cyberspace is a battlefield.

Ditto!
 
Excellent reply @curiousas250. I think you are dead on the money, and this is an attempt to lure in experienced folks who otherwise would not be able to afford to start out serving at O-1. This is very similar to what the AF does for doctors, dentists, lawyers, and chaplains.

However, my caution is to those that view this as an "easy" way to jump ahead (i.e. those for whom the concept of a lighter version of OCS is attractive). A lot of the time, these types of commissions come with strings, and for those who later decide they want to make rank and progress in the Army, those strings can really bind. The Air Force calls them non-line officers. The Navy and Marine Corps use Limited-Duty Officers. Going past O-5 as a non-line officer is difficult in the AF (mainly because O-6 is a group/wing-level position, which typically necessitates command experience, which only line officers are eligible for under most circumstances). O-6 LDO's are also pretty rare--again due to the restrictions on command.

The thing that strikes me as unusual is that they are only offering O-2. It's a slight bump in pay, but not a lot, and while it saves you two years, it also kills two years of buffer before you start having to go to your officer schools (and also puts you in a position where you would have two years' less seasoning time before making Captain...). If you're going to jump people ahead, why not bring them in at Captain, where they will have 4-6 years' TIG before promoting anyways. Also, why not just go the GS route to fill these spots??

So, my suggestion is that if you have the capacity to go through the "normal" way into Cyber (start at O-1, go to normal OCS), do it. Otherwise, definitely take a look at this program.

Just a quick correction - they are starting at O-2 and can commission higher. From the traditional direct commissioning system (Bachelors start at O-1, Masters start at O-2, PhDs start at O-3), one would guess that they are looking for those with advanced degrees but since the Army is highly desperate to fill it's ranks of cyber officers, it may be true that they waived that system to make themselves more attractive to new graduates who'd otherwise be looking elsewhere. I have even heard that the DoD is now authorized to direct commission cyber officers up to O-6.

Promotion rates may also vary among non-line specialities. For example, the Medical Service Corps in the Air Force has quite a high promotion rate, with a majority of Majors being selected for Lt. Colonel and about half of that group being selected for Colonel. That is because that restricted line community is much larger than others, but a smaller more specialized community may struggle to have anyone make O-4. But since Cyber is expected to vastly grow as a field, a newly commissioned cyber officer should have reasonable expectation to make O-4 and perhaps even O-5 and O-6 if they stay in and perform their duties well. But these promotions will not have the same meaning as the promotion of a line officer.

Whereas in line communities promotions may mean more command opportunities, more authority, and more training in various leadership schools, in specialty positions, the promotions are meant as pay raises to retain personnel. Experienced medical, cyber, and law personnel will see the pay of their civilian counterparts increasing significantly as the years pass and as a result if they don't receive a similar pay increase from the military, they will leave. But the military needs these officers to stay so that they can mentor new officers as well as continue to provide their essential services. But since there is no system of pay raises without getting a promotion, the military has no choice but to bump them up in rank instead. This is also how some experienced professionals can enter at O-4 or even O-5; it's just the military attempting to match their pay to entice them to enter and not them suddenly being put in charge of a battalion (If NCOs think butterbars who've only done ROTC are a headache to deal with, a battalion commander who's only attended a 12-day orientation course will certainly give them an aneurysm).

I completely agree with you on the last part. An OCS graduate will have a much easier time justifying his or her promotion to O-6 or even into the General ranks than some direct commissionee who merely attended a 12-day orientation on the basics of "How to function in the Army". If one truly wants to rise to the top, hold command positions, and make a full career in the Army Cyber Command, OCS or ROTC is easily the way to go.
 
It is interesting that they have hard time getting people interested in Cyber to go military. I say this because in Israel (which has a draft), they have elite units of Cyber where many veterans of these units wind up creating sucessful innovative companies after giving their time to the army. They not only do they have access to some high end stuff while in the military, they get to colloberate with all of the other top Cyber guys in the field. While its true they dont have a choice to serve or not, they know serving in these units give them an advantage. It isnt like they couldnt make the same amount of money if they skipped the military and went straight into private industry. Besides Israeli based companies, Israelis have access to all of the major cyber and computers companies as most of them have locations in Israel. Americans seem to forget there are many skills you can obtain while in the military
 
It is interesting that they have hard time getting people interested in Cyber to go military. I say this because in Israel (which has a draft), they have elite units of Cyber where many veterans of these units wind up creating sucessful innovative companies after giving their time to the army. They not only do they have access to some high end stuff while in the military, they get to colloberate with all of the other top Cyber guys in the field. While its true they dont have a choice to serve or not, they know serving in these units give them an advantage. It isnt like they couldnt make the same amount of money if they skipped the military and went straight into private industry. Besides Israeli based companies, Israelis have access to all of the major cyber and computers companies as most of them have locations in Israel. Americans seem to forget there are many skills you can obtain while in the military

Just to your comparison to Israel, the key difference is the government of Israel puts all the top cyber people in those units by force of law due to the draft. Therefore, Israel’s cyber soldiers are in fact working with the absolute best and brightest minds in cyber. In the US, many if not most of the brightest minds in cyber are in silicone valley. This is more or less true depending on what sub-discipline of cyber you look at. This is probably only untrue in the realm of offensive cyber operations, where NSA almost certainly leads the way in that arena.
 
I wonder if other branches of the military will start doing something similar in the coming years, though I wouldn't expect the Navy or Air Force would have a lack of cyber officers, seeing how technology-oriented they are.
 
I wonder if other branches of the military will start doing something similar in the coming years, though I wouldn't expect the Navy or Air Force would have a lack of cyber officers, seeing how technology-oriented they are.

I doubt the Air Force will-- they have already spun off Cyberspace as the third leg of AF ops (even giving them their own set of "wings" to wear, interestingly enough). The bigger questions for the AF, I think will be:

(a) When the Space Command goes to the Space Force, does "Cyberspace" go with it?, and
(b) Regardless of the aforementioned question, how much further does the AF go in prioritizing Cyberspace? Do they begin to waive the "rated" requirement for Wing Commanders? Do Cyberspace officer positions instead become rated (similar to ABM and Observer ratings, which don't necessarily involve direct piloting of aircraft)?
 
I wonder if other branches of the military will start doing something similar in the coming years, though I wouldn't expect the Navy or Air Force would have a lack of cyber officers, seeing how technology-oriented they are.
Navy is going to offer two ROTC units direct commission privileges based on non-contract standing, recommendations, and cyber experience while in school. DS is excited for yet another option to use his skills.
 
US Army now has a Cyber Officer Program.

https://www.goarmy.com/army-cyber/cyber-direct-commissioning-program.html

So if you have a BS in computer science/computer engineering, can pass a physical & want to be a 1st lieutenant right away, consider this program.

Unlike traditional OCS pathway, you don't have to go to Basic Training for 10 weeks & then spend another arduous 3 months or so at Fort Benning in OCS training before commissiong.

Like Army doctors & lawyers & chaplains, cyber officers simply have a 6 week "Direct Commissioning Course". Pretty much, learn how to wear your uniform, stand up straight, how (and who) to salute, how to line up at the Mess Hall, etc. No sergeants yelling at you angrily! Then 12 weeks of cyber training. Then, voila, you're a 1st lieutenant.
Interesting. One of my students this past semester (highly rated technical university) is graduating this spring and was in the midst of enlisting to become an Army Cyber-Warrant Officer. She majored in Cyber and seems to have the skills that they want but now I wonder why it is as a warrant and not as a First LT. She told me that she will go to Army bootcamp paid as an E5 and after successful completion of bootcamp, she will enter the cyber MOS as a Warrant.
 
My guess is that she went to a recruiting station and not to ROTC BN or looked into OCS options with all possible options. When you talk to recruiters they encourage you the Enlisted path. Probably told her that she will be more hands on as an Enlistee than as an Officer who tend to take the PM role. And offered her Army can give her further educational and financial benefits down the road. Maybe she wants to be a programmer and dive into Cyber immediately after boot camp with a guarantee in Cyber etc. Perhaps the Officer track did not give her clear guarantees that she would be in Cyber. Again I suspect this is the difference between what she wants and rather informed and limited informed decision when she made it.
 
Warrant officers are not enlisted. They receive a commission just like regular officers.

The benefit to using warrants instead of regular officers is you can pay them more than enlisted (easier to compete with poaching from private sector), they can specialize a little easier, and you don't have to worry about them getting pulled out of their position to go command a unit. Hence why the Army likes to use CW's for positions that would otherwise be manned by a CGO or SNCO.

Also, generally speaking, the only Army warrant position open to nonpriors is aviator. Hence why you'd have to go enlisted first for Cyber.
 
Warrant officers are not enlisted. They receive a commission just like regular officers.

The benefit to using warrants instead of regular officers is you can pay them more than enlisted (easier to compete with poaching from private sector), they can specialize a little easier, and you don't have to worry about them getting pulled out of their position to go command a unit. Hence why the Army likes to use CW's for positions that would otherwise be manned by a CGO or SNCO.

Also, generally speaking, the only Army warrant position open to nonpriors is aviator. Hence why you'd have to go enlisted first for Cyber.
Not true any more. Army is now commissioning Cyber Warrants. And she did not just walk into a mall recruiting office, From what she told me, the Army made a visit to campus specifically to look for cyber-folk. She is going in as a warrant once she finishes bootcamp
 
Not true any more. Army is now commissioning Cyber Warrants. And she did not just walk into a mall recruiting office, From what she told me, the Army made a visit to campus specifically to look for cyber-folk. She is going in as a warrant once she finishes bootcamp

Nice! So she is going straight to WOCS after BCT?
 
Not true any more. Army is now commissioning Cyber Warrants. And she did not just walk into a mall recruiting office, From what she told me, the Army made a visit to campus specifically to look for cyber-folk. She is going in as a warrant once she finishes bootcamp

Nice! So she is going straight to WOCS after BCT?
That is what she told me.
 
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