Commissioning in a Different Branch

YaBoi03

Army ROTC
Joined
May 5, 2021
Messages
29
Hello and happy New Year! I was wondering if it is possible to commission in a different branch of the military upon completion of 4 years of ROTC. I'm currently a first-year in Army ROTC but my dream job is to be an officer in the Coast Guard. Thanks!
 
Hello and happy New Year! I was wondering if it is possible to commission in a different branch of the military upon completion of 4 years of ROTC. I'm currently a first-year in Army ROTC but my dream job is to be an officer in the Coast Guard. Thanks!
Setting aside for the moment you are in an AROTC program, have you researched:

(Unofficial but usually realiable source.)

(The official source.)

Now, if you contract through AROTC, you sign a contract that commits you to that path. The Army has invested time and training resources in you and counted on you to deliver the required amount of obligated service after commissioning.

If you are on scholarship, then I believe you can take the money and do this first year without obligation, and walk away from the program without payback. After that, payback is involved after you start sophomore year. You have this year to figure out if this path is for you.

Cross-commissioning is relatively rare; it’s not a usual option. The Coast Guard is a far smaller service and takes in far fewer candidates through any of its commissioning programs. See this current thread; the same issues apply:
Thread 'Transferring Academies'
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/transferring-academies.88882/

If you really want to go Coast Guard, there are paths to that dream, but your current status as an AROTC cadet adds multiple layers of difficulty.

Separate the two issues. Do you want to commission as an Army officer? Are okay with it, or not at all anymore? Decide and act accordingly.
Do you want to be a Coast Guard officer? How badly? Determine if this is a transient grass-is-greener dream. Decide and act accordingly.

All questions rhetorical.

Assigned reading: DA Form 597. Read all the fine print.
 
Last edited:
Setting aside for the moment you are in an AROTC program, have you researched:

(Unofficial but usually realiable source.)

(The official source.)

Now, if you contract through AROTC, you sign a contract that commits you to that path. The Army has invested time and training resources in you and counted on you to deliver the required amount of obligated service after commissioning.

If you are on scholarship, then I believe you can take the money and do this first year without obligation, and walk away from the program without payback. After that, payback is involved after you start sophomore year. You have this year to figure out if this path is for you.

Cross-commissioning is relatively rare; it’s not a usual option. The Coast Guard is a far smaller service and takes in far fewer candidates through any of its commissioning programs. See this current thread; the same issues apply:
Thread 'Transferring Academies'
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/transferring-academies.88882/

If you really want to go Coast Guard, there are paths to that dream, but your current status as an AROTC cadet adds multiple layers of difficulty.

Separate the two issues. Do you want to commission as an Army officer? Are okay with it, or not at all anymore? Decide and act accordingly.
Do you want to be a Coast Guard officer? How badly? Determine if this is a transient grass-is-greener dream. Decide and act accordingly.

All questions rhetorical.

Assigned reading: DA Form 597. Read all the fine print.
Thank you! I really appreciate the detail.
 
Indeed if the Army invests money, they will want their investment returned by you serving out the commitment you accepted.
 
What do you want to do in the Army? Coast Guard?
I know Army pilots who did transfers to the Coast Guard after their Army ADSO. You lose a rank if you’re an “RLO” when you do so, but it makes sense as you would be an O-3 competing for billets that get you promoted to O-4 if you didn’t. As an O-2 you get to figure out the Coast Guard first.
You could possibly do something similar after serving your ADSO in the Army if you aren’t aviation. While not common it’s not unheard of for officers to change services after their ADSO.
 
As long as he serves his time no one cares. Cross commissioning happens all the time.
Care to define "all the time?" and under what circumstance? Surely there can't be people flip-flopping from one ROTC and commission to an entirely different branch of service on a whim. Just like you don't see many USMA cadets commissioning as naval officers and vice versa?
 
Care to define "all the time?" and under what circumstance? Surely there can't be people flip-flopping from one ROTC and commission to an entirely different branch of service on a whim. Just like you don't see many USMA cadets commissioning as naval officers and vice versa?
As in I’ve known many over the years who cross commission. It happens. The money spent is a wash. A couple here and there may care, but in the long run no one will.
 
I know that when Navy Options seek to cross over to Marine Option, both services need to agree. Navy agrees to release their billet and the Marine Corps agrees they will accept the candidate. I assume each service has their own procedures for this.

While it has become rarer than days past, it still happens. One notable case I can recall is the former head of Naval Special Warfare Command and former commander of Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.....RADM Brian Losey. His commissioning source was through USAFA class of '83 I believe.
 
Just to clarify. Cross commissioning between Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines is common. At the SAs, probably a couple each year on average, though as pointed out “needs to the service”. But I have not heard of cross commissioning with the Coast Guard. Not to mean it doesn’t happen, just that I haven’t heard of it.
I did have a flight school student once who did an inter service transfer from NOAA to the Army. It was the first I heard about NOAA having officers. So if it can happen from/to NOAA I’m sure it can happen with the Coast Guard.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top