Commissioning Pathways - Resource For Becoming an Officer

What a great piece of work.

A huge help to a DD/DS or parent looking for information on life after the academy, (would have been a big help to my DD way back in 2016).

I sometimes wonder if members notice that guests typically out number members here by 100+ to 1. I think a large percentage of those guests are looking for this kind of information about what 5+ years of military service look like; and what other options they have to commission look like.

A huge help for those filling out a “Plan B”, as well as some comfort if/when an SA declines an application.

My DD did “Operation Info” (USNA high school out reach) 3 of her years at USNA. According to her your site would have been a huge help in discussing service options on her visits to high schools in our area.

Have you heard anything from the Mods here?……..well done!
 
Just Dad said:
What a great piece of work.

A huge help to a DD/DS or parent looking for information on life after the academy, (would have been a big help to my DD way back in 2016).

I sometimes wonder if members notice that guests typically out number members here by 100+ to 1. I think a large percentage of those guests are looking for this kind of information about what 5+ years of military service look like; and what other options they have to commission look like.

A huge help for those filling out a “Plan B”, as well as some comfort if/when an SA declines an application.

My DD did “Operation Info” (USNA high school out reach) 3 of her years at USNA. According to her your site would have been a huge help in discussing service options on her visits to high schools in our area.

Have you heard anything from the Mods here?……..well done!
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Thanks for taking a look! Haven't heard anything from the mods on this...would be cool if they pin it somewhere
 
This is an amazing resource. I will share it with DS when he returns from Civil Air Patrol Encampment! I have a question that (so far) I haven't found on your page. I know that the 4 years at the academies don't count towards their retirement, but that it is Active Duty. Based on these two pieces, I am unsure if they commission at O1 with <2 years or O1 with 4 years. I tend to think the <2 years, but I am new to the whole military apparatus so I would love to hear from someone who knows.
 
HopefulMama2033 said:
This is an amazing resource. I will share it with DS when he returns from Civil Air Patrol Encampment! I have a question that (so far) I haven't found on your page. I know that the 4 years at the academies don't count towards their retirement, but that it is Active Duty. Based on these two pieces, I am unsure if they commission at O1 with <2 years or O1 with 4 years. I tend to think the <2 years, but I am new to the whole military apparatus so I would love to hear from someone who knows.
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The 4 years at USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA are active duty status - they get paid at roughly 1/3 O-1 rate, are subject to UCMJ military law, have full TRICARE Prime medical and dental benefits, etc.

By law, it is indeed AD but cannot be counted toward military retirement. It can be counted toward federal civil service retirement calculations. It can also serve as the basis for eligibility for some veterans’ benefits.

Unless they have prior enlisted service, they will receive O-1 < 2 base pay once commissioned.

They are not able to contribute to TSP (fed “401K”) as mids or cadets, but can immediately after commissioning.
 
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Capt MJ said:
The 4 years at USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA are active duty status - they get paid at roughly 1/3 O-1 rate, are subject to UCMJ military law, have full TRICARE Prime medical and dental benefits, etc.

By law, it is indeed AD but cannot be counted toward military retirement. It can be counted toward federal civil service retirement calculations. It can also serve as the basis for eligibility for some veterans’ benefits.

Unless they have prior enlisted service, they will receive O-1 < 2 base pay once commissioned.

They are not able to contribute to TSP (fed “401K”) as mids or cadets, but can immediately after commissioning.
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Thank you so much ma'am! That fixed my confusion. There are so many ins and outs of all this. I am trying to learn now, while I have time, and my kiddo sort of listens to me so I can explain things.
 
HopefulMama2033 said:
Thank you so much ma'am! That fixed my confusion. There are so many ins and outs of all this. I am trying to learn now, while I have time, and my kiddo sort of listens to me so I can explain things.
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You are welcome!

Military One Source an excellent joint official website that can ‘splain most anything - pay, TAD/TDY, household goods moves, education benefits. medical, dental, etc.


www.militaryonesource.mil

Military Life Services & Support Resources | Military OneSource

Explore Military OneSource’s free tools, guidance, and 24/7 support for military life—from finances and relationships to moves and wellness.
www.militaryonesource.mil www.militaryonesource.mil
 
Capt MJ said:
The 4 years at USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA are active duty status - they get paid at roughly 1/3 O-1 rate, are subject to UCMJ military law, have full TRICARE Prime medical and dental benefits, etc.

By law, it is indeed AD but cannot be counted toward military retirement. It can be counted toward federal civil service retirement calculations. It can also serve as the basis for eligibility for some veterans’ benefits.

Unless they have prior enlisted service, they will receive O-1 < 2 base pay once commissioned.

They are not able to contribute to TSP (fed “401K”) as mids or cadets, but can immediately after commissioning.
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Exactly this @HopefulMama2033 . I can include this portion into the website. @Capt MJ thoughts on this resource overall? I've been through the whole process soup to nuts. Know a lot of the ins and outs of the various options for those post-service as well.

I'd like to put more visibility on this as a overall comprehensive resource to supplement the forum
 
SamAca10 said:
Exactly this @HopefulMama2033 . I can include this portion into the website. @Capt MJ thoughts on this resource overall? I've been through the whole process soup to nuts. Know a lot of the ins and outs of the various options for those post-service as well.

I'd like to put more visibility on this as a overall comprehensive resource to supplement the forum
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I appreciate the labor and attention to detail in your work!

You know I endlessly harp on primary and official sources. I think the key is keeping your work updated in versions or editions, and steering people the right way. I’m not a mod, so I have no say on how it might get used here on SAF. If you haven’t already, engage with mods individually.
 
Capt MJ said:
I appreciate the labor and attention to detail in your work!

You know I endlessly harp on primary and official sources. I think the key is keeping your work updated in versions or editions, and steering people the right way. I’m not a mod, so I have no say on how it might get used here on SAF. If you haven’t already, engage with mods individually.
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Thanks! That's high praise coming from a retired O6 on the attention to detail.

Absolutely...I have this setup so it does a chron job and polls all of the official sources weekly. I also have a page for official sources: https://www.commissioningpathways.com/resources.html

I'll need to figure out who the Mods are to see if there is interest in having it stickied or placed somewhere. I've linked SAF within the Academies section as well
 
SamAca10 said:
Thanks! That's high praise coming from a retired O6 on the attention to detail.

Absolutely...I have this setup so it does a chron job and polls all of the official sources weekly. I also have a page for official sources: https://www.commissioningpathways.com/resources.html

I'll need to figure out who the Mods are to see if there is interest in having it stickied or placed somewhere. I've linked SAF within the Academies section as well
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Staff are listed under Members link on home page. This is phone screenshot.

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I have no idea why it repeated multiple times. But you get the idea.
 
SamAca10 said:
I've created a website that is useful for explaining the commissioning process and various pathways: https://www.commissioningpathways.com/

Can Mods link this or let me know if this is useful? Happy to take any suggestions and/or feedback as well.
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well put together - i just have a couple of nit-picky type changes:

- MOCs can nominate up to 15 candidates per open slot (not 10)
- under “Summers year by year" (USAFA)
— rising juniors can be BCT cadre, but not rising sophomores
-- SERE is now called CWAC (Cadet Warfighter Advanced Course)
- USAFA uses SCS - Selection Composite Score - https://academyendeavors.com/usafa-selection-composite-score/
 
Nice!

@SamAca10 I see that you include USMMA (as you should!), so I was wondered if the 6 Maritime Academies might warrant a little more coverage/presence as well? As an example, the 6 SMC's are in the navigation, but information about the Maritime Academies is a little harder to find.

It's up to you, obviously, but those Maritime academies can be a hidden gem with a lot of great opportunities ($64k SIP program scholarships, ROTC scholarships can be used there, possibly CSPI, and offer great career opportunities at graduation, I think very similar to USMMA, though I'm fuzzy on details so maybe not).

Several options for you to consider:
1. Possibly updating "Military Colleges" to Military/Maritime Colleges?
2. I have no idea if Maritime colleges would qualify to be included as a 'path to commissioning'?
3. I don't know enough about SIP to understand if how it's similar or different from ROTC/CSPI, and whether it makes sense to cover the SIP scholarship opportunities in that section or separately.
4. More broadly, a question for you: Would the ROTC/CSPI section work more broadly as a "Scholarship" category? It could include things like SIP, GRFD Minuteman Scholarship, Army Green to Gold? I have no idea if/how the army SMP program fits in there either.

Thank you so much for compiling and presenting this information. In dd's case, she accidentally learned about TAMU's Corp of Cadets late in the game, when she got an email from them in November. She initially thought it was spam and ignored it, but was surprised that to learn it was a real thing. Having the information in one place will help other kids as they are exploring and figuring things out.
 
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