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re: Any Military Officers here?
Posted on 10/24/16 at 4:27 pm to TDcline
Posted on 10/24/16 at 4:27 pm to TDcline
quote:
I am a previously enlisted Marine, and have been considering going back in but changing branches. I have a degree, so am strongly considering Army OCS. How do you like being a military officer? How well does the military take care of your family? Is going back in something you'd recommend?
Was an Army Officer for 4 years in Logistics. Did one tour in Iraq.
My advice:
- Officer pay is fricking great. With some enlisted time, BAH, and the tax free benefits, you clear the civilian equivalent of $100K in about 4-5 years.
- The army is pretty good about taking care of your family to the point where I never felt like it was an issue. Had a wife, no kid yet.
- I'd recommend Combat Service Support branches; job prospects if you ever leave the military again are much better.
- The army does funky things with branch selection. Don't assume you're going to get your branch you want. Combat arms are hard to get and even if you're top 25%, going into OCS you get selected only after the West Pointers get their choices.
- Be prepared for a lot of office work. After your platoon time (or even during if you're selected as QM or something) you're going to spend most of your time as a staff officer.
- Army field time was ramping up when I left (about 4 years ago), I'm sure guys still in could tell you more, but you'll be in the field a lot.
- The FRG (Family Readiness Groups) differ in quality between different units. It's a crapshoot.
2
Posted on 10/24/16 at 5:07 pm to cokebottleag
Thanks man. That's a lot of great information. What made you get out?
Posted on 10/24/16 at 5:12 pm to cokebottleag
Went through Army OCS back in 2009. Branched Military Intelligence and have deployed twice (12 months as a LT, 7 months as a CPT). I've been stationed in Arizona, Hawaii, and Tennessee for extended periods. I've absolutely loved the opportunities the Army has given me. Me and the wife love traveling and moving around and the Army has given us a lot of chances to do that. Benefits are exceptional.
Like with any job, there are frustrations and annoyances but the good has far outweighed the bad for me. Plus, if you hate your job, you're only going to be in it for a year or two before you move on to the next one.
Due the downsizing, OCS classes have reduced significantly since I went through. We had a new class starting every three weeks. And it is exponentially more difficult to get in. Broad brush, they want STEM degrees from well known institutions. In 2009, they would take you without a degree as long as you had all four appendages. armyocs.com is a great resource.
Like with any job, there are frustrations and annoyances but the good has far outweighed the bad for me. Plus, if you hate your job, you're only going to be in it for a year or two before you move on to the next one.
Due the downsizing, OCS classes have reduced significantly since I went through. We had a new class starting every three weeks. And it is exponentially more difficult to get in. Broad brush, they want STEM degrees from well known institutions. In 2009, they would take you without a degree as long as you had all four appendages. armyocs.com is a great resource.
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