Any National Guard Recruiters/Members here?

[RajunCajun]

I'm looking into joining the NG and was told that I have to wait until after I get out of Boot Camp to apply for OCS. I thought they offered the same program as the other branches where I could get accepted into OCS before bootcamp. Any suggestions?

[Hibs]

I'm no recruiter, but know that this is not true. I went to basic with guys who came in, had OCS in their contract. Think there MOS was an 09 series, wikipedia.com says it's "09S Commissioned Officer Candidate". Upon graduation of basic, these guys pinned E5 and went on to OCS.

You talking to an Army or AF recruiter? You have a 4 year degree, correct?

[RajunCajun]

I'm no recruiter, but know that this is not true. I went to basic with guys who came in, had OCS in their contract. Think there MOS was an 09 series, wikipedia.com says it's "09S Commissioned Officer Candidate". Upon graduation of basic, these guys pinned E5 and went on to OCS.

You talking to an Army or AF recruiter? You have a 4 year degree, correct?

I'm talking to a National Guard recruiter and I have a 4 year mechanical engineering degree. I know the other branches offer the chance to apply and become accepted to OCS at time of enlistment.

[PunyJuney]

The army corps of engineers rents my townhouse for a guy and his family here in Littleton. He manages recruiting centers in several locations. I will PM you his info. He's a very nice guy.

[RajunCajun]

The army corps of engineers rents my townhouse for a guy and his family here in Littleton. He manages recruiting centers in several locations. I will PM you his info. He's a very nice guy.

That would be AWESOME!! Thanks a bunch!

[*GSXR~SNAIL*]

Hey RC-

(( LO LO )) on here is a recruiter still I think, maybe PM him.

[Hibs]

I'm talking to a National Guard recruiter and I have a 4 year mechanical engineering degree. I know the other branches offer the chance to apply and become accepted to OCS at time of enlistment.

Army national guard or Air national guard is what I was wondering. I know the air force can be selective on getting in, army pretty much takes anyone with a degree in basket weaving. With mechanical engineering though, you shouldn't have trouble with either, but a lot comes down to timing. The AF is downsizing right now, and again I'm no recruiter so I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what their recruitment goals are.

And they are not entirely incorrect in telling you that you can apply for OCS once you're all ready in, but to me, that sounds all to much like a tactic to just get you in as easy as possible, which would be enlisted.

[RajunCajun]

Army national guard or Air national guard is what I was wondering. I know the air force can be selective on getting in, army pretty much takes anyone with a degree in basket weaving. With mechanical engineering though, you shouldn't have trouble with either, but a lot comes down to timing. The AF is downsizing right now, and again I'm no recruiter so I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what their recruitment goals are.

And they are not entirely incorrect in telling you that you can apply for OCS once you're all ready in, but to me, that sounds all to much like a tactic to just get you in as easy as possible, which would be enlisted.

Army National Guard. I know that recruiters don't get points for getting someone signed into OCS before Basic. I'm just not sure if the ANG offers that option at all...

[OUTLAWD]

Good luck mang...I tried getting in touch with the AF recruiter a while back with no luck

[Airreed]

I work fulltime for the Colorado Army National Guard and used to work as an Officer Recruiter.
Yes, you sign a "OCS Split Option" Contract. Once you contract there's a possibility that you won't ship for a couple of months, so they put you in a "holding company" called RSP (recruit sustainment program) which teaches you common army skills and prep for basic. Dependent upon when you graduate basic you will go straight to OCS. OCS typically starts in JAN-FEB time frame and last 18 months.

Hibs is correct that you will be an O9S.

PM me who your recruiter is and i'll tell you if he's good to go.

Jason

[Airreed]

Another thing to consider is you don't always get to choose your branch (MP, IN, FA, AV, etc) as they will go with the needs of the organization. So, if you have your heart set on being an EN, you might not get it.
COARNG is a big FA state, however we just brought on an IN BN a few years ago.

[RajunCajun]

I work fulltime for the Colorado Army National Guard and used to work as an Officer Recruiter.
Yes, you sign a "OCS Split Option" Contract. Once you contract there's a possibility that you won't ship for a couple of months, so they put you in a "holding company" called RSP (recruit sustainment program) which teaches you common army skills and prep for basic. Dependent upon when you graduate basic you will go straight to OCS. OCS typically starts in JAN-FEB time frame and last 18 months.

Hibs is correct that you will be an O9S.

PM me who your recruiter is and i'll tell you if he's good to go.

Jason

So Jason, I'm guessing my recruiter told me what he did so he could get his points for my enlistment. That's pretty crummy, if that's what happened. I'll ask him about the OCS Split Option. It seems like it would be stupid not to at least try that route. I'm not dead set on on engineering but I really would like something that would give me usable training, as specific to my field as possible. I also am interested in law enforcement so MP would be cool.

[Airreed]

It's not a numbers game anymore. I just saw some data that showed the COARNG end strength at around 4200 Soldiers and we were actually two over that number.
With the economy pushing more people into the armed forces and the downsizing (27K soldiers) it's not a numbers game like it was just a few years ago.

I'm actually branched MP; currently transitioning over to the MP BN as the Executive Officer.

[(( LO LO ))]

Airreed is correct, we don't get points or credit for contracts anymore. They did away with that last year. We are starting team concept "Pinnacle Recruiting" where the station recruiters have individual duties to process each applicant who applies. And for OCS, we used to get more points than a regular enlistment RajunCanjun. I sent you a PM. You should of inquired about the Army Reserve, you would already be in training enroute to being commissioned.

[Cat118!]

Damn all this lingo! What's a OCS

[MetaLord 9]

Officer Candidate School

[RajunCajun]

Thanks for all of the info! I want to serve somewhere where I can stay close to home and have some chance at a "normal" family life.

((LO LO)), I'm going to look into the Reserves as well. A commission isn't the most important thing but I don't want to pass up an opportunity for advancement because I wasn't properly educated on my options. I just can't seem to get a definite answer, one way or the other.

[Shea]

Shame they don't take us old farts...

[Hibs]

Shame they don't take us old farts...

The Army takes you up to age 42!

[(( LO LO ))]

42 years or older if your prior service military with good active federal time. Subtract each year of good active federal service time against the 42 year old cutoff.

So basically if your 45 years old, and you have over 3 years of active duty time, you can still join... You still have to pass an over 40 medical physical and all the other requirements.

[Shea]

The Army takes you up to age 42!

Not for OCS. If so I'd throw down in a heartbeat. Apparently if you are over 35 you can lead a fire team or squad but a platoon is out of your league...

[thaitanic]

LOLO is the man, he knows his stuff

[Airreed]

Speciality branches (Doctors, Chaplains) will take you past 40 years of age. If you happen to be a Catholic Priest its now 55 years of age...

[RajunCajun]

So, for the record, my recruiter was correct. You can't be accepted to OCS before Basic in the Guard, like you can in every other branch. Thanks for the news, Jason.