Enlisted to Officer
 

Okay, so I was chatting with my recruiter, a nuke EM1 sub, a few weeks ago and I asked him the probability of getting selected for the Enlisted to Commissioning Program and he said it's like 90% acceptance. Does anybody, preferably a nuke, know how one gets commissioned while being enlisted? I'm guessing there is schooling involved but does that mean OCS or what??

It depends.

Do you have your degree already?

If so, you would apply directly to OCS.

If not, you would apply to the STA-21 program, or BDCP/NUPOC (http://www.navy.com/joining/educatio...rgraduate.html) to complete your degree prior to attending OCS.

You could also become a LDO or CWO.

Maybe it's different in the nuke community, but from what I've seen your recruiter is being very generous with that percentage.
Direct Commission applicants (those with degrees) have been recently picked up at a rate of anywhere between 1-30 percent depending on the community.
I don't know the percentage for the other programs, but it's not uncommon for people to have to apply more than once before being selected.

Best thing you can do is get the best Evals you can, and get recommendations from your chain of command.

Thanks, gup. I read up on the STA-21 Program and apparently anybody in the nuclear power pipeline can apply for an officer position but I couldn't find anything on how they train an enlisted nuke to become commissioned. I'll just have to keep searching; I was just testing the waters here to see if anybody had any insight on my question.

I think NUPOC might be what you're looking for.

Yeah, I think so too.

You will have to go through nuke school, and you could be picked up for either Annapolis while at school or after nuke school the STA-21 program

Thanks! I'll read more in to it!

NUPOC isn't enlisted to officer, that's college student to officer instructor. Basically that's for college kids who want to join, they finish their degree with some extra training and then go on to nuke training and then become nuke instructors for NPS and Prototype.

For enlisted Nukes, you have STA-21 (thats the high acceptance rate one, though its not 90%, its just really really high compared to the other STA-21 options for nukes) and the Naval Academy. Each has their own requirements and timelines. The academy has started recently, and STA-21 applications come out around february every year.

STA-21 is generally the best shot. As a side note, I defer to my recruiters wisdom (which is fairly right on), you won't get it first time around, its the 2nd time around the board will take notice of. But again, STA-21 is a MUCH higher pickup rate for nukes than anyone and is your best shot at officer.

If picked up, you will go to training at the War College in Newport, RI and then you will go to a college of your choice (you pick between 18 schools) with some form of math or engineering major. Once you have your degree its on to NPS and Prototype then the fleet as an ensign.

There are a lot of posts on here about STA-21, you should check them out!

Thanks so much! I'll definitely check those posts out!

First post! Hello all.

STA 21 sounds interesting. Anyone know what the age cutoff is?

Age cutoffs for STA-21 vary based on what officer community you are applying to. For the Nuke Officers, you have to be commissioned (read:have graduated college) before you are 26 years old. That said, in the packet for STA-21 there is a section where you may request waivers and an age waiver can be approved allowing you to be commissioned after the cutoff age. (If you are 23 or over and applying nuke, you should put in such an age waiver; they are rarely ever disapproved as long as you're under 35)

So if you have a degree already. Would you just apply to OCS after nuclear power school?

If you have a degree you can apply for OCS ANYTIME. If you apply to OCS as a nuke officer, you'll be going back to power school anyways. Once you are out of boot camp, you can start applying anytime. Many nukes start the process in A School.

Excellent. Thanks.

Ok I have a degree in science and I'm going in as AECF. I wanted to enlist then switch over to officer after maybe 2 yrs. I'll turn 29 at boot. How long do I really have to apply for OCS and how would I even go about that once I am in?

OK, in your case you may not have much luck with OCS simply because of your age. The requirement varies based on prospective community and changes year to year. Generally 35 is as high as it gets. Waivers for age can be available though. Keep in mind that there are other routes to a commission from enlisted including Limited Duty Officer (LDO), and Warrant Officer (CWO), among others.

By the way, OCS is the most strenuous commissioning program in the armed services. The OCS motto (unofficial) is "Navy Owned, Marine Trained" because the instructors at OCS are Marine Corps Drill Instructors. Its a tough road, but worth it if that's your goal.

How would I even go about all of that once I am in? I know I need to start looking once I get in my A school. Part of the reason I want to go officer is b/c I want to make the Navy my career and I know they are PTSing (I think that's what it's called) people even if they have a great record, but I know the more you do and the higher up you go the better luck you have at staying in. NO that is not the only reason I want to do it but it does play a part. I want to serve my country and do it to the best of my ability and to be honest, I know I have the ability to make a great officer once I am properly trained.

Once you're in and at A School all you need to do is see your Command Career Counselor on base and they will work with you individually to outline what steps you need to take and applications you need to fill out in order to submit a package to OCS. If you want a commission, the command career counselor will become your new best friend when it comes to navigating the steps to get there.

I'm very glad I found this thread. I'm 25 and will be 26 by the time I'm on the way out of A-school for CTR. I will have my degree by May 2014 and don't ship out to RTC till July. So I'm glad I can apply to OCS while in A-school though. My question though is if im CTR will I havve to stay in that area or can I re-class in a different field?

You can apply to any officer community you qualify for.

Thank you

Maybe I'll go that route one day