- Air Force Reserve Officer Commissioning
- Air Force Reserve Direct Commissioning Programs
- Air Force Direct Commissioning Cyber
All officers in the Air Force Reserve must hold a college degree and be selected to hold a commission. Enlisted personnel may become officers if they earn a bachelor's degree. All officer candidates attend a nine week course at the Officer Training School at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force.
Direct Commissioning The National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (NDAA 2019) gave the military services the authorization to direct commission officers up to the rank of Colonel. This note solicits applications for Reserve Direct Commission Officer (DCO), leading to a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve, designator 1655 Special Duty (Public Affairs). Reserve enlisted. Commissioning Programs. Commissioned Officers make up the leadership and management teams of the Navy and Navy Reserve. They hold positions in dozens of different career and job areas, from health care to engineering. Air Force Reserve Command. Air Force Reserve Chaplain Program is a cooperative and pluralistic ministry. Chaplains adhere to the requirements of their endorsing religious bodies. The Air Force trains and deploys chaplain readiness teams, consisting of chaplains and enlisted personnel.
Overview:
The Coast Guard aviation community consists of approximately 800 pilots and an enlisted workforce of approximately 2,500. Together, these pilots and aircrews fly 5 types of aircraft in the Coast Guard's inventory, representing 200 airframes dispersed among 24 Air Stations. The DCA program is designed to meet aviation needs by seeking trained and qualified commissioned military pilots from other services to access into the Coast Guard. In Fiscal Year 2017, applicants with fixed wing experience will be especially desired. Direct commissioned aviators, although they receive training on Coast Guard specific aircraft, typically require less training than Coast Guard pilots who originate internally and apply to CG flight school. Pilots who meet eligibility criteria and successfully compete for selection can fully expect a career as a Coast Guard aviator.
Initial Assignments and Training:
DCAs work with a Coast Guard assignment officer following selection. The assignment officer will review the individual's education, experience, qualifications, and their expressed assignment interests, to issue orders to a position at a Coast Guard field unit position that best aligns the selectee's talents and potential with the needs of the Coast Guard. After commissioning (which occurs approximately 30 days prior to attending the Direct Commission Officer (DCO) course in New London, Connecticut) new officers will execute permanent change of station (PCS) orders and report directly to their first unit for a brief period. DCAs will then go TDY to the DCO course. The DCO course will be 4 weeks in length. At DCO training, DCAs receive initial indoctrination to the traditions and programs of the Service, and training on Service-specific administration essentials needed to their successfully serve as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard. Following completion of DCO training, DCAs will return to their unit.
DCAs will transition to flying CG aircraft and later attend training at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (ATC), in Mobile, Alabama.
Career Path:
DCAs can fully expect subsequent operational assignments within the aviation career track, in addition to assignments supporting aviation training and program management. DCAs will also have opportunities for special assignments and assignments within sub-specialties (training, human resources, etc.).
DCA Eligibility Requirements:
- Age: Have reached your 21st but not your 35th birthday as of 30 September of the fiscal year in which the selection Panel convenes.
- Character Standards:
- All applicants must be of outstanding moral character
- Citizenship: Must be a U.S. Citizen
- Clearance: Must be eligible for a Secret Clearance
- Dependency:
- If single, may not have sole or primary legal or physical custody of dependents.
- May not have more than 3 dependents (your spouse is considered your dependent, regardless of military status).
- Education:
- Have a baccalaureate or higher degree or
- Receive the ACE recommended score on the five general CLEP exams (i.e. English Composition, Humanities, Natural Science, College Mathematics, Social Science/History) or
- Have one year of college (30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours) and have completed at least one college-level mathematics course, or receive the ACE recommended score on the College Mathematics CLEP exam.
- Financial:Must meet all financial obligations, and not have a debt to income ratio in excess of 80% (ratio of debt to projected income at applicant's highest accession level, i.e. O-1 or O-2, as applicable).
- May not have filed for bankruptcy in the last 10 years
- Student Loans: applicants shall also disclose to their recruiter any student loan payments that are in deferment, and the anticipated date and amount of repayment of those loans.
- Interview: DCA applicants must receive the recommendation of a Coast Guard interview board, administered by 3 Coast Guard officers
- Military Service: (all of the below must apply)
- Max Active Duty Service: Have less than 10 years of non-Coast Guard active-duty military service as of the date of accession, which is equivalent to the date that the applicant, if selected, will take their oath of office.
- Min Active Duty Service: Must have served a minimum of two years on active duty (not active duty for training) as either a warrant officer in the U.S. Army or a commissioned officer in one of the U.S. Armed Forces as of the panel convening date.
- Conditional Release: Members currently in another military service (or IRR) must furnish an approved DD368 form (conditional release) in their application package.
- Release approval (validity) period: The release shall be valid, at a minimum, through the date of the panel for which the applicant is applying. Ideally, the release should be valid through the projected accession date for that panel.
- IRR: Recruiters shall submit the DD368 (with only Section I complete) to CGRC Accessions branch at CGR-SMB-DD368@uscg.mil.
- Members of Other Military Services (except IRR): The applicant shall submit the DD368 (with Section I complete) through their chain of command to their services' authorizing official* (which is different for each service). Once approved, the DD368 and any other approval documents (i.e. Service Memorandum) shall be submitted in the application package.
- Commissioned Officers: who have been separated or removed from active duty from any Service as a result of non-selection for promotion, extension, or integration may not apply for any Coast Guard commissioning program.
- Physical (Medical):
- Must pass a Class 1A flight physical examination.
- Meet Height/Weight standards.
- Due to ejection seat limitations associated with the T-6 Texan Training Aircraft, pilots must be between 62' and 77'
- Shall complete a structured physical fitness program while at DCO School
- Test Score: Commissioned officers from other military services do not have to produce a test score.
- Program-Specific Experience/ Information:
- Be a graduate of a U.S. Military flight training program.
- Have served on active-duty as a pilot in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Air National Guard, for a minimum of two years, but not to exceed 10 years.
- Have a minimum of 500 hours of military flight time in a manned aircraft as of the application deadline date. Flight hours in training, simulators, or UAs will not count toward this total.
- Have had primary employment as a pilot (military or civilian) within two years of the selection panel convening date
- Tattoos: Applicants may not have tattoos or body markings that are inconsistent with the CG tattoo, body marking, body piercing, and mutilation policy, COMDTINST 1100.1 (series).
- DCO Pre-Reporting Guide: Applicants must read and understand the DCO Pre-Reporting Guide.
DCA Appointment Grades and Term of Service:
- Selected applicants will receive a 5 year active duty obligation.
- The selection panel determines the appointment grade of each selectee.
- Selectees will receive a commission as an Ensign (O-1) or Lieutenant Junior Grade (O-2) in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve.
Application Process:
If you are ready to apply, you must visit the 'Plan Your Next Move to become an Active Duty Coast Guard Officer' page and follow the application process.
The criteria for the selection of potential officers for commissioning include age, U.S. citizenship, physical fitness, moral character, education, and cognitive ability. Given that officers form the military's leadership and professional echelon and that financial investment in officer education programs is high, the selection standards are quite stringent. [1]
With few exceptions, a 4-year college degree is a prerequisite for commissioning. To this end, two of the primary commissioning programs, the Service academies and the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), are administered in conjunction with an individual's academic preparation. The United States Military Academy (USMA), the United States Naval Academy (USNA), and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) each offer room, board, medical and dental care, salary, and tuition throughout a 4-year undergraduate program of instruction leading to a baccalaureate degree. [2] Located at numerous undergraduate colleges and universities throughout the country, ROTC has both scholarship and non-scholarship options. [3]
Air Force Reserve Officer Commissioning
The two remaining primary commissioning programs, Officers Candidate/Training School (OCS/OTS) and Direct Commissioning, are designed almost exclusively for individuals who already possess at least a baccalaureate degree. OCS/OTS exists as a rather quick commissioning source for college graduates who did not receive military training or indoctrination as part of their undergraduate education. This source also provides a means for promising enlisted personnel to earn a commission. Direct commissions, with a minimum of military training, are offered to professionals in fields such as law, medicine, and the ministry. Because of their advanced degrees and/or work experience, officers directly appointed are often commissioned at ranks higher than the customary second lieutenant or ensign. There are other specialized commissioning sources that, together with the primary programs, ensure that the Services have access to a number of different pools of personnel with diverse skills.
Air Force Reserve Direct Commissioning Programs
Table 4.3 highlights the flexibility in officer procurement afforded by the alternative commissioning programs. The largest proportion of FY 1999 officer accessions (36 percent) came through ROTC programs—and most were recipients of a college scholarship (26 percent of all officer accessions and 74 percent of ROTC accessions). Direct appointments and academy graduates each accounted for 18 percent of incoming officers. OCS/OTS produced about 22 percent of FY 1999 Active Component officer accessions.
Table 4.3. FY 1999 Source of Commission of Active Component Officer Accessions and Officer Corps, by Service (Percent) | |||||
Source of Commission | Army | Navy | Marine Corps | Air Force | DoD |
ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER ACCESSIONS | |||||
Academy | 18.7 | 16.9 | 10.5 | 18.7 | 17.5 |
ROTC–Scholarship | 35.6 | 17.4 | 11.6 | 29.1 | 26.4 |
ROTC–No Scholarship | 16.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 11.3 | 9.3 |
OCS/OTS | 11.2 | 23.5 | 63.4 | 20.7 | 22.2 |
Direct Appointment | 16.9 | 24.0 | 0.2 | 20.1 | 18.4 |
Other * | 0.0 | 15.8 | 14.3 | 0.2 | 5.7 |
Unknown | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER CORPS | |||||
Academy | 16.5 | 19.6 | 11.9 | 20.0 | 18.1 |
ROTC–Scholarship | 19.6 | 19.2 | 16.2 | 22.4 | 20.2 |
ROTC–No Scholarship | 38.9 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 19.8 | 20.0 |
OCS/OTS | 8.5 | 20.7 | 57.4 | 19.5 | 19.2 |
Direct Appointment | 15.6 | 22.1 | 1.1 | 18.3 | 17.0 |
Other * | 0.1 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 0.1 | 4.9 |
Unknown | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Total | 100.0 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. |
The percentage of new officers hailing from OCS/OTS increased by 5-percentage points compared to FY 1998. Other sources of commissioning, such as ROTC and direct appointments, accounted for fewer officer accessions in FY 1999. This trend was most pronounced in the Army and Air Force, where the proportion of OCS/OTC commissions nearly doubled.
Air Force Direct Commissioning Cyber
There were Service differences in reliance on the various commissioning sources. For example, 63 percent of the Marine Corps' newly commissioned officers came through OCS-type pipelines, a 4-percentage point increase from FY 1998. Less than one percent of Marine Corps officer accessions were recipients of direct commissions compared to 24 percent in the Navy. In fact, the Marine Corps does not have a Service academy or ROTC program. Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and in the Navy's ROTC program can opt to enter the Marine Corps upon program completion. The Marine Corps relies on the Navy for officers in medical and dental specialties and chaplains, thereby lowering its need for direct commissioning. The Service differences are probably influenced by retention rates, budget considerations, and historical fluctuations in officer recruiting needs.