Posted on Nov 11, 2020
How hard is it to go to National Guard “Traditional” OCS?
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Are we talking units that have anyone with a pulse & a Bachelor’s will be hounded to go, or is it a fairly selective process, such as Federal OCS? Not looking for something easy, just want to see where I’m strong & lacking
If you could talk about your personal experience, general expectations both in school and on your time, as well as the process for branching, that would be fantastic!
If you could talk about your personal experience, general expectations both in school and on your time, as well as the process for branching, that would be fantastic!
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 6
The selection process is relatively the same as Federal OCS, take into consideration that I commissioned in 1985 during the Reagan build up. At that time, the State would solicit all those that met the basic qualification, a degree and a 110+ GT Score to see if you were interested in OCS. We then had to take an aptitude test, and if you scored high enough, the rest of the process much like you have today. You submitted a packet with LOR's from your commanders, then went before a board. Although it was allowed to Commission in the Guard and Reserve with only 90 credit hours, all of the class I commissioned with had 4 year degrees.
The actual schedule for the traditional route varies a bit from state to state, but generally one or two "pre OCS" drills, then an AT period, a year of drill weekends, then a final AT period and commissioning at the end. The first couple of drills tend to be a combination of getting you the requirements and harassment. The harassment will continue throughout the school.
Upside is that you can work civilian job and commission. If you are smart and actually study between drill periods, the academics are not difficult.
The downside is having to psych yourself up once a month to put up with all the BS harassment. I detested my TAC's and still do to this day. I finally just considered them a trial I had to overcome to get what I wanted.
When I attended, most of us already knew what Branch we would commission. If there is one big advantage, it's that you have much more control of your branch. If you are planning to stay in the Guard, I would look at the units in the state. Combat Arms are the biggest branches, just like the regular Army, followed by Engineers. I commissioned Infantry and later branch transferred to the Engineers when I moved to Kentucky.
From that point, the schools move back to Active Army.
The drop out rate in the Traditional OCS is much higher than Federal OCS. IMO, the big reason is that it is hard to maintain a high level of motivation over 14 months.
The actual schedule for the traditional route varies a bit from state to state, but generally one or two "pre OCS" drills, then an AT period, a year of drill weekends, then a final AT period and commissioning at the end. The first couple of drills tend to be a combination of getting you the requirements and harassment. The harassment will continue throughout the school.
Upside is that you can work civilian job and commission. If you are smart and actually study between drill periods, the academics are not difficult.
The downside is having to psych yourself up once a month to put up with all the BS harassment. I detested my TAC's and still do to this day. I finally just considered them a trial I had to overcome to get what I wanted.
When I attended, most of us already knew what Branch we would commission. If there is one big advantage, it's that you have much more control of your branch. If you are planning to stay in the Guard, I would look at the units in the state. Combat Arms are the biggest branches, just like the regular Army, followed by Engineers. I commissioned Infantry and later branch transferred to the Engineers when I moved to Kentucky.
From that point, the schools move back to Active Army.
The drop out rate in the Traditional OCS is much higher than Federal OCS. IMO, the big reason is that it is hard to maintain a high level of motivation over 14 months.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
SPC (Join to see) - I see that the good Colonel mentioned the motivation problem. I try to tell people what it is really like and let them make their own decisions. If you want to commission, go for it, but go in with the attitude that it won't be fun and it's the test to become an officer.
Now I admired most of the academic staff and NCO cadre, and most of my classmates were some top notch people. So it's not a concentration camp.
BTW, I tied for Top Candidate.
Now I admired most of the academic staff and NCO cadre, and most of my classmates were some top notch people. So it's not a concentration camp.
BTW, I tied for Top Candidate.
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SPC (Join to see)
Again sir, excellent input. I always try and tell myself “anything worth it, isn’t going to be easy” especially when it comes to the Army. Always important to embrace the suck!
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CPT Lawrence Cable
SPC (Join to see) - Just one final thing. There is a rotation through the various Company Leadership Positions during the school and you are graded by your peers on your performance. The "secret" to being successful is being decisive and organized, especially during formations and traveling between classes (get out the Drill and Ceremony Manual). That is when the shark attacks happen. If you can ignore the distractions, get your formation and head count, etc, done in a timely manner, and then move to the classrooms in a military manner, your day will not be horrible. Get a weak CO or 1SGT that gets shook by a TAC in their face questioning their intelligence, family history etc, it can be a long and brutal weekend.
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I graduated from Minnesota Military Academy as an Army Reservist. Granted, it was awhile ago.
For Reservists, we had to meet all commissioning requirements before we were allowed to attend. National Guard Soldiers could work on those requirements while attending OCS.
Academic requirements were the same as Federal OCS. In fact, we took the exact same tests. The benefit to Federal OCS is you get it done all at once. Several people can't take that much time away from other commitments, so the State OCS program works well for that. Many find it difficult to stay motivated and go month after month. We lost over 50% of our initial class.
I would certainly recommend the program.
For Reservists, we had to meet all commissioning requirements before we were allowed to attend. National Guard Soldiers could work on those requirements while attending OCS.
Academic requirements were the same as Federal OCS. In fact, we took the exact same tests. The benefit to Federal OCS is you get it done all at once. Several people can't take that much time away from other commitments, so the State OCS program works well for that. Many find it difficult to stay motivated and go month after month. We lost over 50% of our initial class.
I would certainly recommend the program.
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Traditional OCS will vary from state to state. The benefits of Traditional is the ability to digest the information over the course of a year, rather than drink from a fire hose for the 4 weeks of Phase 2. Phase 1 and 3 are both 2 week trainings that are mainly all field time, while Phase 2 is more classroom and tests. I enjoyed the traditional route, even though I know I could have completed the accelerated just as easy.
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SPC (Join to see)
That’s exactly what I’m thinking as well sir. Was there a lot of work outside of the drill time? And how did branching work for you? From what I understand National Guard provides more of a “guarantee”
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CPT (Join to see)
If you were selected for a leadership position during that specific drill weekend, then yes, you had more work to do between drills. Otherwise, the work between drills was minimal, provided you didn't have to study for an exam. In regards to branching you have to provide your state with your top 3 choices. Based on their needs, you'll get what is available. If you really want a specific branch, my recommendation is to find a few units that have that branch and try to get a LOA from them ahead of time.
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