As an officer, is it possible to have a Primary and Alternate MOS?

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 12:52:40 -0400

I am an MI 1LT, and my Army Reserve unit wants me to become the Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) and rebranch to Cyber. I do not want to entirely abandon MI, since I had wanted to go Counter-Intel as an O-3, but I would be interested in picking up the EWO slot, since it's an O-4 slot and would be good experience (I'm also in a cyber career on the civilian side). Is it possible to pick up 17B / Cyber Branch without losing my 35D MOS / MI Branch?

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2021 12:57 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 12:57:50 -0400

Yes, an officer can have more than one AOC, you don't "lose" one when you get another.
It is common in the Army Guard/Army Reserves for an officer to be any basic branch plus 90A, especially AGRs.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Jul 27 at 2021 1:24 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 13:24:58 -0400

You don't lose a Branch, you just pick up another one. I think most of the older Officers on this board have more than one branch qualifications. I went for 11A to 21A (or 12A, which ever it is this week).

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2021 1:38 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 13:38:22 -0400

You can but the only difference is your career path. Most positions feed into another unless you are in a 01A, generalist officer. If your want to go into a position as an MI Major then it may require experience as an MI CPT. Now to command an HHC it really wouldn't matter. It depends on what you really want to do. I would ask myself what I would want to be in 10 years. Then I would find someone who is doing that and review the career path that got them there.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2021 2:06 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 14:06:18 -0400

I'm kind of in that same boat too. Came from MI as 35F, but ponder going back as an Officer.

My personal observation is the USAR is the USAR wherever you are. So it may or may not make a difference depending on where you end up, what you end up getting assigned, and who you are working with.

We come to this fork in the road as company grade USAR officers. If we are going to do it, this is the time. We generally only have 4 years at CPT to work it out before our path gets narrower.

For me, I knocked out my LG CCC last month (before I finished my first year as CPT). Then I have something I'd like to do next year in my current Branch. That gives me two years left to get to MI before my soonest MAJ board. So year 3 would be the MI CCC transition course, and then year 4 doing something in MI.

Basically, I'm sitting in a place where I can finish off my needed time for the Korea Defense Medal. I got so close early on, and then poof the world/life happens and 10 years later I still didn't finish it.

Then, as I look at my time line and how things work in the USAR I have one "significant" thing I can knock out each year, and before you know it, poof time is behind you and you are locked in fewer paths the farther you look forward.

Don't put it off.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2021 7:54 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 07:54:44 -0400

This policy may have changed, but if you are a direct commission into your basic branch and did not complete a military academy, or ROTC, you may be stuck in that direct commission for the duration of your career, however long that may be. As an example, I was directly commissioned into the SP corps. At that time, I was informed that I would not have the ability to change branches even within the AMEDD community. As initially stated this may have changed or I was given bad info what seems like 100 years ago. Good luck!