I'm looking to join the reserves as an officer once I finish my bachelor's in December. Can anyone offer any advice?

Would it be too late for her to go Green to Gold?

Better hope it's a degree they need. Medical, Linguistics, Engineering. If you have a BS in History, Humanities, Art, you'll be an E-4 (maybe an E-5 with the advanced pay grade).

There is something called “Direct Comission” ask your recruiter

Why join the Reserve? Go active. You'll gain more from it throughout the course of a career. You stated earlier that you have nothing keeping you where you are so why not? DM me directly if you want to talk with the officer accessions people. I work down the hall from them and I can give you their information.

Jacquelyn Olson two options...

- enroll in a masters for two years and complete Army ROTC. You'll have to commit and go to the Basic Camp one summer LDAC the following summer (used to be Advanced Camp). If you were looking for Active Duty this course of action would be better. Looking at he Reserve and ARNG, you would also be able to use the Simultaneous Membership Program SMP which positions you to have a unit and the branch when you are commissioned.

- see a recruiter and explore OCS in the Army Reserve. You would have to enlist then go through OCS. Given the place you are at, this would be better.

Third Option: see a National Guard recruiter and explore OCS options at the state level. Some do their OCS over weekends and during AT, others domit differently. You'll have to see what it is in your state. The downside, you then have to get federally recognized.

Regardless of the route, if you successfully complete OCS and earn a commission, you would need to go to the Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) for your branch. Most BOLCs are about 6 months.

If you are not a doctor, lawyer, nurse, or ordained minister just because you have obtained a degree does not mean that you will be accepted as an officer at least in The Army Reserve. So plan two may be something that you will have to look at. The best if luck in the direction that you will go. Recommend you talk to all services and recruiters.

You seem to have done your homework. But I want to add a different perspective.

I was Active duty Army, had a break in service. Went to the Air National Guard and now am in the Air Force Reserves. So I know the difference between the Army and Air Force.

I would encourage you to look into the culture of each of the services. If you cant fit in the culture of your particular branch, then your time will be more difficult. You mentioned that the Army is your best fit. Why? What about the Army makes you think that you would like it best?

I can tell you that coming from the Army, I really enjoy the more comfortable lifestyle of the Air Force. The bases are nicer, the facilities are nicer, the food is better, etc. However, being in the Reserves will mean that generally speaking you will only be in the Army 2 days a month and 2 weeks a year. So the discomfort may not bother you.

Also, how will being in the Reserves impact your civilian job? I spent 31 years in law enforcement before I retired. Being in the Reserves and especially being activated for long periods of time had a negative impact on my Civilian job.

How often you deploy will depend on your MOS, unit and branch of service. It could range from never, to every 18 months to every few years. Being activated and deployed needs to be a serious consideration in your decision making process.

The other thing to consider is geography. What Reserve units are located near you? Are you will to move to get into a particular unit that has available officer slots? Does your unit of choice even have an officer position you to fill?

Good luck with your decision.