California State Military Reserve - Seeking Guidance

[johnminator]

Hello everyone,

I'm a technology executive with over 23 years in technology, IT, and information security and hold a Masters Degree. I enlisted in the SMR and am currently an E4 (SPC). I have no prior service. I thought I would have been brought in at a higher rank, but given I have no prior service, I didn't think I had any options.

Is it possible as an already enlisted member to get a Direct Commission as an officer or would I need to attend OCS to become an officer? If so, what are the appropriate steps to make this happen?

If anyone here is a member of any of the IT or technology units, would love to pick your brain about what your drill weekends are like, roles and responsibilities, etc. Please DM if you are open to talking.

Thanks for your guidance.

[ahpd]

CSMR Direct Commission is only for Medical, Lawyers, and Chaplins. OCS is your only option if you want to be an officer.

[RickD427]

I can't speak directly to the CSMR, but I have seen quite a few folks who were given advanced grade enlistments in the Navy and Coast Guard, and also direct commissioned officers.

It's very important to remember that a military professional must master not only the technical skills of their military occupation, but they must also master the military requirements (service knowledge and leadership skills) of their military grade. Those are two very separate things.

Most advanced grade enlistments and direct commission programs are provided to folks who have specific occupational skills required by the military. A lot of these folks fall short in the corresponding military requirements of their grade. In the case of enlisted persons, you generally don't see appointments above E4 and the corresponding military requirements can be learned in relatively short order. It's a different world for officers. You generally only see direct commissions being offered for staff positions. Line officers generally have to follow the traditional accession path to higher ranks.

That's not a bad thing for officers. Promotions are extremely competitive and any shortcoming an officer shows in their military performance can really prove harmful.

[roll2li]

I can speak somewhat to the Navy's Direct Commission Programs for Engineers, but it is similar for the IP and Crypto fields.

Even if you're brought in via DCO, you will still need to go to ODS (Officer Development School), which is essentially the "fork and knife" portion or phase 3 of the standard line OCS (Officer Candidate School) where you learn customs/courtesies/ranks etc. Timing has changed, but it's around a month at Newport, Rhode Island.

For Navy Reserves you will be brought directly in and attached to your unit and drill at your local NOSC (Navy operational support center), and will go to your warfare community's pipeline schools later as part of your annual 2 week drill requirement.

Based on your experience description, if you are interested in Navy accessions, you sound like you'd be the best fit for Information Professional. The Navy's officer age accession limit is currently 42, but age waivers are possible, especially for the "scientific" fields. As to paygrade, if you are accepted, you would likely be commissioned as a LTJG/O-2, LT/O-3 is usually reserved for PhD equivalent.

I would contact the accessions detailer for more information before you speak to a Navy recruiter, as your local recruiting office is highly unlikely to know specialized DCO commissioning programs and are not incentivized to recruit officers. Also RickD427's points are all valid about military bearing and performance (separate from technical performance).

https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/IWC/IP/Pages/default2.aspx

[ECG_88]

For CSMR, why do you want to be an officer?

They just get more paperwork, liability, and less fun, same pay as enlisted....

Enlisted is where you want to be in the SMR.

[Snoopy47]

Hello everyone,

I'm a technology executive with over 23 years in technology, IT, and information security and hold a Masters Degree.

The ARMY is offering DIRECT COMMISSION for tech professionals to go into CYBER

https://www.goarmy.com/army-cyber/cyber-direct-commissioning-program.html

That said I don't know your age or limitations that prevented you from trying the traditional branches of service.

**************

That aside, when you sign that contract (maybe not so much with the CSMR) you are locked in and if you have higher design plans you need to make sure you know the regulations that will allow you to get where you want to be.

[tomk556]

Snoopy makes a good point. I don’t know what you’d be doing with the CSMRs for IT, but probably not much more than basic help desk stuff. More importantly, with Cyber you might actually do some interesting work. Cyber is a new branch and doesn’t seem to have gotten bogged down with bs.

[Supersapper]

Hello everyone,

I'm a technology executive with over 23 years in technology, IT, and information security and hold a Masters Degree. I enlisted in the SMR and am currently an E4 (SPC). I have no prior service. I thought I would have been brought in at a higher rank, but given I have no prior service, I didn't think I had any options.

Is it possible as an already enlisted member to get a Direct Commission as an officer or would I need to attend OCS to become an officer? If so, what are the appropriate steps to make this happen?

If anyone here is a member of any of the IT or technology units, would love to pick your brain about what your drill weekends are like, roles and responsibilities, etc. Please DM if you are open to talking.

Thanks for your guidance.

PM inbound.

Snoopy has a good point in it. As someone with 17 years Guard and now USAR and have worked with CSMRs you have some choices.

BLUF: Direct commission is usually reserved for JAG, Chaplain and Medical Corps, since there are no enlisted options for Bar certified attorneys, Clergy, and Doctors, unless you want to be enlisted. Also, since each of those requires a much higher level of education than a standard BA/BS, the military tries to compensate you by having you bypass the standard routes to "officership" as a way to entice you to go that route.

The technology route is a bit different since there are both officer and enlisted positions for a person with your expertise.

I would check out OCS and go into the military's cyber field. They're crying for people there and if your certs and everything are up to date, there are some things that you can leverage to get your choice from the officer recruiters.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I appreciate anyone who is willing to serve in any capacity. As a prior enlisted Soldier, I served under some great officers and a few dreadfully incompetent ones as well. These are my thoughts:

Let's set aside medical, legal, and clergy appointments that have already been discussed. What sort of useful purpose does a non-prior service member, with no BCT, no AIT, no OCS, or any other formal military training have in a commissioned leadership role over ALL enlisted personnel in a platoon, company, etc.?

Even an E-1 right out of basic has received a pretty significant breadth of training in DNC, BRM, PT, and all the other fun stuff in their smart books, not to mention that deep 24/7 shock and awe inculcation into military culture. They don't lead anyone, and are treated literally like children until they have earned the right, through tenure and accomplishment, to ascend in rank.

My suggestion would be to beef up on basic soldiering skills and military education beyond
your academic pedigree. Do that before worrying about what is on your collar and being saluted by people with far more experience who will be expecting you to lead them competently.

[Snoopy47]

I appreciate anyone who is willing to serve in any capacity. As a prior enlisted Soldier, I served under some great officers and a few dreadfully incompetent ones as well. These are my thoughts:

Let's set aside medical, legal, and clergy appointments that have already been discussed. What sort of useful purpose does a non-prior service member, with no BCT, no AIT, no OCS, or any other formal military training have in a commissioned leadership role over ALL enlisted personnel in a platoon, company, etc.?

Even an E-1 right out of basic has received a pretty significant breadth of training in DNC, BRM, PT, and all the other fun stuff in their smart books, not to mention that deep 24/7 shock and awe inculcation into military culture. They don't lead anyone, and are treated literally like children until they have earned the right, through tenure and accomplishment, to ascend in rank.

My suggestion would be to beef up on basic soldiering skills and military education beyond
your academic pedigree. Do that before worrying about what is on your collar and being saluted by people with far more experience who will be expecting you to lead them competently.

I completely disagree.

The army is not going to put bars on his shoulders and sit him in front of a computer and say YOU GO DO CYBER NOW. That's what's contractors are for, or DA Civilians. He's still do BCT in some way, and he'll still have to do his Cyber Officer Branch course, and then the Captains Course for Cyber.

He'll only skip OCS which is essentially BCT all over again by on steroids.


He won't be leading troops into battle, and would potentially provide professional expertise in a field the military has been completely left in the dust. Those subordinate to him would likely not have nearly the technical expertise he brings to the table.

The Army doesn't need it's future cyber coders spinning wheels learning how to zero an M16 and call down a 9-line.

A board of officers would look at his packet and decide Up or Down if what he brings to the table is deserving of skipping OCS.

Yes, POOF they become 1LTs with a quicker path to CPT, but they also get STUCK THERE longer with the possibility of getting bumped out of the Army for lack of promotion.

*******

He needs to dig up the Cyber Direct Commissioning regulations out there. There is a process put in place to award these direct commissions, and they are spelled out in Army Milper Messages or Regulations. They aren't given out willy-nilly.

That's what's going to get him there. Not internet forums.

[Supersapper]

Let's set aside medical, legal, and clergy appointments that have already been discussed. What sort of useful purpose does a non-prior service member, with no BCT, no AIT, no OCS, or any other formal military training have in a commissioned leadership role over ALL enlisted personnel in a platoon, company, etc.?

Bobby...don't worry. He won't be completely unprepared. He will do a course that familiarizes himself with military customs and courtesies. Moreover, as a Soldier, he will be expected to do most of the SMCT Level 1 stuff because no matter what he is, he is a trigger puller first. But more than that, he won't be in command of much...he'll be a technical expert, not unlike a 42A Personnel. They don't generally command units except their own sections which are specialty bound.

In a similar fashion as the Marines, where every Marine is a rifleman first.

If he goes Signal Corps, then he will go through the standard BCT/AIT/OCS etc pattern, but that wasn't what we were discussing.

That is why he is commissioned as a 1LT and not a CPT, as they used to be. They want the newly stamped LT to do some time getting used to being a Soldier too. In the old days, you'd get CPT if you're stuff was good, but they were noticing that these newly stamped CPTs simply didn't have the "military experience". They were technically proficient, but not militarily. So they bumped it back a notch.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I will defer to you gentlemen who are still serving, as I have been out for more than 10 years. Snoopy47 and Supersapper are in a far better position to appraise the OP’s question than I am. Thanks to all who have served and those who continue to serve.

[B.J.F.]

I wish I could help, been out about 10 years myself. You might need to speak to a recruiter and find out your options.

I would suggest earning your rank rather than being handed rank. I earned my rank as a specialist starting as a private and progressing.

I have heard that they are going to toughen the PT standards to 6 events completed in 50 minutes or less with less recovery time between events for 2021

Are you in good shape OP? These new PT tests if implemented will cause more soldiers to be separated.

[ECG_88]

I wish I could help, been out about 10 years myself. You might need to speak to a recruiter and find out your options.

I would suggest earning your rank rather than being handed rank. I earned my rank as a specialist starting as a private and progressing.

I have heard that they are going to toughen the PT standards to 6 events completed in 50 minutes or less with less recovery time between events for 2021

Are you in good shape OP? These new PT tests if implemented will cause more soldiers to be separated.

That would be unfortunate. The CSMR is struggling to get recruits as it is. There are many good admin folks who probably are too old or too out of shape to pass a PT. They are gonna go from 1000 soldiers state wide to about 600.

[B.J.F.]

That would be unfortunate. The CSMR is struggling to get recruits as it is. There are many good admin folks who probably are too old or too out of shape to pass a PT. They are gonna go from 1000 soldiers state wide to about 600.