• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Dual Processing

thomjay89

New Member
I am struggling to determine whether or not I want to dual process and I could really use some advice. First and foremost I want to be an Officer, but my OR keeps telling me that the boards are postponed and its "extremely competitive." My kit was already submitted and I'm pretty proud of it, but I still am curious as to other routes to becoming a naval officer. MY OR seems to think enlisting and reapplying for commissioning to OCS is a good route, but I don't want to enlist and never make officer. Is it easier to go from enlisted to officer as opposed to coming straight out of college? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
 

gstapes12

BDCP FS Pilot
From the information I've gathered on the interwebs... I would think that enlisting and then trying to become an officer is a much longer and more difficult path to a commission. Just my 2 cents.
 

TheBirdy

Well-Known Member
pilot
Enlisting and trying to go officer is never a guaranteed process. You're taking a gamble going that route. If you're not on an age constraint I'd say to just play the waiting game. Things change on the fly in the military from what I've read. As far as multiple applications, my OR told me to actually try and apply to the USMC after I finish up with my package.
 

Sapper!

Excuse the BS...
If I can offer a little bit of insight:
I have no navy experience or recruiting experience but I am military, so that being said my opinion is that that is a crazy idea, especially if you are officer material. Meaning, if they want/need you they will take you as an officer because you are qualified. Recruiters have used this line repeatedly to get enlistments in the Army and it goes like this.

Guy walks in and wants to fly in the army, they say, sorry can't help you but you should enlist and your unit will send you flight school. They told that to me personally when I inquired as an E6 when my ETS was coming up. The answer I got was that I should reenlist as a crew chief and then wait to go to the flight school. SO I said thanks and went on my way, after all I was engineer and if I was going to stay enlisted I'd rather die an engineer on the ground than be a dirty flying leg.

Seriously however, the real truth is this, in the army I spent a ton of time around the cav units in iraq and afghanistan and I will tell you without fail, that nearly every soldier I talked to that was a crew chief had this to say, "they told me to enlist and that I would get a chance to fly and my unit would sponsor me" WOW. These poor guys were rotting on 15 and 18 month deployments so they obviously never made it to flight school. I Can't make this crap up, I'm being dead honest. Now is the Navy this way? Dunno....would I chance my future to a guy trying to meet a quota, yeah if he was helping me in the right direction, otherwise at this point, I'd probably opt out. Weigh your options on this one and take your time.

Sorry but that is probably the only thing I will ever be able to contribute to the site here, hope it helped, or that I was at least on the right track.~Essayons!
 

Peter Choi

New Member
so I see that no one really talked about dual processing here. Has anyone dual processed? Like submitting OCS app for 2 branches at the same time?
 
so I see that no one really talked about dual processing here. Has anyone dual processed? Like submitting OCS app for 2 branches at the same time?
There's a few issues with applying for two different branches at once. (1) You probably will not be able to find a recruiter that would be willing to invest time and effort on a candidate who may ultimately end up in another branch. (2) I have been told that your medical paperwork (or MEPS clearance) can only be with one branch at a time. Of course, it can be transferred from one branch to another. However, I was told that it can't be in two places at once essentially. This is according to a Marine OSO who could have been telling me this because I had an app in with the Navy. That is my take on the issue. I am no expert though so you may want to ask an OR.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
There's a few issues with applying for two different branches at once. (1) You probably will not be able to find a recruiter that would be willing to invest time and effort on a candidate who may ultimately end up in another branch. (2) I have been told that your medical paperwork (or MEPS clearance) can only be with one branch at a time. Of course, it can be transferred from one branch to another. However, I was told that it can't be in two places at once essentially. This is according to a Marine OSO who could have been telling me this because I had an app in with the Navy. That is my take on the issue. I am no expert though so you may want to ask an OR.

I have had many that applied for multiple branches at once, and the OSO is correct you can't have a MEPS physical with more than one branch at a time, but what he failed to mention is once the MEPS physical is done and a copy is with the USN recruiter who cares what MEPS does with their copy.
 
I have had many that applied for multiple branches at once, and the OSO is correct you can't have a MEPS physical with more than one branch at a time, but what he failed to mention is once the MEPS physical is done and a copy is with the USN recruiter who cares what MEPS does with their copy.
So the applicants you've worked with who were applying for multiple branches at once, did that influence your recommendation at all?
My OSO made it sound like I would have to pull my medical file from the Navy which would interrupt my application packet that has been submitted and is awaiting a board to convene. Maybe that last part was an incorrect inference I made from his comment about my medical file only being with one branch at a time?
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
So the applicants you've worked with who were applying for multiple branches at once, did that influence your recommendation at all?
My OSO made it sound like I would have to pull my medical file from the Navy which would interrupt my application packet that has been submitted and is awaiting a board to convene. Maybe that last part was an incorrect inference I made from his comment about my medical file only being with one branch at a time?

not at all, if a person wants to serve great, it isn't easy to get picked up (some designators easier than others) and there is no commitment until you get to OCS so if they want to apply to several to make sure they are an officer somewhere that was fine to me. The USMC OSO that was in the same area as me had the same view, some recruiters will say you can only apply to one at a time, but they just don't want competition.
 
My USMC OSO told me he doesn't want to start my application until I "figure out what I'm doing". Would it be unwise to try to convince him to start my application now? If so, any tips on how I should approach the issue? Or do you think it would be better to go to a different recruiter?
 
My USMC OSO told me he doesn't want to start my application until I "figure out what I'm doing". Would it be unwise to try to convince him to start my application now? If so, any tips on how I should approach the issue? Or do you think it would be better to go to a different recruiter?
Hey Amanda,
I'm just curious of how this all went for you? The whole process of you apply for USN and also USMC if you did end up applying for USMC. How did it go for you, what was the most difficult part and do you have any advice for applying to multiple branches? If you didn't end up apply for USMC what was the USN process like? Did you end up getting pick up for OCS?
 
Hey Amanda,
I'm just curious of how this all went for you? The whole process of you apply for USN and also USMC if you did end up applying for USMC. How did it go for you, what was the most difficult part and do you have any advice for applying to multiple branches? If you didn't end up apply for USMC what was the USN process like? Did you end up getting pick up for OCS?
I'll pm you about specifics. As a general rule though I do recommend it to increase chances of selection. Each branch has their own different factors they consider to have more weight in selection which could make or break your chances based on the strengths and weaknesses of your particular packet. As an example, USMC has you take a PFT. This score is included in your kit and will significantly sway a selection. So if you're in great shape that'll improve your chances for a selection with the Marines, but your fitness level won't really help a selection with the Navy. Testing is another difference I noticed. If you have a sad ASTB score (like I did) for the Navy, that doesn't mean that you can't knock out a great ASVAB score (like I did) for the Marines. It's a little more work but completely worth it. Just be upfront with both recruiters and if they don't want to work with you solely based on the dual processing ... find a different recruiter.
 

MadHatter

Well-Known Member
pilot
Just checking in see if this is still mostly relevant. Just finished MEPS last week and my recruiter said he wanted me to put in an enlisted application as well as my officer application for SNA just to show more dedication to the Navy. Is this an actual strategy?
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Just checking in see if this is still mostly relevant. Just finished MEPS last week and my recruiter said he wanted me to put in an enlisted application as well as my officer application for SNA just to show more dedication to the Navy. Is this an actual strategy?

You-Youre-a-87oy4m.jpg
 
Top