Navy Officer Recruiter

[sjmcma]

Hi all,

I have been a lurker on this board for quite awhile and finally decide to make an account and ask some questions. The nearest officer recruiter to me is a 7-hour drive away and I would like to start getting my ducks in a row to apply to OCS before I graduate from undergrad this December. That brings me to my questions: how important is it for me to have an in-person meeting with an officer recruiter about my goals and the steps towards those goals? Will emails and phone calls suffice? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

 

[cgoss99]

Hi all,

I have been a lurker on this board for quite awhile and finally decide to make an account and ask some questions. The nearest officer recruiter to me is a 7-hour drive away and I would like to start getting my ducks in a row to apply to OCS before I graduate from undergrad this December. That brings me to my questions: how important is it for me to have an in-person meeting with an officer recruiter about my goals and the steps towards those goals? Will emails and phone calls suffice? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

I’ll start off by saying this. The process can be long, all dependent on the applicant but my process took about a year because of old medical documents. I did everything over the phone at first with my OR and then we eventually met in person at the local airshow. He even got sent out to my college (about 2 hours from where him and I live) a few weeks later to have a Navy booth during our career fair. I made it a point that day to find time to go and make conversation with him. I can’t really speak for others because I’m sure not everyone has the same experience but I think it made the entire process a lot smoother for me after meeting him. He’s a good guy who seems to have nothing but good intentions and did everything he could to make the application process easy for me. You’ll have to meet in person at some point to get your test done (depending in what designator you apply for) but I would say if you can sit down with an OR and talk about your goals and what not, it’ll only make the process smoother!

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Words

Have you even reached out to a recruiter yet? Quite frankly, that would be step 1.

It’s possible there’s a closer officer recruiter to you. If not, it’s not expected for you to travel much aside from the MEPS process.

 

[LawDawg740]

Reach out. A lot of us on this site have some interesting gouge, but the NTAGs are the ones you'll be dealing with. Plus, it does not hurt to develop those contacts. A simple phone call will go a long way.

 

[404 Error Not Found]

When you say your nearest officer recruiter is 7 hours away are you just looking at what it says on the navy website under find a recruiter? When I went through that process that site gave me the number for a recruiting center about 4 hours away. They wound up just asking me the basic screening questions before referring me to a local recruiter in my city. After I finally got in contact with the local officer recruiter, I had to meet with them to take the OAR and then met with them at MEPS. After being selected I had to meet with my recruiter again for the PRT and enlistment ceremony. So yes, you will have to meet with your recruiter at some point.

 

[sjmcma]

When you say your nearest officer recruiter is 7 hours away are you just looking at what it says on the navy website under find a recruiter? When I went through that process that site gave me the number for a recruiting center about 4 hours away. They wound up just asking me the basic screening questions before referring me to a local recruiter in my city. After I finally got in contact with the local officer recruiter, I had to meet with them to take the OAR and then met with them at MEPS. After being selected I had to meet with my recruiter again for the PRT and enlistment ceremony. So yes, you will have to meet with your recruiter at some point.

I know that there is an enlisted recruiter where I live. However, from what I understand, this will not suffice if I am looking to apply for an SNA slot though OCS. Am I correct to assume this?

 

[404 Error Not Found]

I know that there is an enlisted recruiter where I live. However, from what I understand, this will not suffice if I am looking to apply for an SNA slot though OCS. Am I correct to assume this?

Yes you would need to go through an officer recruiter. The "find a recruiter" feature on the Navy's website doesn't list every officer recruiting office though. Instead, it will refer you to a larger center where the recruiting command for your region is based that will prescreen over the phone and then refer you to the officer recruiter that is actually closest to you. So if you are from Fargo, North Dakota they would have you call the office in Minneapolis first to see if you meet some of the most minimum qualifications, and then give you the number for the recruiting office back in Fargo, which is the one you would be working with directly.

 

[sjmcma]

Yes you would need to go through an officer recruiter. The "find a recruiter" feature on the Navy's website doesn't list every officer recruiting office though. Instead, it will refer you to a larger center where the recruiting command for your region is based that will prescreen over the phone and then refer you to the officer recruiter that is actually closest to you. So if you are from Fargo, North Dakota they would have you call the office in Minneapolis first to see if you meet some of the most minimum qualifications, and then give you the number for the recruiting office back in Fargo, which is the one you would be working with directly.

Thank you. I really appreciate this!

 

[wink]

Firstly, Navy Talent Acquisition Group! WTFO!! Couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about, "NTAG". How is that name change making the "acquisition" of recruit personnel easier? They are not fooling anyone. Instantly reminded me of when the BOQ and BEQs were changed to Unaccompanied Officer Personnel Housing (UOPH) and Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (UEPH). Ridiculous mouthful that didn't last but a couple years.

So, I am sure there is a disconnect here and the Navy does not make it easy some times. I went online and saw a map of what we used to call Recruiting Areas, just a few across the country, and the NTAG HQs within them. I can't see where there is a 7 hour drive between NATG offices. There may be 7 hours between the Area/Region HQ. You don't care about them. Every NATG will have at least one Navy Officer Talent Acquisition Group Officer . Sometimes there are also Officer recruiters at smaller offices within the NATG area of responsibility. And yes, you do not want to talk to a NRS, or enlisted recruiting facility. Click a link on a web site or call an800 number and no telling who you are talking to. They should direct you to the right person, but frequently screw it up. They are usually contract civilians. In my day it was a marketing company. Sorry for any trouble folks encounter when all they want to do is serve their country. It should be easier. But it is what it is. And if you want to be Naval Officer you will just have to do the research for yourself. It is a far easier task then most anything you will do in the Navy. Unless you live in rural Alaska there absolutely is an Officer recruiter out there that is less than 2 or 3 hour drive. Good luck all.

 

[sjmcma]

Firstly, Navy Talent Acquisition Group! WTFO!! Couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about, "NTAG". How is that name change making the "acquisition" of recruit personnel easier? They are not fooling anyone. Instantly reminded me of when the BOQ and BEQs were changed to Unaccompanied Officer Personnel Housing (UOPH) and Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (UEPH). Ridiculous mouthful that didn't last but a couple years.

So, I am sure there is a disconnect here and the Navy does not make it easy some times. I went online and saw a map of what we used to call Recruiting Areas, just a few across the country, and the NTAG HQs within them. I can't see where there is a 7 hour drive between NATG offices. There may be 7 hours between the Area/Region HQ. You don't care about them. Every NATG will have at least one Navy Officer Talent Acquisition Group Officer . Sometimes there are also Officer recruiters at smaller offices within the NATG area of responsibility. And yes, you do not want to talk to a NRS, or enlisted recruiting facility. Click a link on a web site or call an800 number and no telling who you are talking to. They should direct you to the right person, but frequently screw it up. They are usually contract civilians. In my day it was a marketing company. Sorry for any trouble folks encounter when all they want to do is serve their country. It should be easier. But it is what it is. And if you want to be Naval Officer you will just have to do the research for yourself. It is a far easier task then most anything you will do in the Navy. Unless you live in rural Alaska there absolutely is an Officer recruiter out there that is less than 2 or 3 hour drive. Good luck all.

Thank you. It is all making sense now. When I first went to look at the website it said the nearest officer recruiting facility was in Seattle which is about 7 hours from where I live in Montana. I will figure it out. All the best!