Which route should i take?

[getontheboat]

so i started the Officer application process back in oct '09, took the astb twice (oar 52 up from 44), and just learned (so to speak) that i was NS for SWO in the march boards. juries still out on supply and intel, but i was pretty sure that if i were to be picked up, it would've been for SWO.
i've got a degree in corporate and organizational communications from northern illinois university and finished with a 3.5 gpa. i thought that my moto statement was pretty well written and i did a bunch of extra-cirric stuff in college. i'm an eagle scout and actively volunteer in my community. i'm 27 years old, and will be 28 this may.
i know i can take the astb once more and that would likely 'significantly improve' my package, but i've been informed that there aren't any more boards until july, and those boards are all filling slots for FY11. i dont feel like waiting anymore and would like to start my career.
SO. i'm considering enlisting in the navy (i'd start as e-3, i believe) and resubmitting my package to OCS immediately following a-school. lots of my friends and family think i should shoot for officer in the army instead. i pose this question to this forum, in its infinite wisdom. what do you folks think i should do? i know the choice is mine in the end, but my only goal right now is to make officer in the navy. i feel that army is almost a cop-out. whats your opinion?

 

[Thisguy]

SO. i'm considering enlisting in the navy (i'd start as e-3, i believe) and resubmitting my package to OCS immediately following a-school. lots of my friends and family think i should shoot for officer in the army instead. i pose this question to this forum, in its infinite wisdom. what do you folks think i should do? i know the choice is mine in the end, but my only goal right now is to make officer in the navy. i feel that army is almost a cop-out. whats your opinion?

I don't think there's much of a decision to make. If your only goal is to be an officer in the Navy, don't enlist, don't go to the Army. Be persistent, it pays off in the end.

 

[getontheboat]

it also boils down to the whole waiting thing... like literally, i'm waiting tables right now lol. i dont want to have to continue doing that for another year while i'm waiting for a 2011 OCS date (assuming i actually got selected the 2nd time around). i was thinking maybe if the board saw that i enlisted right after being NS, they'd take that into account (my persistance and 1 year of prior service)and it'd boost my chances of getting picked up. plus, i figure that the timeframes would be similar (waiting for a 2011 ocs date vs enlisting now and submitting after a-school). makes sense in my head...i think....

 

[Thisguy]

i was thinking maybe if the board saw that i enlisted right after being NS, they'd take that into account (my persistance and 1 year of prior service)and it'd boost my chances of getting picked up. plus, i figure that the timeframes would be similar (waiting for a 2011 ocs date vs enlisting now and submitting after a-school). makes sense in my head...i think....

The reality is, if you enlist with the intention of applying to an officer program right away, you could end up waiting for a lot longer than one year. Fact is, you'll be competing for OCS slots against E-5s and E-6s with a lot more fleet time than you. 1-year of prior service doesn't get you shit in terms of competitiveness for OCS, and keep in mind, to apply for OCS you'll need your chain of command's support, etc, etc, which will ultimately take longer when you consider how long it takes to finish schools and get favorable evals at your first command.

You can't just walk into your first command and say "I have a college degree, I want to get to OCS as soon as possible." It doesn't work that way.

 

[NAVYBM2]

I was thinking exactly the same thing last week while waiting for the results to come back. So, I went into the local recruiting station to chat with the recruiters and they flat out told me "we are bottled up, ans we are not excepting applicants. The best we can do is refer you to the reserves. I hope your O package goes through, because unless you are going in to be a seal or nuke there is not much we can do for you, SORRY" . So, I am thinking this is BS right, I am prior service RER1 reentry code, they should roll out the red carpet for me to enlist again, right? Wrong! Very Wrong! I call up one of my best friends from the NAVY, who is recruiting right now out of Miami, he tells me the same story.
Thank god I got selected in the March boards, because I have no clue what I would have done.
I am telling you this so you can keep in mind that if you are to enlist, you better start working on it right now, because they aren't exactly looking for people.
Good Luck!!

 

[tuke09]

I was thinking exactly the same thing last week while waiting for the results to come back. So, I went into the local recruiting station to chat with the recruiters and they flat out told me "we are bottled up, ans we are not excepting applicants. The best we can do is refer you to the reserves. I hope your O package goes through, because unless you are going in to be a seal or nuke there is not much we can do for you, SORRY" . So, I am thinking this is BS right, I am prior service RER1 reentry code, they should roll out the red carpet for me to enlist again, right? Wrong! Very Wrong! I call up one of my best friends from the NAVY, who is recruiting right now out of Miami, he tells me the same story.
Thank god I got selected in the March boards, because I have no clue what I would have done.
I am telling you this so you can keep in mind that if you are to enlist, you better start working on it right now, because they aren't exactly looking for people.
Good Luck!!

I got the same story also from the San Francisco Enlisted Recruiting station, although they are going to take me down to meps, have me take the ASVAB and see what they can do for me anyways. They say if I can find a job, it won''t be available till next year and I would have to DEP, in which case I have time to re-apply for OCS. My Officer recruiter initially didn't like the idea of me doing this but he has since warmed up to the idea.

 

[The Chief]

Think about it carefully, very carefully. You will be 28, your peers with be 17/18 hard charging, bright and dedicated (for the most part). If your timing is good, you might be picked up for OCS in 2 or 3 years. Meanwhile you life of messcooking etc with a BSBA will not be very rewarding.

Example: I know I 17 year old that enlisted right out of highschool, 12 years later, at your age was an E-9. He spent many hours of study, hard work and devoted no time to preparing OCS applications.

Hard row to hoe, if you know what I mean.

 

[soapwater]

it also boils down to the whole waiting thing... like literally, i'm waiting tables right now lol. i dont want to have to continue doing that for another year while i'm waiting for a 2011 OCS date (assuming i actually got selected the 2nd time around). i was thinking maybe if the board saw that i enlisted right after being NS, they'd take that into account (my persistance and 1 year of prior service)and it'd boost my chances of getting picked up. plus, i figure that the timeframes would be similar (waiting for a 2011 ocs date vs enlisting now and submitting after a-school). makes sense in my head...i think....

FY11 for Navy starts October, 2010. If I'm not mistaken, that means the July board will be filling slots for October 2010 onward. That's what I was told.