Contracted

I signed the papers last Friday! I'm set to go to OCS on the 10th of September. This creates lots of questions though...

It's both good and bad for me and Ana. Mia is due on the 21st of September, which is the actual start date of OCS. We're hoping Ana can be "induced" and go into labor early. On the other hand, this leaves no gaps in our insurance and provides the security of having a job, which is good for us because we really don't want Ana to have to work.

Now that I've signed the contract, I'm going to set up a new blog... I'll post a link here when I get it established tracking my Delayed Entry Program time...

Contracting

In order to not miss more work or school I'll be waking up at about 3:30am to head to MEPS for the final part of the recruitment process CONTRACTING.  

What to know:

If you are PS and have already had the GI Bill or SLRP you won't get either now

If you are non PS, you will be able to choose either GI Bill or SLRP

If you are going Active Duty, there is no sign on bonus

If you are going US Army Reserve as of right now there is a 10,000 sign on bonus available

You cannot get anything extra in your contract

No Assignment of Choice

No Branch Guarantees

No Airborne School

No Ranger School

This is all for the most part earned or needs of the Army after you get in.

Now, I'm considering ending this Blog as it was only intended to track the process of getting in.  I may start another tracking preparation for OCS while I'm in the DEP waiting to graduate this Summer.

It still doesn't seem like the blog is being tracked yet, and I haven't seen it come up in any search engines, but I imagine it will in the near future.

5 Minutes Until the Rest of Your Life Starts...

I was selected today for Officer Candidat School.  It took about two months, which I've found out isn't anywhere near as long as other applicants.  There were a few applicants boarding in Atlanta and our interviewers were 2 Captains and 1 Major.  All Prior Service applicants were in and out withing 5 minutes (including me) and the non PS guys were actually interviewed taking around 20 minutes each.  

Anyone going I would suggest:

Know These:

How many branches are there in the Army

What are they

Which can you get into via OCS

What is each generally like

Be prepared for:

"Tell us about yourself"

"Are you married"

"Is your (significant other) happy with your decision"

"Why do you want to be an Officer"

"What Branch"

Also:

Check out tough interview questions online

Be prepared with a broad knowledge of current events

Understand your likely path (OCS, BOLC II, BOLC III, Possibly on to a Deploying Unit)

It was much easier and more laid back than I had expected, I was still a nervous...  

Number Cruncher to Officer Candidate

The next officer candidate board is on the 22nd of April, and I'm still waiting to hear from my recruiter if I'll be able to attend.  I should know by the end of the day tomorrow.  

I'm currently reading almost every post that comes up on www.armyocs.com and trying to find information anywhere I can on being a Platoon Leader, a Company XO, a Company Commander, and a rather awesome functional area which can be transferred into via selection around year 5 to 7 after commissioning called "Foreign Area Officer."  

The Foreign Area Officer, after a long interesting set of training, becomes a liaison in some means between their geographical assignment area and the United States Army/Government.  The requirements include exceptional evaluation reports from exceptional experiences and assignments, test scores from a language aptitude exam, and being eligible for a Top Secret Secured Compartment Information clearance with Counterintelligence Polygraph.  The training includes language school, travel throughout your geographic assignment to understand the culture, the completion of a Masters Degree that complements your new field, and completion of a course in your new host country either through their university system or their military.  Absolutely amazing!  I'm curious if being married to a Croatian citizen disqualifies me from a TS SCI clearance.  

AS FOR THE BOARD...

I'm pretty much ready to go, it will take place (if I make it to this one) right in the middle of my final exams, but with the hectic schedule I've been keeping it's always going to end up right in the middle of something.  

WORKOUT

I'm now very aware of how important physical fitness is when it comes to getting your preference when it comes time to branch at OCS.  I've been considering working out in the Cross Fit program.  I tried it out last night with my very limited amount of home equipment, and now I understand why the mascot is Pukie.  My goal is a solid 300 on the PT test.

APFT (Physical Fitness Test) Complete

I took the PT test after work today.  At 5:15 I arrived at the recruiting station and almost immediately began my push-ups, waited 10 minutes then did the sit-ups.  After that we drove to the local soccer fields and I ran 2 miles.  My recruiter allowed me to wear my IPOD/headphones which was nice, and a luxury probably not offered very often.

My Initial APFT: I'm 27

72 Push-Ups (close to max)

79 Sit-Ups (close to max)

15:40 run (very weak)

My total score was 267, and since I passed all events, I'll be able to go to the next selection board in Atlanta.

Post MEPS

I made it up to the hotel on Friday night, I drove myself, a luxury not offered when I enlisted back in 2000 for Active Duty or 1999 in the Reserves.  The hotel in Knoxville has changed, it is much nicer than the previous hotel, I won't go as far as to say which for OPSEC, but it was very comfortable.

On Saturday morning I followed the bus to the MEPS and processed through medical and security in about four or five hours.  I was out of there right at lunch time.  The whole experience was very smooth as we only had about fifteen of us there.  Normally this can take much longer.

My next step is the Physical Fitness Test followed by the Board Interview.  Almost there!

My weight was 216 and I needed 212, I taped at 18% body fat and I was allowed 22% so I'm good there...  I didn't think this would be too much of an issue...

MEPS Ready

My recruiter called this evening, he said MEPS cleared me for my seurity review and medical screening.  I'm hoping to go to Knoxville MEPS this Saturday, being the end/beginning of the month they may be having a weekdend processing day.  If not Saturday, then I'll try to go on Wednesday next week.  I'm psyched!  I need to go into overdrive on dropping some weight, I'm at 219 this evening and need to be at 212 to avoid the BMI tape.  If I get to 215 I'll be comfortable for the BMI tape, 219 is probably fine, we'll see...  

After MEPS I have a Physical Fitness Test and then the Board...  

Recruiting PRE MEPS PRE PT TEST

The recruiter I was working with originally is no longer set to go to ANCOC until the end of his recruiting duty in October so we’re back on track to work together.  Being driven, slightly patient, and at times deliberate is very important in this process as I have seen.  I went to see him after work rather than going to my Marketing class, I actually waited for him to come back into the office for about fifteen to thirty minutes and waited there as he filled in my SF86 security questionnaire and medical questionnaire.  When I left last night he had completed almost everything, all of the medical data needed for MEPS and the majority of the SF86.  For the remaining SF86, I left with him, a copy of one I had completed on my own at home so he could just type in what I listed.

 

Now, we’ll see how long it takes to get to MEPS, I was told next week.  We’ll see, I hope that’s correct, if not, I highly doubt that I’ll make the April board and will end up going in May.

 

As for Physical Fitness, I ran 2 miles sub 14 minutes last night! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!  I haven’t ran a sub 14 since my first tour in Iraq, this run was about the same coming in around 13:40 ... in fact, I believe being 27, that’s close to my max point level now.  I’ve still got a lot of work to do on pushups and sit-ups, but I can pass both with no real problem.

 

I’m allowed to be at 212lbs, and I’m currently at 217, not too bad, but I fluctuate up to 222 and down to 215 usually.  I’ll have to be very particular about my diet to get down to 212.  If I’m unable, I’m sure I’ll tape out for BMI.

Pre MEPS Recruiting

Back on track, I went to the recruiting center yesterday evening on the way home from work to see if my recruiter had a chance to work on my packet, he was not there and no, he did not have any of the entry done.   So, this time I mentioned to another recruiting I had been talking to previously about OCS, and found out he just put in an OCS applicant within the last two months.  I explained, remaining both tactful and respectful in regards to my recruiter, that I had been coming in for over a month handing every document over myself, and had no results.  I also explained my concern in regards to my recruiter leaving for school next week…

 

In a matter of minutes, I was sitting in the station commanders office with the recruiter I had been talking to about my concern, and the station commander himself.  They quickly reassured me that they were both going to take over my packet and process me in together.  They intend to have my medical paperwork ready for MEPS TODAY!  One day to do what my other recruiter has not gotten around to at all.  They tell me I should be able to go to MEPS next week or the week after now, and that we’ll do what we can to get into the board as soon as possible.

 

My advice:  If you work with your recruiter diligently and see no results, request to speak with the station commander, and remember do not throw anyone under the bus!  You’re not in the military yet, and these guys hold the keys to get you there, just remember to remain respectful at all times.  This is good training for military life anyway, you’ll be experiencing many frustrations like this or worse in regards to bureaucratic process.

 

Respectfully,

Christopher

Recruiting

Every recruiter is a little different.  For those who think all the recruiters want are points, it’s not exactly true.  It is my understanding that typically a recruiter will recruit for three years, and the majority will max their points out in just under two years.  It’s not very hard, especially with the current economic situation.

 

Now into my SITREP post…  The recruiter processing my paperwork now has all but one letter of recommendation, which means I should be able to go to MEPS at any time now, I’m just waiting.  Unfortunately I’ve had all the documentation to be able to hit MEPS for going on three weeks now and I’m still waiting around.  In my particular situation, I have a recruiter that is getting ready to go to ANCOC next week, shortly after that he’s done with recruiting duty.  Since he’s going to ANCOC he took leave for all of last week and is getting ready to take leave before he goes…  At this point, I get the feeling he’s not at all interested in getting his remaining recruits, including me, in the door.  Argh… I realize I’ll be waiting until he’s gone to be handed off to another recruiter, at which point I’ll see if I can have any influence on which one I go to, preferably one that hasn’t yet been soured by the monotony of recruiting.

I'm still hoping to hit the April Board...  At first I was assured, back in February that I'd make it to the March board...

One way or another I'll get there.

Physical Fitness

If all goes well I'll go to see the doc at MEPS next week.  I've been pushing myself on running as hard as I can getting ready for the Physical Fitness Test I'll have to take in a few days/weeks before the board.

I've been doing long and short runs, long being between four and five miles and short being two.  I hit 14:30 on the two mile over the weekend but it took everything I had to make it happen, I was ready to puke at the end.  My personal best two mile so far has been 13:10 in 2000.  For the five mile I hit 41:30, trying my hardest to get sub 40:00 in case I'm lucky enough to get into Ranger School.

Push Ups: 52

Sit Ups: 62

I'm 27... I plan to score a 275+ on the APFT at OCS, and hope to go in October.

Docs in a Row

I'm still working on getting all of my documents together.  I turned in a birth certificate to my recruiter yesterday, and found out he's going to ANCOC and passing my packet off to the station NCOIC/station commander in a few weeks.  We're hoping to have MEPS/Physical/Security Interview all completed before that so all we'll have left is the board.

U of Tenn Chattanooga has changed my status to Candidate for Graduation in August 2009, now I just need to sure up a plan with my boss so I can take a day class five days a week for eight weeks this summer.  The classes will be over before physical inventory (I'm in accounting), so I've got that going for my case.

Physical Fitness, I ran a bit more than four miles yesterday, and I've been engaging in some type of exercise on a daily basis.  My weight is at 217 as of this morning, and I'm allowed somewhere around 207, I'm sure I'll tape out, but who wants to wait around for the tape...  This weekend, I'll go to the local high school track and run an APFT for myself.

March 4th 2009 Status

I turned in the OCS Packet photo today and signed the release form for documents and history regarding the SF 86.  I was told MEPS in Knoxville will be open this Saturday, and I'm hoping I can get in, though I doubt it as I had a cist removed from my lower back just a few weeks ago and my recruiter/the MEPS will need the documentation regarding this.

 Work is going good, the recession has me worried that we may not make it through to the end of the Summer/Fall...  I hope so, I don't know what we'll do about our house/mortgage, and since I won't graduate until August, I cannot ship to OCS until September or October.

The packet is coming along, from reading the ArmyOCS page, it seems a handful of guys/gals believe their recruiter should be getting the documents squared away for them... I wonder if they also think their first CO will hold their hand while they get to meet and begin working with their first  Platoon...  hmmm...

Personal Hurdles - Continued

I didn't mention that being married to a foreign citizen, which has brought about a significant amount of foreign travel for us, is another hurdle we're working with.

The SF 86, used to obtain your secret clearance goes into great detail regarding where you travel and foreign citizens you are assocated with.

I really doubt this will have a big impact, but I wouldn't doubt that it will take me longer to obtain the required clearance level to be a US Army Officer.

My wife is Croatian, so we go to Croatia at least once a year to see her family.  Croatia is a up for European Union membership in 2010, and is a friendly country to the United States.  My OIC from Active Duty was also married to a Croatian citizen and he's at the level of O-6 now... 

Through Ana I have met a few friends, one of which I talk with on a monthly basis or so via Skype.  I have no business connections or ties, and no property or influence in the country, which is what the SF 86 is trying to reveal to ensure that you are not going to be placed in a situation where you may be influenced to release sensitive/classified/secret information.

I'll keep this blog updated on how this "hurdle" is crossed.

Branch BOLC III/OBC Locations

Every OCS candidate starts with basic combat training unless you are prior service, in which case you go straight to OCS (may differ for interservice transfer) at Fort Benning Georgia.  Basic Training lasts 9 weeks plus time for inprocessing (in 1999 my group took 2 weeks to inprocess).  OCS begins at Fort Bennning and lasts around 12 weeks.  After OCS every newly commissioned 2LT will go to BOLC II at either Benning or Sill for 7 weeks.  Following BOLC II the officers will go to their branch to finish up training at BOLC III (formerly OBC) a branch specific training program lasting from a few weeks to 3 months (from what I can tell from various blogs and branch school websites).  Other training may be attended based on class start and end date differences and it seems that there are many stories of how the education process works out for each person.  For instance, branching Infantry will give you the opportunity to attend Ranger School, Airborne, and possibly any of a number of other courses such as sniper operators course, pathfinder, bradley leaders course, stryker leaders course, all depending on the start and end times on your BOLC courses.

This is a list I've put together from searching the intenet via Google for the various schools and locations.

BRANCH                              LOCATION                                                          
Adjutant General             Fort Jackson, SC                               
Air Defense                        Fort Bliss, TX
Armor                                   Fort Knox, KY
Chemical                              Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Engineers                            Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Field Artillery                     Fort Sill, OK
Finance                                 Fort Jackson, SC
Infantry                                Fort Benning, GA
Medical Service                Fort Sam Houston, TX
Military Intelligence       Fort Huachuca, AZ
Military Police           Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Ordnance                    Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Quartermaster          Fort Lee, VA
Signal                                    Fort Gordon, GA             
Transportation                  Fort Eustis, VA

Resources

There is a vast amount of great information regarding OCS and the Army in general, if you are interested in pursuing a commission or an enlistment check these out...

www.goarmy.com

locate a recruiter and talk about your interests

www.armyocs.com

research questions you may have already asked by others pursuing OCS, in OCS, and already commissioned, as well as a few very knowledgable recruiters specialized in the OCS process

Personal Hurdles - Everyone Has Baggage

First off the US Army Officer is expected to be the most professional soldier wearing the uniform.  The Army sets high standards, and rightly so offers no compromise.  That being said, everyone has their own issues to work.  

My issues:

• 1997, I was 16 and charged with minor possession, and possession of paraphernalia... from talking with my recruiter, I have found out that because I am prior service (previously served) and I was able to obtain a waiver on my initial entry with no further problems arising, this will not be an issue in my current pursuit
• Various speeding violations from before I was 18 years old and one after
• Weight, I'm currently 6' 3" meaning I should only weigh a max of 206lbs, I'm currently at 217, I should make tape (my BMI is low enough to qualify)
  
• Physical Fitness I need to pass a PT (Physical Training) test running 2 miles in no more than 17 minues (I'm 27), do 42ish pushups in two minutes and 52ish situps in two minutes. No problem on the run, i've been working on pushups, and I need to get started on situps but haven't yet due to a minor operation on my back where I had a cist removed

I'll keep the status of these updated in how they have played into the application process as I make it through.

Introduction

I got out of the Active Duty Army in 2005 after serving at Walter Reed where I went to the Pentagon on September 11th, and the 1st Infantry Division in Wurzburg Germany and Tikrit Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom II.  Towards the end of my time on AD I met my wife, Ana, a citizen of Croatia, in Germany.  May 2005 I returned to Tennessee and began working on a degree in Finance starting at the community college and then ending up at The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga...  During my time in school I've been deployed a second time to Iraq with the Tennessee National Guard in support of detainee operations at Camp Bucca, I've been the treasurer of the Spanish Club for a year, a mathematics tutor, and I began working at Array Marketing as a Sales Analyst and then promoted to Cost Accountant...

I look at my time in the US Army as some of the best days of my life second only to my small and growing family (Ana and I found out we're having our first baby..).  As she's been through two deployments with me, up until recently she did not like the idea of being involved in the Army anymore.  After the news of our coming baby, and the recent events in the US economy, she's begun to see it in a whole new light.  The ability to retire in 14 years (after 6 already completed on Active Duty), guaranteed health insurance, education opportunities, great schools through the DOD, and the opportunity to live in Germany closer to her family in Croatia have all begun to play a heavy roll in her decision.  

Now with her new found opinion which has slowly developed, I am once again able to be a part of one of the greatest organizations in the world.  I currently have between one and two more semesters to go before I complete my BS, expecting to graduate in either August or December of 2009.  I have already jumped in knees deep to the recruitment process and I'm expecting to go to the Atlanta USAREC Bn OCS Board in March 2009.  This time, I will earn the privilege to lead soldiers with the highest responsibilities being placed on my shoulders as an Officer commissioned in the US Army.

I intend to make the blog into a tool which can be used in the future, by those wishing to pursue a commission in the US Army via OCS College Option.