Posted on 06/09/2005 1:44:50 PM PDT by 68skylark
Looser rules could attract up to 600 new officers; Growth amid recruiting problems; Reserve, National Guard work on similar program
WASHINGTON - Faced with a need to expand the Army and ease recruitment problems, Army officials have decided to loosen the requirements for junior officer candidates - accepting prospects who exceed the current age limit by more than a decade, and permitting more flexibility to waive their minor criminal or civil offenses, according to a memo obtained by The Sun.
The May 25 memo, sent to division commanders and other generals, said the Army hopes to attract 300 soldiers up to age 42 to attend Officer Candidate School and become second lieutenants. Using the same age criteria, they also hope to attract an additional 300 civilians with college degrees as officer candidates. The Army National Guard and Army Reserve are working on similar programs, according to the memo.
Like West Point or a college ROTC program, Officer Candidate School is an avenue to becoming an Army officer, involving a rigorous 14-week training program followed by the Officer Basic Course, which includes physical training, classroom study and field exercises. A second lieutenant could be a frontline officer in charge of a platoon of about 30 soldiers or hold various low-level command assignments.
The new criteria establish a clear departure from current requirements, which state that applicants should not reach their "29th birthday prior to training" and should be in "good moral standing." The average age for an OCS graduate is 27, Army officials said.
According to the memo, soldiers ages 18 to 42 may apply and division commanders may recommend waiving minor civil or military offenses. One Army official described an example as underage drinking that might have occurred before an enlistment....
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
These changes make sense to me -- I'm glad to see the Army is being more flexible these days.
The way I read this article, it's a done deal.
If you can stand up without falling backward, by God, its OCS for you!
Tempting. I've thought about joining since 9/11 but was too old...
To see if your state has this kind of opportunity, check here: State Guard Association listings.
I recently re-joined after a long break in service (though I'm still waiting to see if I can get my commission back). It's a real good time to be in uniform -- there are a lot of opportunities and a lot of "energy" in the force, and the work feels very "purposeful."
GOING FROM 29 to 42, holy crap. Thats a 40 percent increase! Are things that bad, are we losing that many officers?
Today's 42 year olds seem a lot younger than they were. I think older officers could be a good thing.
I'll second that!
Napoleon's Old Guard was pretty, well...old. And they were the most feared troops in Europe.
As I understand it, there's been an officer shortage brewing for years, mainly in the Guard and Reserve. It started in the early 1990's and it's been getting worse. This hasn't been in the news, and it's quite a different problem from the recent drop-off in recruiting from the mission in Iraq.
I'm surprised it's taken this long for the Army to start getting serious.
Yeah, that's a great point that isn't mentioned in this article.
Youth is an advantage for sustained, open combat against a strong adversary, but we don't have adversaries who take us on like that any more.
In contrast, peacekeeping and patrolling in various third-world sh**holes goes better with some age and maturity and restraint.
A 42 year old second lieutenant strikes me as a mistake.
I've seen some 22 yr old 2LT's that looked like high schoolers. Now that is scary.
Ping for later.
"A 42 year old second lieutenant strikes me as a mistake."
That would be an aberration of nature!
But really, I say that is a good plan because most 42 year old men would have some sense and maturity. If not..Oh S***!
The title of this article could also be "Shake n Bake officers."
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