Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 8/27/2008

Question
My husband is currently serving a contract with the AGR program but has been passed up for promotion for the past two years due to no slots in his MOS (88M) he will receive his Bachelor's degree in Homeland Secuirty in June 09. We have heard of a few different steps that he could take. He has 16 years active duty and would like to do a tour in Europe before retirement and it seems the AGR has no slots. He has thought about dropping a Warrant Officer package and just recently was told that after he recieves his degree he could apply for a direct commission. He has already recieved his security clearance and he is 34 years old. My quesiton, is it possible for him to apply for a direct commission back into the active Army and would that help our changes of a tour in Europe? Right now we are just playing with all of our ideas. Thank you in advance for you assistance.

Answer
Dear Brigette --

Direct commissions are very difficult to come by.  Generally they are reserved for the professional fields of medicine and law.  Currently they also apply to chaplains since the Army has a tremendous need for chaplains.

However, the bachelors degree does make your husband eligible for OCS, and warrant officer school.  There are positions in Europe for officers of all types, but they are fairly rare, as the US is pulling most of its units stateside.

Alternatively, your husband could ask for a transfer out of the AGR and into the Active Army.  He should talk to the active duty branch manager in Alexandria, Virginia for his specialty, 88M, to see if the Army has active slots vacant in Europe, that he could transfer to.

Good luck to both of you.  Thank you for your service.