Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 5/6/2009

Question
My 25 year old son has a bachelor's degree in business administration and has worked for almost two years.  He is going to join the navy.  His recruiter has advised him to enter and go to boot camp, not officer's training.  what is the best path for him?

Answer
Julie,
Every now and then I run across a crooked recruiter and I see you have also.

You son means $ to his pocket and he doesn't want to let a good guy get away.  Recruiters are so accustomed to getting high school dropouts, felons, drug addicts, and other folks trying to get a waiver to join and along comes a nice clean man like your son who has no problems and a good education.  That means guaranteed $ to him with no extra work.

By no means should your son go back to this guy!  Run, don't walk, to another recruiter.

An honest recruiter will have to refer him to a recruiter accustomed to dealing with officer recruits, meaning somebody else gets the "finder's fee" for your son.  You are certainly permitted to shop around for another recruiter.  Usually bigger cities have recruiters experienced in applying to OCS.  I had to drive to the state capital to join, simply because my local recruiter didn't know how to process an OCS recruit.  My son went across the state line and stayed a few days with his grandparents just to find a good recruiter.

It IS possible for an enlisted person to apply for, and attend, Officer Candidate School (OCS), but it's also possible to win the lottery.  The odds are about the same.

Your son needs to enter the Navy by going directly to OCS.  Assuming he's physically qualified, all he needs is a Bachelor's degree in anything, and he already has that.

He can go to the Navy's website at http://www.navy.com/findarecruiter/
and request information from another Navy recruiter in your area.

If there are none others nearby, go back to your recruiter and ask to talk to the recruiter in charge of the office, if that doesn't work then ask to talk to the zone supervisor (supervisor of several local offices).

After he has received the requested OCS information, a recruiter will contact him.  He'll be able to assist your son in assembling and submitting his OCS application.  It takes about 90 days for a package to get approved.

He should also visit the web site:
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/officer/Checklists/OCS%20CL.doc
where he'll find a checklist that will outline what he'll need in advance.

OCS is located in Newport, Rhode Island.  It's a 12-week program that includes military academic course work along with physical training.  Upon completion, he'll receive a commission as an Ensign in the Navy with a contract to serve four years of active duty.

Meanwhile your son should consult the web site:
http://www.navy.com/careers/officerplanner/
and decide in advance what career field in the Navy he would like to have.  That will be important to know when he talks to the second recruiter.  Things like Surface Warfare ships, Aircraft Carriers, and Submarines all have totally different requirements.

I'm glad to see he wants to serve his country in uniform!
Good luck,
Colonel H