Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 9/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: I am in the process of joining the US Army.  I am a licensed attorney but want to get out of that field and am working with the Army to become a translator.  I am older (40) but my paperwork/goals are going smoothly.  I have a great recruiter but he is trying to sell me on the idea of simply enlisting instead of doing OCS.  He says that the contract I sign would guarantee me a role as a translator if I enlist, but there's no guarantee what my job would be if I go the route of OCS.  I am looking to find out about: any opinions on whether this seems like good advice and any opinions on the translator under OCS or enlisted route.  Thanks for your time!

ANSWER: Tom,
He's trying to sell you on enlisted because that earns him $.  If you enter via OCS he'll have to turn you over to another recruiter.  He may be a nice guy, but your just $ to him.  Sad but true.

There's NEVER a guarantee as far as career fields go, officer or enlisted.  It depends upon your language.  Right now there is a big demand for the Arabic language so you'd most likely get a translator job if you were fluent in one of the Arabic or Persian languages.  However, if your second language is French, there's not much of a need for that right now.

I'm assuming you have a Bachelor's Degree.  If so, there's no way you should go enlisted.  You're too well educated for that.  If the recruiter says to enlist and you can go to OCS later, the odds of that happening are very slim.

Also, if you're good enough to be a simultaneous interpreter, most of them are officers because of the high level meetings they must attend.  Also they require a Top Secret clearance.  

A translator  works with paper, not people, and doesn't usually need a clearance.

Thanks for wanting to serve.
Colonel H


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Colonel H.  Thank you for your response.  Your information was very, very helpful.  A few follow up questions:  (1)  How do I find a recruiter with OCS/Officer knowledge and/or how do I go about getting a new recruiter?  I have NO IDEA what that process is and how I should go about it.  I definitely want to go the officer route and I need to pursue that now.  I have compelted my ASVAB and physical and despite being 40 everything is checking out A-OK.  My ASVAB scores were 89 and I am told that is good.  Let me know and I'll take it from there.  My second question goes to becoming an officer.  I was told that ALL officers must get a national security clearance.  I have no arrests, no criminal matters or anything like that.  However I have TERRIBLE credit.  Long story but I'm 40 and had a bad business experience so things got messy.  This includes a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing (which means I did not get my debts wiped clean, but I worked out a payment plan).  Is this a dealbreaker or how does the Army/OCS handle this?  I realize it is important, but I did not konw if everything else was great if this is a negotiable point.  Again I thank you for your time.  Regards, Tom

Answer
Tom,
I would recommend you go to the website:  http://www.goarmy.com/ocs/  and select "Chat With a Recruiter".

Yes, 89 on the ASVAB is very good.  The real reason it's called a "battery" and not a "test" is because it's impossible to pass it or fail it.  It's not a test like you take in school where 70 is passing and 100 is perfect. etc.  It's just a group of questions arranged together that help an expert determine what kind of work you're most likely qualified for.  The ASVAB is the most widely used aptitude evaluation in the world. It is designed to measure your strengths, weaknesses, and potential for future success.  The ASVAB provides you with career information for various occupations and is an indicator for success.  Everybody is good at something, the ASVAB just helps determine what it is you'll probably do best.  Nothing is more miserable than being stuck in a job that you can't do, or hate.  They don't want to make you a cop when you'd really be happier and more productive being a mechanic.  The score of 89 means you do indeed have some ability and the Army would like to hire you.  If you actually ended up with a score of 12 or 15, it means you probably have no useful ability other than begging for change on a street corner.

Colonel H