Expert: Rod Powers - 12/18/2007

Question
Dear Mr. Powers,
                I am a senior in college who will be graduating this spring with a bachelors degree in history.  I was considering joining the navy after graduation.  What I would like to ask is, is it normal for someone with a bachelors degree to enlist in the Navy instead of going to officer candidate school?  I don't think I would make a good officer or even be accepted into officer candidate school because I don't really have any leadership skills and haven't been active in volunteer activities or sports at the university I'm attending. The Navy recruitment website seems to imply that anyone with a bachelors degree should pursue a commission, but I am curious if enlisting with a bachelors degree would be an acceptable path to take.  I am also curious as to whether or not Navy recruiters are in the habit of encouraging those with bachelor degrees to pursue a commission even if the recruit doesn't want to.  Any information you could provide regarding either of these questions would be greatly appreciated.
                     Sincerely,
                               Chris

Answer
Hi Chris,

Sure. Lots of folks join the Navy (and other branches), with a bachelor's degree, as an enlisted member. Becoming an officer is not for everyone.

If you decide to join as an enlisted member, your college credits will give you advanced enlistment rank (E-3). For details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyjoin/a/advancedrate.htm

>>I am also curious as to whether or not Navy recruiters are in the habit of encouraging those with bachelor degrees to pursue a commission even if the recruit doesn't want to. <<

In my experience, it's actually the other way around. In all of the service branches except the Army, there are separate officer recruiters and enlisted recruiters. Now, the various recruiting regulations say that if an enlisted applicant is obviously qualified for a commission, the enlisted recruiter is *supposed* to refer the applicant to an officer accession recruiter.

However, if the enlisted recruiter does that, and the applicant then joins an officer accession program, the enlisted recruiter doesn't get any "credit" toward their recruiting goals. Therefore, in my experience, most enlisted recruiters "forget" to refer applicants to officer accession recruiters, unless the applicant specifically requests it.

In other words, if you wish to enlist in the Navy with a bachelor's degree, no enlisted recruiter is going to try and talk you into a commission. Additionally, you'll be able to enlist at the advanced enlisted paygrade of E-3.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com