Just Starting

[stetsonman]

I have just started to research information on becoming an Officer in the Navy. I will not be able to join until 2 years from now because my wife is currently active duty Navy. I will be completing my BS in Investigative Forensics soon. I want to get as much done now as I can. I want information on how to stand out on an application. What type of volunteer programs? Sports? And I have also heard that it does not matter what type of degree you have. Is this true? Any information will be helpful. I am interested in EOD or the law enforcement side of the Navy.

 

[coredukes]

I have just started to research information on becoming an Officer in the Navy. I will not be able to join until 2 years from now because my wife is currently active duty Navy. I will be completing my BS in Investigative Forensics soon. I want to get as much done now as I can. I want information on how to stand out on an application. What type of volunteer programs? Sports? And I have also heard that it does not matter what type of degree you have. Is this true? Any information will be helpful. I am interested in EOD or the law enforcement side of the Navy.

Why do you have to wait 2 years?......Check out navy.com and the search function.

 

[stetsonman]

I can't go into OCS until my wife is done with her active duty enlistment...or so I have been told.

 

[coredukes]

I can't go into OCS until my wife is done with her active duty enlistment...or so I have been told.

You are married now so you have a preexisting relationship therefore you can still go to OCS but you can’t be in the same chain of command afterwards. With that being said you might be stationed apart. If I'm wrong here someone chime in but first thing you should do is talk with an officer recruiter. Good luck

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

I can't go into OCS until my wife is done with her active duty enlistment...or so I have been told.

You need to start being careful who you take advice from. Make sure they know what they are talking about.

 

[SWCS242]

You can try EOD, it is a very small community and very hard to get into. You might have to try SWO/EOD. Law enforcement community is pretty much a no go for officers.

Go talk to an OFFICER recruiter about your options. There are a lot of law enforcement like jobs in the SWO world...ha.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Unless there's some policy I haven't heard about, there's no reason you have to wait on your wife for OCS. E-O married couples, while not common, aren't unheard-of; the big point is that they were already married when one was comissioned. This is another reason to make sure you talk to an Officer Recruiter - I get the feeling your recruiter might have been leading you into the "Oh, you can't be an officer until your wife gets off active duty...but you can enlist today, and it's real easy to become an officer then" trap.

The officers in the Master-at-Arms community are, as far as I know, all Limited Duty Officers (former senior enlisted comissioned to work in their old community). It's not something you can select out of OCS.

SPECOPS (EOD, Mine Warfare and Diving) is something you can do, but it's a very small community, and very competitive to get into. If you're serious about wanting to be a blaster, time to become a PT animal.

If you're that into law enforcement, have you considered NCIS? It's not a uniformed job, but it's law enforcement with the Navy.

 

[SavvyPR]

I am proof that Officer/Enlisted marriages are acceptable. In fact, technically if you can prove that you were together as a couple before the commissioning, even boyfriend/girlfriends can do it but it's shaky ground. My recruiter really pushed for us to get married before I commissioned. We did, about 3 months prior, but we were going to anyway regardless of my commissioning.

While I am a reserve officer, my husband is active duty enlisted. We will never be in the same command (he's submarine, so that wouldn't happen anyway) and we have to make sure that our entire chain of command knows about the other person. In fact, his chain of command knew that I was about to get commissioned before he even checked in (his previous command told them and he knew a Chief in the new command).

Other than that, it's not a problem (well, he gets the "good on ya" type comments from other E's for sleeping with an officer, but he actually enjoys those comments). I haven't officially checked into my reserve command yet so I don't know what comments I might get, but the CO and XO both know because I introduced myself to them via e-mail and let them know.

 

[stetsonman]

Another Question and then I will leave it alone.

Thanks for the information everyone. I was curious about a few more things. Does the Navy frown upon online BS degrees? I was hoping to go this route to speed up the process of going into OCS sooner than 2 yrs, since I can go in while my wife is still active duty.

Also....My wife is in the Seabees and dislikes it. She can't wait to finish her enlistment, go to college and actually have a life. She beleives I will have the same horrible experience even though I won't be in the Seabees. Is this true or is the rest of the Navy (as an officer) better?

 

[Uncle Fester]

She beleives I will have the same horrible experience even though I won't be in the Seabees. Is this true or is the rest of the Navy (as an officer) better?

You realize what a vague question that is, right? "My wife hates the Navy, will I have a better time?" How exactly are we supposed to answer that?

I will say - if you go in thinking you'll hate it, you will.

 

[stetsonman]

Sorry about the vague question. I should not have asked such a ridiculous question. I don't have a problem being military, especially with the way the economy is right now...being an officer would be a once in a life time chance, a great career and would have pretty decent pay. I am honestly worried about how hard it is to actually get accepted into OCS.

 

[HeyJoe]

Sorry about the vague question. I should not have asked such a ridiculous question. I don't have a problem being military, especially with the way the economy is right now...being an officer would be a once in a life time chance, a great career and would have pretty decent pay. I am honestly worried about how hard it is to actually get accepted into OCS.

Lots of real life stories all over AW as to what it takes to get into any one of multiple paths to a commission. From what you have revealed so far, you should look at BDCP since you are at the halfway point in your education and your wife might want to look at her options to get an assist as well.

Also lots of comments here on the on-line vs traditional degree paths. The search feature is your friend, get acquainted and you'll find a treasure trove of info on what options you have and what it takes to position yourself for a decent chance at OCS.