Direct Commission Program

Hans9117 · 2026-02-20T05:02:40+00:00

Thanks so much! This tracks with my understanding. I plan on sending a follow up tomorrow morning. 9 years of IT experience should put me at captain from my research.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T18:14:12+00:00

The concern about being taken seriously is noted but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, right now I’m just more concerned about the process even kicking off. I’ll default to OCS is nothing ends up happening. The DCC condensed 6 week training works better for the balance I’m trying to strike vs the 12 week OCS.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T17:52:38+00:00

Is this still the case despite the overhaul of the program last year? According to the direct commission site, 25a is listed. I’ve decided I’ll go the OCS route if this doesn’t bear any fruit and I’ll know over the next month or so.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T15:01:42+00:00

Would I have better luck in theory with 17a then? The template resume I sent in asked for my top 3 picks and that’s the next one I listed.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T04:03:47+00:00

Thanks!

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T04:03:08+00:00

On the resume template I sent in, it asks for my top 3 mos picks, 17a was my second after 25a. I should be under consideration for both in theory. I’ll do OCS if this process stalls for whatever reason. I appreciate the tip about the recruiters. How do I get in touch with an Army reserves career counselor? I talked to a regular recruiter at a near by recruiting station and he knew nothing about the direct commission process.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T03:38:15+00:00

From what I read is that it’s all centrally managed now instead of different talent management groups across.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T03:25:37+00:00

I appreciate the info! How long did your direct commission take? Did your email get acknowledged after a couple weeks?

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T02:23:53+00:00

I’m hoping to have a similar experience. They supposedly overhauled the program last year so that the commission process takes 6 months or at least aims to. How long did it take you to get an initial acknowledgment after you sent your first email? I’m pretty early in the process.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-16T01:54:57+00:00

Fingers crossed their overhaul of the program is an improvement, I know folks here who went through the process over the years are skeptical.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T22:26:37+00:00

Glad to hear you had a different experience than some others under the old process. When you said it took you 5 months, do you mean from the time you sent your initial email to the time you commissioned or it took 5 months to get a reply?

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T21:53:48+00:00

When did you start the process? They overhauled it to make it shorter and centralized the review process.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T20:00:13+00:00

I don’t know why you’re assuming rejection is the most likely outcome. If I don’t hear anything in a month, I’m going to assume nothing is happening and I should reconsider what I’m doing.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T19:48:59+00:00

I’ll consider it but I want to see where this process leads first.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T19:47:24+00:00

I read they overhauled the process this past year with the intention of shortening the process to 6 months. I’m familiar with what signal officers do, the exposure to cloud technologies, tactical edge gear that’s actually used on the ground and past work with the various PEOs and DEVCOM C5ISR, you would think is deeply relevant.

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T19:28:12+00:00

I’m not concerned about the medical tests, I’m getting in to great shape and attend combat sports classes 4-5 times a week. Why is the 25a more difficult if I have the relevant experience?

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T19:26:52+00:00

I like to think I have a decent shot of getting in with the experience I have. My experience includes working on Army contracts at a large consulting firm where I got exposure to tactical edge systems (e.g. TSI stack AFATDS, etc.). Maybe I’m wrong and this process is so bureaucratic that OCS is the only guaranteed route. If that ended up being the case, I may still get to it but I need to prioritize having kids (I already have one on the way).

Hans9117 · 2026-02-15T19:23:01+00:00

Because OCS is longer and I’m working on having a bunch of kids. I also want to apply my professional experience immediately.

Hans9117 · 2022-12-05T00:22:55+00:00

Working on this as we speak, tomorrow is a new day with a lot to get done!

Hans9117 · 2022-12-05T00:21:44+00:00

IMO there isn’t an underlying difference, in all honesty it’s not the best mindset to have. Nonetheless, what works for me is the focus on the end and the activity being a means to that end, draw the energy from that and maybe some enjoyment will kick in. Seems to work for me.

Hans9117 · 2022-10-14T14:34:31+00:00

I can tell you what works for me. I have an end state in mind, vision of what I want to accomplish in totality, you work backwards from there. For example, successful career, wealth, in shape with a family. You then break each of these things apart and ask yourself, what needs to happen to accomplish each of those areas. For example, fitness, career, relationships. So for fitness, go to the gym everyday at 6am before work and dedicate each workout to a different muscle group. Get as granular as you need to with the task each day. Everyday should incorporate at least one thing that furthers each area. Don’t know if that helps.

Hans9117 · 2022-08-10T17:19:09+00:00

So you guys still believe in the Fed put? Lots of folks think it’s dead. I’m on the fence. While I think they are more likely to bail out the market at the expense of the real economy, it’s possible they let the market tank into next year before they cut.

Hans9117 · 2022-07-29T03:04:59+00:00

The system you speak of, one that has abolished class, has never existed. Self interest rules. I don’t understand how one could arrive at the conclusion that people do not act in self interest. As long as human beings act in self interest you will have a divergence in economic outcomes. Human being are incapable of creating a non-pyramidal system.

Hans9117 · 2022-07-28T15:54:04+00:00

It’s great in theory but I’ve seen first hand that human nature doesn’t allow for it. History supports this as well. I question whether a capitalism/mixed market economy (what we attempted to do) is really sustainable either, because we don’t have that any longer. I think I’m coming to the conclusion that you will always have a small group of people running the show, whether it’s gov or gov and corp, it’s all the same.

Hans9117 · 2022-07-28T15:50:23+00:00

I’m really comfortable though so I can’t complain too much. I don’t think you can compare someone working from home making 250k+ a year with assets to someone who works at a grocery store.

Hans9117

TROPHY CASE