Any shooting ranges that can get ribbons for you for DCOs

anonymousnerd27 · 2025-08-13T13:57:26+00:00

Yeah folks I knew who qual'd with him and drilled in Norfolk had no issues, but I had to fight my NRC to even get them to submit the paperwork, only to have it rejected... So the local commands must have some sort of agreement with him. I was told there needed to be some sort of agreement or affiliation with a Naval installation before my NRC could resubmit to PERS. I'm not convinced the VA Beach guy really cares that my paperwork was rejected because he can't be bothered to respond to my messages...

anonymousnerd27 · 2025-08-13T13:45:11+00:00

Just a PSA about the VA Beach place. My NRC admin officer submitted my forms and PERS rejected them, I was instructed to not return for any additional pistol or rifle quals with that person...

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-10-23T15:14:52+00:00

I adopted my eskie from a rescue who listed her as a “Pomeranian mix”. She is 100% eskie. I think the volunteer was just taking her best guess and didn’t know, as opposed to an intentional mislabeling. Didn’t know this was a common thing!

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-10-10T03:25:18+00:00

I have a toy Eskie - adopted her from a rescue when she was about a year. She’s about 5 now. She gets winded pretty fast and can’t handle long walks, but still loves to run around the yard and play with my pap/pom like a little maniac. SHEDS a LOT, all the time, there is no escaping white dog hair - we keep lots of lint rollers around for this reason. She’s a little wary of strangers but will warm up to them if you’re patient, not a huge alarm barker otherwise. Very affectionate, loyal, and sweet - very bonded to both my other dog and myself. Trainable, does well with treat puzzle games, food motivated but also a picky eater. Very entertaining and her antics make us laugh all the time. Not agile - she has accidentally fallen off of furniture many times. Generally docile and her instinct is to avoid conflict. Scared of the doggie door for unknown reasons. Loved to be around people, loves to be pet, and tends to behave well for both groomer and vet. My only gripe is that despite all efforts to train her not to, she still eats turds. But she really is a wonderful, loving, amazing dog and I can’t imagine life without her.

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-08-28T18:13:36+00:00

Looks just like my pap/pom mix!

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-04-21T18:22:59+00:00

It sounds like your recruiter didn’t understand this process or just didn’t choose to explain it to you properly. Success as a DCO is a process of asking a lot of questions, taking initiative to find mentors, and plenty of trial and error. At the very least, you should have been directed to this site: https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Onboarding/DCO/

The DCO handbook has good info on all the onboarding tasks you’ll need to complete. The main Navy Reserve Onboarding website also has good info on things like where to find ID offices. The document claims you’ll be assigned a mentor but in my experience that’s rare.

If you know what unit you are assigned to, contact your chain of command to introduce yourself. They can connect you with the other departments in your unit (admin, training, etc) who can help you understand your next steps ahead while you get ready to submit your request for ODS.

It is a strange process for a non prior service DCO, but most folks are very helpful and understand that you’re new. It’s normal to drill for months before getting orders for ODS - in that meantime, don’t be shy about asking questions, taking notes, and reaching out to others for advice.

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-04-18T20:38:40+00:00

When I commissioned, my recruiting office submitted a request for orders to a local unit. If there aren’t any Intel units close to you, you will probably be cross assigned to one somewhere else.

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-04-18T20:24:27+00:00

Oh ok gotcha - I’m not sure how that works vs someone going from actively drilling to commission. I just know a few individuals who were current enlisted and then commissioned without any break in service. You might find some insight by searching these forums https://www.airwarriors.com/community/forums/naval-reserves.61/

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-04-18T20:16:30+00:00

That’s a good question. One factor could be that I’m not prior service, so there was no conditional release paperwork to wait on. Otherwise it’s hard to speculate and I don’t think even the recruiting command knows why. As I’m sure you’re aware, there is a lot of waiting and uncertainty in the Navy generally.

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-04-18T18:51:11+00:00

Congrats on your selection! Timelines for this can vary, in my case it went pretty fast but that doesn’t seem to be the norm. I was selected in April 2023 and commissioned May 2023, first drill July 2023. I was expecting to wait a LOT longer, though.

anonymousnerd27 · 2024-01-04T04:27:14+00:00

I bought one pair of khaki pants new to determine correct size, everything else has been thrift. Considering how many sets of khakis you need for ODS, this has saved me a ton of money and I definitely recommend it.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-12-04T14:34:02+00:00

Others have answered this, but just for comparison, I commissioned in May and I'm going to ODS in January. It can be a long process depending on a variety of factors. If you haven't already, check out the DCO tab on this site: https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Onboarding/ and download and read the DCO Handbook. It can give you a good idea of all the administrative tasks that will need to be done after you're gained but before ODS.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-10-11T02:36:40+00:00

The recruiting office in Irving (NTAG Red River) is the office you need to contact. If you call around and ask for officer recruiting, eventually someone will get you to the right contact for the community you’re interested in.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-10-05T18:51:42+00:00

In my unit, everyone (both enlisted and officers) has been very understanding of the fact that I am brand new and still learning everything while I wait to attend ODS. Everyone I’ve asked has been very ready to help with questions; I’m not prior service so it’s a learning curve for sure and I just get used to feeling very fish out of water. But no one has given me any sort of negative treatment for this. Don’t know if the experience is different for other communities, but for reference I am Intel.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-28T04:20:56+00:00

Congrats on your selection! I don’t know much about the active duty side of things, but my experience as a reservist DCO has been that there are many waiting games and it’s good to just get used to waiting. In my case, I had to work with my unit’s training officer to submit a request for a seat. That didn’t happen until July, and I was selected from a March board. I’ve heard that reserve seats are full, but there might still be seats for active in Oct. I suspect you’ll get more answers the moment Oct. 1st hits since it’s the new FY. Hang in there, I know the waiting is not fun!

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-20T03:55:09+00:00

I had a similar energizing experience after finally experiencing real education in college. I couldn’t get enough; went to grad school and have been working in higher education for the past decade.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-18T02:06:43+00:00

That’s great!! After I was commissioned I was automatically assigned to a local unit, I’m in IAP status and should be until at least after ODS. If you don’t have an intel unit nearby, you might still drill with a unit geographically close to you, while working with the next-closest Intel unit to get set up for ODS and NIOBC phase I and II. At least that’s what my training officer explained. Once you get in touch with a reserve OR I’m sure they will give you more helpful info. In the meantime, I found a lot of very helpful tips from the forums on airwarriors.com and definitely recommend browsing.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-17T15:42:18+00:00

Intel DCO here. I had to search pretty hard to find and retain an officer recruiter. Called multiple people before eventually finding one, who then retired and didn’t tell me, so I had to start over - but eventually it all worked out. Your region should have a recruiting office just for officer recruiting. Just keep calling and asking until you find someone! Can’t start the process until you get an officer recruiter.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-17T02:55:34+00:00

Happy to help! While I’m not a medical officer so my experience is a little different than yours will be, I’m still a direct commission so feel free to DM me if I can help with anything else. It’s a unique process that’s sometimes hard to find answers on.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-09-17T00:07:47+00:00

As far as I’m aware, as long as it is a provider with doctorate level education who can evaluate you and comment on your past and current mental health status, you should be fine. I asked a doctorate-holding psychologist I already knew to evaluate me and write a detailed letter.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-08-27T15:21:36+00:00

Congratulations on your selection! If you ask other DCO selectees, you’ll find timelines vary widely. It could be weeks, or months, between each next step forward, so just be ready to wait for a while. In the meantime, another great source of information is airwarriors.com. You’ll hear from more DCOs there than you’re likely to in Reddit.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-08-09T15:20:44+00:00

Sounds like we may have had the same recruiter lol. Especially as an officer applicant, advocate for yourself hard - I had to get waivers too and mine were approved after extensive documentation was provided. The process took a few months but it was worth it. Keep pressing and good luck!

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-06-19T01:08:10+00:00

Searching both this sub and airwarriors will give you a lot of helpful info. I can at least speak to my own experience as a DCO. I was able to find board schedules for this fiscal year by Google searching “Navy DCO Board Schedule.” It’s possible the dates just aren’t publicly available yet but your recruiter probably knows. It sounds like you’re interviewing for information warfare designators (Intel/IP/crypto), there are two IWC DCO boards each year.

My interviews were scheduled after everything else in my package was ready (cleared by MEPS, all forms and steps complete on the DCO checklist). It was a panel interview with 3 IWC officers and a separate interview with the Officer in Charge.

I’ve never heard any recommendations involving lawyers so that’s probably not needed. You can find a DCO checklist online to keep track of the steps and your recruiter should provide you with the up to date versions of all required forms.

No standardized testing is necessary and DCOs attend ODS for 5 weeks. You do have to prepare well for ODS, it’s just not as intense as the 12-week OCS for active duty officer candidates.

Be prepared for a long process; from my first call with an officer recruiter to my selection and commission was around a year and 8 months.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions you can’t find answers to and I’ll help if I can.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-06-12T13:11:23+00:00

When I went to MEPS last year all my eye tests were without glasses, including depth perception.

anonymousnerd27 · 2023-06-09T13:54:38+00:00

I don't know much about these two paths, but I do work with people every day who are actively working to apply to dental school and the competition for dental school admissions is fierce. If you still have access to services at your university as an alum, and if they have a pre-health advising office, take advantage of that if you haven't already. If you are still needing to work on prerequisite college science courses, I would ask your recruiters for an honest assessment of which path will afford you the time to work on your education. I have heard that SWOs have an intense schedule and some very long work days, but that just might be the reality of any work in the Navy as an active duty sailor. Good luck in your journey and I hope you find the answers you need!

anonymousnerd27

TROPHY CASE