OCS for enlisted nukes?

[nukenavy22]

Hello everyone,
I just enlisted in the Navy and based upon my ASVAB scores was offered the nuke program, and I accepted. I am 22 and have about 3 1/2 years of college, but never graduated. They told me that if I was in the top 5 or 10% of my class at Charleston then I would be offered OCS. Does anyone know if this is true or not? I would love to be an officer. Also, if you are a nuclear officer, are you a restricted or unrestricted line officer? Anyway, i would love to know, and thanks for the input.

[bmr176]

When I was in the pipeline every one who submitted an officer package was accepted, 100%.  This may have changed a little since 1997 but I imagine the odds are still pretty good.  Alot of the acceptances were contingent on making it completely through the pipeline as well.

You may also want to investigate some of the officer packages to ensure you have enough(or too many) credits to be eligable.  I also believe the officer programs have been reorganized into one general application(don't remeber the details).

good luck on your endeavors!  You have chosen a very challenging as well as rewarding program.

[taterhead]

Hello everyone,
I just enlisted in the Navy and based upon my ASVAB scores was offered the nuke program, and I accepted. I am 22 and have about 3 1/2 years of college, but never graduated. They told me that if I was in the top 5 or 10% of my class at Charleston then I would be offered OCS. Does anyone know if this is true or not? I would love to be an officer. Also, if you are a nuclear officer, are you a restricted or unrestricted line officer? Anyway, i would love to know, and thanks for the input.

Ah, the infamous 'they'.

Well, a simple perusal of the OCS instruction (neds.daps.dla.mil/Directives/1420/four.pdf ) reveals that to apply to OCS, you must have a college degree.  That is the essence of the program, a way for those who have already earned a degree to go to a commissioning program.

Perhaps 'they' were referring to other commissioning programs, such as STA-21.  That would make more sense. 

A word of caution: Concur that alot of nukes make the programs, but the ones who come into the Navy as enlisted sailors and hang their hopes on an officer program acceptance, then don't pick it up, are usually the ones who are the most dissappointed.

By the way, Nuke officers are line officers, who qualify SWO and stand OOD, etc.

Best of luck.

Taylor

[JsonD13]

To add on, I know from being at prototype that about 1/4 to 1/2 of the people that apply get selected for STA-21.  For OCS, the odds were alot worse when I was there.  We had 5 of us applying for OCS at the time (last summer/fall).  I didn't have an engineering degree (nor did I apply for nuke as well) but the other 4 did.  Not a single one of us got selected.  Also for the time that I was there, I have only heard of 5 or 6 people being picked up off of my MTS.  I don't know if this has changed yet, but the reason I get is mainly because there were so many junior officers at the time.

Jason

[jamster777]

Most of the prior enlisted guys that I have met in the officer classes at NNPTC were prior instructors at NNPTC that got picked up for STA21.  None of them went to OCS, though.  They went to OIS (8 week vacation where they teach you have to be an officer without beating the crap out of you).  They used to send guys that got picked up to OCS, but now they figure that guys from the fleet had enough of that in Great Lakes and that OIS is good enough. However, I did meet one guy at OCS that got picked up straight out of prototype...I'm not quite sure how he got his degree or why he went to OCS instead of OIS.

If you do plan on to become a nuclear trained officer, I would recommend an engineering degree.  About 80% of my class has some kind of engineering degree.  You almost need one.  I have a masters degree in electrical engineering, and I find the officer program at NNPTC very challenging.  Don't let this discourage you though.  I put in very few study hours.  There's an english major in my section who has a 3.7 GPA.....but she practically never leaves.  I guess it just depends on how hard you want to work.

Everybody at NNPTC is an unrestricted line officer except for the civilian students who are going to work for the companies that design our plants, and some of the staff which are Direct Input Limited Duty Officers.....we often wonder if whoever came up with that classification of thought of its acronym.

To conclude, I guess my advice would be to do well in the enlisted pipeline, and you'll probably have a good chance to get picked up.  And don't get too upset if you don't get to go to OCS.....If you thouht the navy drill instructors at Great Lakes were bad, you should see the gunnies at OCS. 

[lswartz]

Well, a simple perusal of the OCS instruction (neds.daps.dla.mil/Directives/1420/four.pdf ) reveals that to apply to OCS, you must have a college degree.  That is the essence of the program, a way for those who have already earned a degree to go to a commissioning program.

Perhaps 'they' were referring to other commissioning programs, such as STA-21.  That would make more sense. 

Taylor's right--you need a degree to go to OCS.  (And if you do have a degree--either from before or after you joined--you can indeed go to OCS; I know at least one prototype instructor who got picked up to be a pilot.)  As for what your options are, check out https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/ for details on STA-21...as you can read there, there's the "Nuclear Option" (no, it does not involve halting filibusters ), which you apply to out of NPS or Prototype, which lets you only go to certain schools, in preparation to be a nuke SWO or a submariner (both unrestricted line officers).  Once you're on your ship/sub, however, you can apply for any of the other options, including the "Core Program," which allows you to do almost any job open to normal NROTC students (which are mostly unrestricted line jobs: that is, pilot, NFO, SWO, nuke SWO, subs, SEAL, spec ops, maybe even Marine Corps?).

[lswartz]

I forgot to mention your other options (i.e. other than finishing your degree and applying to OCS or doing STA-21):

• USNA.  You can apply to the Naval Academy (see http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/stactive.htm) and finish 4 years there, which allows you to do any career option open to any other USNA midshipman (similar to the NROTC list).  There are various requirements to be considered (for example, you have to be at most 23 years old on 1 July of the year you'd start, and you can't be married).  As for whether this is a good option, it depends on what you want: folks who have gone there tell me that, much like Mark Twain's quip that "a classic is a book that everyone wants to have read but nobody wants to read," the Naval Academy is "a good place to have gone to school, but not a good place to go to school"--i.e. it all seems worthwhile in the end, but not when you're going through it.
  
• LDO/CWO.  Once you're more senior (E-7 or above, or E-6 chief eligible for LDO) you can apply to be a Limited Duty or Chief Warrant Officer (see http://www.npc.navy.mil/Officer/LDOCWOCommunity/Applicants.htm), both of which don't actually require getting a degree (although it's probably a good idea to get one anyway).  Both paths involve working in a specialty (e.g. nuclear power); I don't yet have a good handle on the differences between them, and how it compares to being a "normal" officer.
• MECP/MSCIPP-PA.  Although in theory STA-21 got rid of the alphabet soup of enlisted commissioning programs (ECP, BOOST, NROTC, NECP, etc.) as far as I can tell you can still get a nursing degree though the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program (http://nshs.med.navy.mil/mecp/mecp.htm).  MSCIPP-PA is similar to MECP but for medical programs other than nursing (http://nshs.med.navy.mil/mscipp/mscipp.htm)

Most of the details of these programs are spelled out in OPNAVINST 1420.1A at http://neds.daps.dla.mil/1420.htm; chapter one in particular has a nice summary of the various options.

[Jechtm]

Am I too old for STA-21? if so, is an age waiver really an obstruction for selection? I turn 24 on 20101008. I will be completing basic training in February. I also have over 30 Credit hours. I heard I need to be able to complete a Bacc. within 36 months in the program to be able to be selected. 3 years of schooling would put me at 27.

STA-21 candidates must be commissioned prior to their 26th Birthday. :

     "Age: STA-21 Nuclear Option candidates must be able to complete degree requirements and be commissioned prior to their 26th birthday for students and staff pickup instructors. Age Waivers may be approved on a case by case basis. Sea returnee staff instructors must be commissioned prior to their 31st birthday.

STA-21 Core Program candidates desiring selection to the Nuclear officer community upon graduation must be commissioned prior to age 27. Waivers may be granted up to age 29." (https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/program_options.asp)

[JustinHEMI05]

Its worth a shot. I have a few friends that went in with age waivers. One is now a pilot flying jets carriers and the other is back in nukes.

What the hell is that date?

[Jechtm]

erm. My bday is 08OCT86, 19861008, Oct 8th, 1986... whats the proper format??? i was most recently told Year/month/day
anyway I turn 24 Oct 8th, 2010.
3 years of schooling which is supposed to start in the fall, if selected, would make me 27 and change when complete.

[JustinHEMI05]

Just write dates like a normal human. I don't know why the Navy has to reinvent things LOL. The format they are using now isn't even natural to look at.

[sovbob]

erm. My bday is 08OCT86, 19861008, Oct 8th, 1986... whats the proper format??? i was most recently told Year/month/day

For most documents that you will use in the navy on a daily basis you will use the DD MMM YY (e.g. 22 FEB 09) format.  Navy medical documents use the YYYYMMDD (20090222).

[Jechtm]

For most documents that you will use in the navy on a daily basis you will use the DD MMM YY (e.g. 22 FEB 09) format.  Navy medical documents use the YYYYMMDD (20090222).

Thanks Bob, I'll let my fellow deppers know before I leave... Some are convinced its always the medical docs type.. I prefer the
   "DD MMM  YY" anyway..

[goobs22xx]

...as you can read there, there's the "Nuclear Option" (no, it does not involve halting filibusters ), which you apply to out of NPS or Prototype, which lets you only go to certain schools, in preparation to be a nuke SWO or a submariner (both unrestricted line officers).  Once you're on your ship/sub, however, you can apply for any of the other options, including the "Core Program," which allows you to do almost any job open to normal NROTC students (which are mostly unrestricted line jobs: that is, pilot, NFO, SWO, nuke SWO, subs, SEAL, spec ops, maybe even Marine Corps?).

You've got this one backwards...

In the pipeline, you can apply for any of the options.

In the fleet, you cannot apply directly for nuke. All of the other options are still available.

[Wareal]

Programs like STA-21 and OCS are highly competitive.  After three years in the process, two weeks ago my son was picked up for STA-21--pilot select (he was NOT picked up the first two attempts).  He enlisted out of high school, he's now 22 with six hours college credit (Calc I and Calc II).  Persistence and performance.  Get the best grades you can get in power school and prototype.  My son "volunteered" for SPU (and STAR'd) after prototype.  Get as many EP's and MP's as possible.  There is no substitute for hard work; to stand out as a Nuke, it's a necessary evil.

For more information, I suggest the OCS and Enlisted Commissioning Program forums at www.airwarriors.com

Good luck.

[NukeLDO]

Just to be clear....no one is going to "offer" you a commissioning program.  You have to apply for it, and get selected.

[HighOctane23]

If you already have a BS degree (in business finance, doesn't sound too competitive I know) and you were about to enter the nuke pipeline, what would be your best recommendation for someone hoping to get picked up for OCS? I plan on doing everything in my power to be the best or at least one of the best in A school, PS, and prototype, but what are EP's and MP's? What else can you do to stand out, besides being in the top 10% or 5% of the class?

[gsamelon]

Apply.  It is not so much like getting into college, you don't need to be Class President.  You need to have good grades and no disciplinary issues while enlisted.  You would be surprised though how many guys don't apply because they either don't know how or they figure out it is a long and tedious process.  You will not be "offered" OCS - it will just be an option.  The Navy, especially the fleet Navy, does not hand hold guys through the officer selection process, they let the individual do about 99% of the work as the first weeding out process.

As I have in all my posts, let me re-iterate, you could finish #1 in your class and being the greatest nuke in the world, but if the needs of the Navy don't line up, then you may not get an OCS slot regardless.  The number of billets they have available for OCS is dependent upon how many officers they need in the community.  Those other officers are coming from NUPOC, USNA, or ROTC.  Just some food for thought.  Hope that helps.

[thenukeman]

I  was an Army Nuke Training Officer and Executive Officer for a Enlisted training company.  Only those that applied  went.  We did not offer anyone even if they were honor grad a OCS slot.  Of those that applied only  1 out of  about 10  got a slot.  The rest failed the Officer Selection Battery test. If you want to  be an  Officer take the advice here!!!!!!! You need to go for it!!!!!!  You need to apply!!!!! You need to  be proactive.  If there is a Officer test for the navy find  out  what it is and take a practice test.  If you  are weak at something like math get a Cliff notes book for it and  read up and get good. Knowing your weaknesses and improving them is a good officer trait. You should try to  find out if there is a test and be good in all  areas before you take it.  If I  had to go  back and tell  the other 9 who failed, I would have told them wait until after training , find out about the test, practice what you are weak  at then take it. 
 If YOU are going to be an  Officer, YOU have to take care of yourself before you  can even think about  leading others.  Hope this helps!!!

[VCSInstNuke]

I enlisted in the NNPP back in 2000 and went through the pipeline. I did well and got the be a staff pickup, and then put in an officer package. The earlier post saying that most folks don't get picked up because they either fail to understand the process or just give up could not be more true. I put in three times and the first two I
1) Didn't know what I was doing, i.e. in my interviews I was asked what an officer did at sea. Since I was new to the pipeline and had never been to sea, I had no idea, and my attempts at pretending I did were met with humor. I doubt my package ever left the site.
2)My second attempt was while I was trying to qualify. There just wasn't enough time in the day to attempt to study, get checkouts, plant tours, and watches to give the package the attention it deserved.
3)My third attempt was successfull because I was qualified and had time, and more importantly the support from the chain to do it right. I ended up ranked number one on site for the program.

So the take away is learn what you would be doing, as a poor interview in the process can derail your chances, and make sure you take the time to ensure that your package represents you in the best light.


I went on to do my time as an officer after college and just accepted a job as an operations instructor at VC Summer. I couldn't be happier.

[tvpowell]

To conclude, I guess my advice would be to do well in the enlisted pipeline, and you'll probably have a good chance to get picked up.  And don't get too upset if you don't get to go to OCS.....If you thouht the navy drill instructors at Great Lakes were bad, you should see the gunnies at OCS. 

Basically, OCS is crazier than basic? I currently am debating between forcing my university to let me finish my degree before basic or just getting my body ready for basic and finishing my bachelors later.

Any advice?