Once you pass the above criteria, and it has been reviewed for correctness by the Recruiting Battalion, you will be scheduled to appear before the Recruiting Battalion OCS Board. The board is composed of at least three commissioned officers. The board will question you on personal history, training, and experience. It will decide whether or not you appear to possess the desire, determination, and motivation necessary to complete training and to develop into a satisfactory commissioned officer. On this basis, each board member will make an independent appraisal of your overall qualification for a commission. For an example of what the board may ask you, see DA Form 6285, Structured Interview, Army Precommissioning Selection.
If the board recommends rejection, you will be so informed. The processing ends at that point. If the board recommends acceptance, the results are sent to the Army Recruiting Command OCS Review Board, who does the final approval, and determines OCS class date. Once the review board approves the application, you will be enlisted in the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP), and given a basic training class date (Note: Prior Service Army personnel who have been out of the Army for less than five years usually do not have to re-attend Army Basic Training).
It should be noted here, that unlike enlisted (current military) applicants, you will not know what officer branch you will be selected for at the time of approval. However, you will normally be informed of your branch selection prior to attendance at OCS (not necessarily prior to attending basic training, however). The preferences you make on the DA Form 61 are just that -- preferences. There is no guarantee that you will go into the officer branch of your choice.
Current Military
Eligibility:
- Be a citizen of the United States.
- Have a GT score of 110 or higher.
- Pass the Army Physical Fitness Test score 180 (APFT). (Note: Must score at least a 60 in each area).
- Pass the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), min 850 or American College Test (ACT), min 19 (Note: Not required if the soldier already possesses a bachelor or higher degree).
- Have at least 90 semester hours of college study towards a degree and be able to complete your bachelors within one year.
- Achieve a score of 80 or higher on the English Comprehension Level Test (ECLT), if primary language is not English.
- Be at least 18 years old and less than 34 (can waiver age up to 39). Have a complete physical exam six months prior to date of application.
- No more than 10 years' active Federal Service at time of commission (can be waived).
- Have no convictions by civil or military courts. (This does not apply to minor traffic violations with a fine or forfeiture of $250.00 or less). An applicant must not have been judged to be a juvenile offender. This applies even if the court sentence, or any part of it, was suspended or withheld, or such conviction was in any way removed from court records by satisfactory completion of a period of probation. This also applies to adverse juvenile adjudication. (Note: Some convictions can be waived).
- Have completed advanced individual training (AIT)
- Have had a type "A" medical examination within 9 months of the date of the application. Applicants must meet procurement medical fitness standards prescribed in AR 40-501, paragraph 8-14, and possess a physical profile serial of at least 222221.
- Have not been previously disenrolled from officer candidate training.
