4 Source of Commission

This Chapter:

AC Officers
Warrants

This Section:

Pay Grade
Commission
Age
Race/Ethnicity
Gender
Marital Status
Education
Occupations

Source of Commission.  The criteria for the selection of potential officers for commissioning education include age, U.S. citizenship, physical fitness, moral character, education, and cognitive ability.  Given that officers form the military's leadership and professional echelons and that investment in officer education programs is high, the selection standards are quite stringent.(2)

With few exceptions, a 4-year college degree is a prerequisite for commissioning.  To this end, two of the primary commissioning programs, the Service academies and the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), are administered in conjunction with an individual's academic preparation.  The United States Military Academy (USMA), the United States Naval Academy (USNA), and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) each offer room, board, medical and dental care, salary, and tuition throughout a 4-year undergraduate program of instruction leading to a baccalaureate degree.(3) Located at numerous undergraduate colleges and universities throughout the country, ROTC has both scholarship and non-scholarship options.(4)

 The two remaining primary commissioning programs, Officers' Candidate/Training School (OCS/OTS) and Direct Commissioning, are designed almost exclusively for individuals who already possess at least a baccalaureate degree.  OCS/OTS exists as a rather quick commissioning  source   for   college  graduates  who   did   not   receive   military    training   or indoctrination as part of their undergraduate education.  This source also provides a means for promising enlisted personnel to earn a commission.  Direct commissions, with a minimum of military training, are offered to professionals in fields such as law, medicine, and the ministry.  Because of their advanced degrees and/or work experience, officers directly appointed are often commissioned at ranks higher than the customary second lieutenant or ensign.  There are other specialized commissioning sources that, together with the primary programs, ensure that the Services have access to a number of different pools of personnel with diverse skills.

 Table 4.3 highlights the flexibility afforded officer procurement by the alternative commissioning programs.  The largest proportion of FY 1997 officer accessions (40 percent) came through ROTC programs--and most were recipients of a college scholarship (28 percent of all officer accessions and 70 percent of ROTC accessions).  Among officers on active duty who were commissioned through ROTC, slightly more did not receive  scholarships than  those who did  get  them,  especially  in  the  Army.   Direct  appointments  accounted  for  21  percent and academy graduates accounted for 17 percent of incoming officers.  OCS/OTS produced about 17 percent of FY 1997 Active Component officer accessions.

Table 4.3. FY 1997 Source of Commission of Active Component Officer Accessions and Officer Corps, by Service (Percent)

Source of Commission

Army

Navy

Marine Corps

Air Force

DoD

ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER ACCESSIONS

Academy

16.4

20.4

10.6

17.5

17.2

ROTC – Scholarship

38.1

17.4

7.6

30.8

27.9

ROTC- No Scholarship

22.0

1.8

0.0

11.2

11.7

OCS/OTS

4.6

22.6

69.3

12.1

17.2

Direct Appointment

17.9

23.7

0.1

27.9

20.7

Other *

0.0

13.6

12.4

0.5

4.7

Unknown

1.1

0.5

0.0

0.0

0.5

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER CORPS

Academy

16.2

19.5

12.0

19.6

17.9

ROTC – Scholarship

18.0

20.0

17.3

20.9

19.5

ROTC- No Scholarship

40.3

2.6

0.0

20.9

20.8

OCS/OTS

8.5

20.5

56.1

20.2

19.2

Direct Appointment

16.2

21.4

1.0

18.2

17.1

Other *

0.1

14.7

13.6

0.2

4.9

Unknown

0.7

1.4

0.0

0.0

0.6

Total

100.0

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
* Includes officers trained in one Service and accessed into another (primarily Marine Corps).
Also see Appendix Tables
B-40 (Active Component Officer Accessions by Source of Commission, Service, and Gender) and B-41 (Active Component Officer Corps by Source of Commission,  Service, and Gender).

There were Service differences in reliance on the various commissioning sources.  For example, over two-thirds (69 percent) of the Marine Corps' newly commissioned officers came through OCS-type pipelines and only one-tenth of one percent were recipients of direct commissions.  In fact, the Marine Corps does not have a Service academy or ROTC program.  Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and in the Navy's ROTC program can opt to enter the Marine Corps upon program completion.  The Marine Corps relies on the Navy for officers in medical and dental specialties and chaplains, thereby lowering its need for direct commissioning.  The Service differences are probably influenced by retention rates, budget considerations, and historical fluctuations in officer recruiting needs.

Go to Age

  1. See Eitelberg, M.J., Laurence, J.H., and Brown, D.C., "Becoming Brass: Issues in the Testing, Recruiting, and Selection of American Military Officers," in B.R. Gifford and L.C. Wing (Eds.), Test Policy in Defense: Lessons from the Military for Education, Training, and Employment (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991).
  2. go back
  3. There is no separate Marine Corps academy, but a percentage of each Naval Academy graduating class pledges to become Marine Corps officers.
  4. go back
  5. Non-scholarship ROTC is not without benefits, such as a subsistence allowance upon progress to advanced training.
  6. go back
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