Direct commission officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uniformed officers who serve on active duty or in the reserves in many cases receive their commission through a Direct Commission Officer (DCO) program.
[edit] Background
Civilians who have special skills that are critical to sustaining military operations, supporting troops, health and scientific study may receive what are called "direct commissions." These officers usually occupy leadership positions in the following areas: law, science, medicine, dentistry, nurse corps, intelligence, supply-logistics-transportation, engineering, public affairs, chaplain corps, oceanography, merchant marine affairs, and others.
The U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard have more extensive active and reserve component DCO programs than the other two U.S. armed services. The U.S. Marine Corps does not offer a DCO program. The Marines, however, do have a substantial population of Mustang Officers and Limited Duty Officers.
The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps exclusively use a DCO program to commission their officers.
Depending on the specialization and duty-status of the officer, "DCOs" as they're called, will attend either Officer Indoctrination School (OIS), Officer Development School (ODS), or Direct Commission Officer School (DCO School).
[edit] U.S. Army Reserve Direct Commission Officers
The United States Army Reserve uses the DCO program to bring specialized skills and backgrounds, and to fill critical shortages in the Army Reserve commissioned officer corps. A majority of the people obtaining direct commissions in the Army Reserve are prior-enlisted personnel. However, there have been instances when qualified civilians were directly commissioned as well. The general requirements for a direct commission in the Army Reserve are: 90 semester hours of college credit, the ability to get and maintain a "secret" clearance, be physically qualified (obtain and pass a medical evaluation), an open slot or "billet" in an Army Reserve unit, three recommendation letters from commissioned field-grade officers, and a recommendation from a direct commissioning board. Once selected, the applicant signs the oath and is sworn in by another commissioned officer. At that point the newly commissioned officer will then need to attend the Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) in their assigned Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)before becoming fully qualified.
Direct commission officers in the Army Reserve can serve in the same specialities and hold billets as ROTC, OCS, and USMA graduates. However, there are currently no Flag Rank commissioned officers in the Army.
[edit] U.S. Navy Direct Commission Officers
The United States Navy has an extensive DCO program. It is important to distinguish between the Navy's active duty component staff corps school, called Officer Development School (ODS) -- new name as of August 2007 -- and the Navy's reserve component Direct Commission Officer School (DCO School).
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) of 2005 decreed that reserve officer DCO School be re-located to Newport, Rhode Island from its current location at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida as of January 2007. The U.S. Navy is consolidating many of its schools in one central location -- Naval Station Newport, RI. The Navy is currently considering merging DCO School, Limited Duty Officer School, and Mustang University into one contiguous officer training program -- all located in Newport, RI. As of January 2007 all reserve DCO, LDO and CWO Officers attend the same two week course of instruction in Newport. Active duty ODS, a five week course, is also located in Newport, RI as well as Officer Candidate School (OCS), the thirteen week program that college students and graduates wishing to join the US Navy as active duty officers go through.
The Naval Reserve Direct Commissioning Program allows university-educated professionals, between ages 19 to 35 (or older, in some cases), the opportunity to be appointed as an officer in the Naval Reserve. Most DCOs hold advanced degrees (MAs, MBAs, JDs, MDs, DOs, and Ph.Ds.) and significant civilian work experience. In recent years, the number of direct commissions offered by the Navy Reserve has increased due to the need for skilled officers to serve as Individual Agumentees (IAs) in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Direct Commissioning Program serves the expanded needs of the Navy in certain officer skill areas listed below in alphabetical order by category:
- Special Warfare Officer
Restricted Line Officer (including Special Duty Officer)
- Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO)
- Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officer (AMDO)
- Engineering Duty Officer
- Foreign Area Officer (Country or Regional Specialists, Non-Intelligence)
- Human Resources Officer
- Information Professional (typically, personnel have Computer Science degrees and extensive industry experience)
- Information Warfare Officer (formerly Cryptology Officer)
- Intelligence Officer
- Merchant Marine Officer
- Oceanography Officer
- Public Affairs Officer
- Chaplain Corps Officer
- Medical Programs (Medical, Dental, Nurse, and Medical Service Corps)
- Supply Corps Officer (Logistics, Transportation, Supply Management, Customs, Contracting)
- JAG Corps Officer
- Civil Engineer Corps Officer
Limited Duty Officer (Various specialties)
Warrant Officer (Various specialties)
Some skill areas may not have openings each year. Each year, skill area recruiting quotas are promulgated for recruiters to fill. Upon completion of their training regimen, DCOs serve on nearly every type of ship in the fleet and at shore establishments around the globe. Navy DCOs are forward deployed and are currently serving on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are an integral part of the Navy's role in the War on Terror.
[edit] U.S. Coast Guard Direct Commission Officers
The United States Coast Guard uses the DCO program to bring specialized skills and backgrounds into the Coast Guard commissioned officer corps. The DCO course is conducted by the Officer Candidate School, located at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Depending on program and background, the course is three, four, or five weeks long. For the five-week program, the first week is an Indoctrination week.
There are seven Direct Commission Officer programs:
- Aviation
- Engineering (Various disciplines)
- Environmental Management
- Intelligence
- Legal
- Prior-Trained Military Officer
- Maritime Academy Graduate (From the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy or a State Merchant Marine Academy
Some DCO programs may not have openings each year. While DCOs are expected to fill specific specialty areas, they are not specifically precluded from crossing into other operational or support billets in follow-on assignments.
[edit] U.S. Public Health Service (Commissioned Corps)
Direct Commission Officers
The PHSCC Direct Commissioning Program allows university-educated professionals, between ages 19 to 35 (or older, in some cases), the opportunity to be appointed as an officer in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Most PHSCC DCOs hold advanced degrees (MS, MDs and Ph.Ds.) and significant civilian work experience, and the minimum in many programs is a master's degree from a duly accredited program. One of the fields requiring only a baccalaureate degree is engineering. The Direct Commissioning Program serves the expanded needs of the PHS in certain officer skill areas listed below:
- Physician
- Dentist
- Nurse
- Pharmacist
- Dietitian
- Engineer
- Environmental health officer
- Health services officer
- Scientist/researcher
- Therapist (includes occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and audiology)
- Veterinarian
- Medical Technologist
[edit] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Commissioned Corps)
Direct Commission Officers
The NOAA Corps Direct Commissioning Program allows university-educated professionals, between ages 19 to 35 (or older, in some cases), the opportunity to be appointed as an officer in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. Many NOAA Corps DCOs hold advanced degrees (MS, MAs and Ph.Ds.) and significant civilian work experience, though the minimum requirement is a baccalaureate degree. The Direct Commissioning Program serves the expanded needs of the NOAA Corps in certain officer skill areas listed below:
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Any science related to NOAA's mission
[edit] External links
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Public Health Service
