GoArmy.com > Army Reserve Prior Service > Army Reserve Service Options

Can you make the leap from Enlisted Soldier to Commissioned Officer? Will you exhibit the self-discipline, initiative, confidence and intelligence needed to make the transition? Can you demonstrate physical fitness and the ability to perform under physical and mental pressures? Are you ready to be judged by your ability to make decisions on your own and bear ultimate moral responsibility for those decisions?

If so, you may be ready to pursue one of three paths to Officership in the Army Reserve.

If you're considering college after you ETS, you may be able to combine that experience into Officership when you graduate. In ROTC, Cadets take a curriculum of elective leadership and military courses. ROTC Cadets may also compete for up to $80,000 in scholarship money.

To enroll in Army ROTC you must be:

Accepted or enrolled in a participating college or university
A U.S. citizen
Physically fit

Officer Candidate School (OCS) is another way to become an Officer in the Army. To attend Officer Candidate School, you must be:

At least 19 years old and not have reached your 29th birthday prior to training
A U.S. citizen
A college student with at least 90 semester hours completed
Healthy and in good physical condition
In good moral standing

Each professional branch of the Army—Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, the Army Chaplain Corps, and the Army Medical Corps—has its own officer training program that enables civilian degreed professionals to apply to receive a direct commission in their career field. This opportunity is open to Army Reserve Soldiers with similar academic credentials.

Training time for direct commission officers varies depending on the career field and generally includes courses in military history, Army leadership, and career-specific courses designed to adapt civilian skills to Army practices.