Active Duty or LAPD/Reservist

[AdrenalineRush]

I'm currently being slotted as an active duty OCS candidate, but I may have the option of becoming a reservist officer. In that case, I would also work as an LAPD officer. I've begun the qualification process for the LAPD and I think I would enjoy it more on a day-today basis than being an officer, but I'm not sure if the personal satisfaction of being a PO would match that of a Marine officer.

Reservist still get to deploy, but outside of that I don't think they really live a military life on a consistent basis.

[kdee]

Originally Posted by AdrenalineRush

I'm currently being slotted as an active duty OCS candidate, but I may have the option of becoming a reservist officer. In that case, I would also work as an LAPD officer. I've begun the qualification process for the LAPD and I think I would enjoy it more on a day-today basis than being an officer, but I'm not sure if the personal satisfaction of being a PO would match that of a Marine officer.

Reservist still get to deploy, but outside of that I don't think they really live a military life on a consistent basis.

A police officer and an Officer in the military are in no way related as job functions. You could be the officer in charge of meals in the military, for example...

So, my point is, you should not evaluate your decision by involving these to desires of yours. Evaluate them independently. Perhaps you could explain more as to what you mean by, "being slotted for OCS." Are you just now entering the military, or are you currently enlisted with the intentions of going to OCS?

The military's reserve cadres still have to go through regular training. Usually, there is something almost every month, and at least a few weeks of training each year in the summer...

Honestly, I'm really having a hard time understanding why the ARMY still maintains a Reserve component when it has the ARNG. As it is, the only real difference between the two is in how the Dept of Defense has decided to organize the distribution of its many units. But that's about it.

The other branches more or less have reserve components only, and they all train on a schedule similar to the National Guard's. The neat thing about being in the reserve is that you still get to enjoy most of the benefits unique to civilian life....such as being a cop. You still should be able to attend OCS as a reservist without any issue.

I also guess I'm confused as to what you mean by a "real military life." What is a true military life, anyways? All you do is either train or deploy. In active duty, you are training all the time (well.....supposedly..That's really not the case though in many situations.. )... As a reservists, you will train on a regular but not-time-weighty basis.

[AdrenalineRush]

Originally Posted by kdee

A police officer and an Officer in the military are in no way related as job functions. You could be the officer in charge of meals in the military, for example...

So, my point is, you should not evaluate your decision by involving these to desires of yours. Evaluate them independently. Perhaps you could explain more as to what you mean by, "being slotted for OCS." Are you just now entering the military, or are you currently enlisted with the intentions of going to OCS?

The military's reserve cadres still have to go through regular training. Usually, there is something almost every month, and at least a few weeks of training each year in the summer...

Honestly, I'm really having a hard time understanding why the ARMY still maintains a Reserve component when it has the ARNG. As it is, the only real difference between the two is in how the Dept of Defense has decided to organize the distribution of its many units. But that's about it.

The other branches more or less have reserve components only, and they all train on a schedule similar to the National Guard's. The neat thing about being in the reserve is that you still get to enjoy most of the benefits unique to civilian life....such as being a cop. You still should be able to attend OCS as a reservist without any issue.

I also guess I'm confused as to what you mean by a "real military life." What is a true military life, anyways? All you do is either train or deploy. In active duty, you are training all the time (well.....supposedly..That's really not the case though in many situations.. )... As a reservists, you will train on a regular but not-time-weighty basis.

I have no experience whatsoever. My 'slot' refers to my packet that has been sent to a board to be selected. From what I understand, you can be sent as active duty or as a future reserve officer, you still enter OCS at the same time and go through the same training.

To me, 'military life' refers to deployinig at least for MOSs that simply train and then deploy like you stated. Of course, reservists deploy too, which is good.

[kdee]

Originally Posted by AdrenalineRush

I have no experience whatsoever. My 'slot' refers to my packet that has been sent to a board to be selected. From what I understand, you can be sent as active duty or as a future reserve officer, you still enter OCS at the same time and go through the same training.

To me, 'military life' refers to deploying at least for MOSs that simply train and then deploy like you stated. Of course, reservists deploy too, which is good.

In order to be eligible for OCS, you must first have a bachelor's level degree. You will first be required to complete basic training as an enlisted person, just like everyone else. From there, it all depends. Commissioning in the military has become a horrendously buerocratic and complicated drawn-out process. You should be able to obtain a commisioning guide from your recruiter, and if you take the time to look through it, you will get a better understanding of what I mean...

If you enter the military with a graduate level degree and existing debt, you will be eligible to be commisioned initially at a grade higher than O-1 (in most cases). If you enter the military with a doctorate, and you have already paid it off, you may be eligiable to be initially commisioned at a level as high as a Captain or even a major in some cases.

At the end of the day, you will still have to undergo basic training, and in many cases, you will still need to complete advanced traing relavent to your MOS before you can be sent to OCS.

It really, really all depends. The process is never the same for any two people. Best of luck to you...

Also, even if you enlist in a reserve component, you will still be required to complete advanced MOS training shortly after completing basic training. Additionally, advanced training is never considered as "deployment" (for pay purposes, possible veteran status, etc..)..