Late Commision

Hey

I am 22 Year Old and have recently applied to the Army, I have applied as a soldier.

I am a pretty intelligent kind of a guy and could probably have applied for a commision if i saw fit. However i personally would like to like to work as a soldier first.

As a 22 year old would hoping for a late commision from in the army be a possibility....how late is too late on the commision???

Any help appreciated

Cheers

 

Firstly, no joining at 22 with the wish to be selected to sit AOSB and subsequently commission is probably not too late, depeding on "how good you are".

However, if you want to be an officer and you have the required academic qualifications and are able to pass the AOSB straight off I would very much recommend that you apply through the officer recruiting route direct.

I understand that you may feel that it desirable to spend some time in the ranks to gain some experience before going on to lead soldiers, however in today's army, I would suggest that with the tempo of operations and thus the experience that you would get very early on in your career as an officer this advantage is negated. The long and short of it is, the army needs good officers as much as it needs good soldiers therefore if you have what it takes as an officer take that route direct. If you do, you will find nowadays that very shortly you will have an equitable level of experience as the soldiers under your command (experience is only as good as your last operation).

My thoughts and my thoughts alone, but if you are up to it and you are joining with the intention of commissioning, apply through the AOSB route direct to be an officer. If you don't make it then join as a soldier and get a couple of years experience before applying again.

 

Do you have a degree or any form of further education?

Read the Regular Officer Recruiting thread on here where the topic of age on commissioning has been done to death over the last 2-3 years.

Then read the Army's website and decide what you want to do and whether you have the qualifications.

I agree with the previous poster; if you qualify and think you have the potential, it is easier and quicker to follow the RMAS route to a commission than try to be commissioned from the ranks.

Litotes

Edited to remove an error!

 

Agreed with the posts above. I did the "join as a soldier, get comissioned later"..it never happened and I deeply regret not going down the RMAS route.

I guess I was a little different in that I joined the Green Jackets but actually applied for a comission in the Gurkhas, but the principle is the same.

 

I agree with everything above - pm explaining my reasoning sent

 

RWall,

Agree with everything said above. Do some searches as this subject has been covered in great detail, vis a vis soldier or officer entry. The average private soldier sees no more action than the average 2Lt these days. However, the average private soldier spends a lot of his time sitting on his arrse waiting for tasks in a way that an officer never does. Do some research before you take the plunge - but good luck.

whf

 

I am stuck between the lines of either solider or officer entry into the IntCorps. I understand that there is a good deal of late entry officers in the corps commissioned from their ranks. Is this correct?

Also, is there a great difference in the amount/depth of intelligence work undertaken by the two roles? I assume that IntCorps officers do a vast more amount of management work over specific intelligence tasks?

 

Welcome to ARRSE!

The number of Late Entry posts in the Corps is a moveable feast; it depends on the gaps, and the numbers will rise and fall alongside the recruiting and retention figures.

If you join as a soldier (at say 1, you will not be eligible for an LE Commission until your early 30s at the very earliest! And it goes without saying, that it is very competitive and very few are successful.

If you have the aptitude and sufficent academic qualifications for Direct Entry, you should pursue that route first.

Litotes

 

Thank you for your reply.

I am 24 in June and I have a BSc Econ 2:1 in International Politics and Intelligence Studies. I have been to my local ACO and am due to make an appointment for my BARB test soon.

After researching IntCorps soldier roles they seem to be technical, interesting and complex. In your opinion, would the various benefits of officer entry outweigh the "engineering" of intelligence work tasked to soldiers?

 

I've got a late commission - a year on and they're still not paying me properly.

 

Yes.

With your academic background, I suggest that you would be quickly bored by life as a soldier, Int Corps or not! I am also surprised that the ACIO hasn't immediately passed you to Officer Recruiting.

Read the Regular Officer recruiting thread on here; there is a lot of useful information. You will need to bring a lot more to the (AOSB) party than academic excellence but you should research Officer Entry before applying to be a soldier.

Litotes

 

I had applied for officer entry in 2002/3 prior to attending university and accepted an offer from RSigs for sponsorship to the boards, however, during university I decided to look into civilian international careers-due to various circumstances this has failed to materialise.

Over the last year I have begun to look again into a career in the Army. I had a lovely chat with my recruiting CSgt during my initial talk this year, I wonder if he perceived that I was dead-set on solider entry but, saying that, we didn't talk at all about officer entry.

I think, after doing some research on the new media that the Army has put out since I last looked into the career, there is much more information regarding role specifics in the Corps so I will abide by your advice and research officer entry again.

Many thanks for your replies!

 

LE commissioning is being cut back. This year there is a 1 in 4 chance of getting selected in the Royal Engineers. Bear in mind that to commission back into the RE as an LE officer you have to first get to WO1. With your qualifications I would definately recommend going straight in as an officer.