Herman Said:

How difficult is it to join the Army's Officer Candidate School after college?

We Answered:

Army Officer Candidate School (OCS)
Army ROTC

Beverly Said:

Can someone compare & contrast Army Officer Candidate School & Army ROTC?

We Answered:

Nate couldn't be more inaccurate.

All of them - USMA, ROTC and OCS - same exact curriculum

ROTC and USMA - that curriculum is spread out over 4 years

OCS - it is compressed into 14 weeks

And ROTC makes up about 70% of Officers and OCS makes up less than 10%. Most OCS grads never make it above Major because of their prior service time.

After you are commissioned NO ONE cares where or how you went to school or got commissioned.

Todd Said:

Can I take OTC medication (Ibuprofen) to Officer Candidate School (Army) for a shoulder problem?

We Answered:

If you're talking about Fed OCS at Ft. Benning then Yes you can take ibuprofen but you're suppose to take it with food. Food isn't allowed in the barracks so you're going to have to take it with breakfast which is after pt which would be after the time that you're gonna want to have taken it, or you can just take it on an empty stomach which is what I did.
Army OCS is very strenuous but it's not really a lot of upper body as much as it is running. We usually ran at least 5 miles a day. On running days I'd say more like around 8 miles so it's not really upper body just mostly running. You'll do pull ups every single day so if your shoulder sucks you need to keep that in mind. If I was you I'd train for a marathon cause that's what it's gonna feel like you're running every single morning. Also, you need to make sure your shoulder is okay cause if not it's gonna suck if you recycle out. Plus they're getting strict on things. I heard that a friend of a friends fell out of a run and they kicked her out right then and there. So take these things into consideration, basically you should run, run and then run more.Then lastly is just make sure you don't have a shoulder problem and if you do, then take some huge ibuprofen pills.

Jerry Said:

Can I go to Officer Candidate School in the Army National Guard?

We Answered:

Yes, it should be no problem. And if they don't allow it for some reason, or some regulation says no, there's a waiver for everything in the national guard! good luck!