Fill out your profile and post a brief introduction about yourself. Feel free to tell the community some interesting things about yourself. The point of the introduction is to help others gauge your information needs and guide you to the right resources.
This site supports the Officer Candidate (or Training) School for this branch of military service albeit unofficially. We do discuss other commissioning sources, but our focus is Active Duty OCS. We welcome posting about a wide variety of military subjects, including military history. Posting about other subjects such as current events is acceptable. Nonetheless, stay close to the main focus of this site – earning a commission through AD OCS. We have messenger lists and a chat room available for users to have casual conversations.
The community is a very diverse group. We have recruiters, active duty OCS Alumni, veterans, Non-Commissioned Officers, military family members, and others. Additionally, we do not have a ranking system based on participation- but we do allow for members to be verified and be titled appropriately so that other members can tap into the vast resources and knowledge base available here. No question is a stupid question, so please tap into these community resources for advice. If you believe you should have a different title under your username, contact a member of the staff.
The dress code is informal, and so is the conversation. Remember what you are here for and who spends time here helping you achieve your goals. Do not get offended if someone corrects misinformation that you have absorbed. If you receive a curt response, consider the source and be thankful your mistakes are made here – where the consequences are relatively painless and very short lived. Many community members come here to give advice, guide you through the application process, and give you a glimpse into the world of an Army Officer from their own experiences. They do so using candor, but without being offensive or belittling.
We do give special “ranks” to members of our community. Site staff members are clearly denoted. Officers are designated by their verified rank in service. In addition we have the ranks of: Career Mentor, NCO, Soldier, Officer Candidate, Veteran, Recruiter, Family, and Army Retention NCO. The default is ArmyOCS.com Member. If you warrant a special rank, please notify one of the site staff.
Your posts should always be thoughtful, respectful, and in good form. Get in the habit of proper grammar and correct spelling. It will serve you well in life.
Lurking (i.e. reading posts, but not posting) is permitted, but highly discouraged. This is your forum and it thrives because our user community is active.
Read through the forum to see if your question has already been answered. The best way to check if a topic already exists is to use the search feature located at the top of the main message forum page. It will help you find subjects by keyword. It is always judicious to join an ongoing conversation than to start a new thread with the same or similar topic.
When you start a new message thread, the subject line should be meaningful – “Question About Letters of Recommendation” instead of “Hey! Question!”
Start message threads in the most logical sub-topic area. The site staff will move your message thread if they think it belongs in a better place.
What is thread hijacking? Thread hijacking is when you post a message completely, utterly unrelated to the subject at hand and subsequently derail conversation. It’s funny for about 5 seconds, is highly disrespectful and takes away from the professionalism of the site. We have forums for social banter and fun, including a chat room and messenger lists. Please refrain from cluttering informational posts with mindless drivel.