Hi fellow forum users,
I’m not currently in the army though have begun communicating with a recruiter about activity duty enlistment.
As I have a bachelor’s degree, enlisting under the army’s officer candidate program is seemingly the most attractive option to me. Though because I have a documented arrest for family violence/assault (occurring between my older brother and myself in 2011) my recruiter is telling me that my eligibility for OCS is automatically disqualified. That I must enlist outside of the officer training program and reapply in 2 years for a waiver in the event that I still wish to be admitted to officer candidate school. She has further communicated to me that waivers only apply to current soldiers wishing to transition into OCS under similar circumstances, and that because I am not currently a member of the military I can’t be offered the same amenity.
In my particular case, my official plea before the court in 2011 was “not guilty” and the case was thereafter dismissed by the sitting judge. I received no punishment in any form, other than the recurring embarrassment of having to explain why I have a record of arrest.
This doesn’t quite make sense to me as everything I’ve read online indicates that only pending charges/convictions of guilt should affect eligibility for enrollment. By the recruiter’s logic, even if I was innocent and deemed so by the court, the fact that I was even brought before the court is grounds for disqualification. Could anyone shed some light on this? I’d very much appreciate any information! Thank you so much!
I’m not currently in the army though have begun communicating with a recruiter about activity duty enlistment.
As I have a bachelor’s degree, enlisting under the army’s officer candidate program is seemingly the most attractive option to me. Though because I have a documented arrest for family violence/assault (occurring between my older brother and myself in 2011) my recruiter is telling me that my eligibility for OCS is automatically disqualified. That I must enlist outside of the officer training program and reapply in 2 years for a waiver in the event that I still wish to be admitted to officer candidate school. She has further communicated to me that waivers only apply to current soldiers wishing to transition into OCS under similar circumstances, and that because I am not currently a member of the military I can’t be offered the same amenity.
In my particular case, my official plea before the court in 2011 was “not guilty” and the case was thereafter dismissed by the sitting judge. I received no punishment in any form, other than the recurring embarrassment of having to explain why I have a record of arrest.
This doesn’t quite make sense to me as everything I’ve read online indicates that only pending charges/convictions of guilt should affect eligibility for enrollment. By the recruiter’s logic, even if I was innocent and deemed so by the court, the fact that I was even brought before the court is grounds for disqualification. Could anyone shed some light on this? I’d very much appreciate any information! Thank you so much!
