May not be the right place for the question. But I graduated last August and didn't do the Corps, which is my biggest regret to date. I applied for a 2nd degree and plan on coming back next year, but first I'm joining the Army Reserves and hoping to do the SMP program. Anyone know the shortest amount of time I can do the SMP before being able to commission as an officer?

G.W_Busch said:

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May not be the right place for the question. But I graduated last August and didn't do the Corps, which is my biggest regret to date. I applied for a 2nd degree and plan on coming back next year, but first I'm joining the Army Reserves and hoping to do the SMP program. Anyone know the shortest amount of time I can do the SMP before being able to commission as an officer?

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Simple. Just go to OCS... Why go back just to say "I did it", suck it up go to OCS. Uncle Sam doesn't care where you went to school or what degree you have.

I agree OCS is probably the best option. Doing SMP really means doing Basic Training and then ROTC, which will take about 3 years, 2.5 if you can really get it scheduled perfectly. If you are interested in going active duty I don't think SMP will do much for you. SMP experiences are really mixed, if you end up getting attached to a crappy reserve unit that doesn't do much it's a bad experience. If you are attached to a high speed reserve unit they may be so busy they don't have time to mentor an SMP cadet and just make you another Joe which really defeats the purpose.

If you think you are going to go Guard or Reserve then maybe SMP would be a good choice if only to give you an impression of what the reserve component is like. Still it's going to take you a lot longer to do SMP/ROTC than it will to do OCS.

My A&M gpa wasn't the best, so OCS would be a reach, plus I really just want to do the Corps. I know it's dumb, but that's the reason I went to A&M, and I screwed myself over by not doing it.

G.W_Busch said:

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May not be the right place for the question. But I graduated last August and didn't do the Corps, which is my biggest regret to date. I applied for a 2nd degree and plan on coming back next year, but first I'm joining the Army Reserves and hoping to do the SMP program. Anyone know the shortest amount of time I can do the SMP before being able to commission as an officer?

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Being SMP has no real bearing on your commissioning timeline per se, except that graduating basic training provides you "credit" for the first two years of ROTC.

You are too late to get to Basic Training this summer -- those slots are often filled by December/January. So it would likely take you 3 years from today going that route.

As an alternative, you might be able to attend ROTC Basic Camp this summer - it is probably too late at this point, but not necessarily so. If there are open slots, it might be possible -- but you need to call the ROTC detachment ASAP: 979-845-2814.

In theory, if you can get to ROTC basic Camp this summer, this would give you credit for the first two years, and you could start ROTC in the fall as a MSIII, taking MilSci 321 in the Fall, and 322 in the Spring. Depending on how quickly you progress, you could either go to Advance Camp Summer 2020, or wait until Summer of 2021after your MSIV year. This is usually preferable unless you are a "natural" at land navigation, tactics, and marksmanship.

What the Corps will do with you is a different question, best addressed to COL (R) Sam Hawes.