# Military:  Direct Appointment to Officer

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 8, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978 "2002-08-08T16:14:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![stankow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@stankow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stankow)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978/21 "2002-08-12T00:01:45Z")

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> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by Monty \*  
> **Sorry, stan; temporary promotions are done. Maybe the active Army doesn’t use the term, but the commissioning and promotion laws are the same, AFAIK.**

In what way are temporary promotions still done? I think we might be talking about different things here. If you’re talking about frocking, that’s not the old-style temporary promotion, where you’d get the pay and benefits, as well as the UCMJ authority, of the temporary grade.

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**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978/22 "2002-08-12T00:18:46Z")

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> [@](#):
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> _Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \*  
> \*\* So, how would I go about (without becoming one of the aforementioned three occupations) being assured of entering the military as an officer? Would a graduate degree do the trick? Licking the general’s boots?_\*

A college degree, screening, and successful completion of Officer Candidate School would do it. OCS has various courses. **stankow** ’s part about going to Basic Training first is not needed for the Marines.

From [http://www.marineofficer.com/eligibility/elig\_index.html](http://www.marineofficer.com/eligibility/elig_index.html)

> [@](#):
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> If you are a citizen of the United States, and have a bachelor’s degree, or are in the process of getting your bachelor’s degree, you may be eligible for a Marine Corps officer’s program. To find out which path to an officer’s commission is best for you, register today to access additional information on-line, or contact the Officer Selection Officer (OSO) nearest you.

If you already have a degree, as **Zev** does, the Officers Candidate Course is a 10 week course in Quantico, VA you can drop out of if you do not like, and if you complete it, you are given the CHOICE to accept a commission as a Second Lieutenant, USMC. Or you can walk away.

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**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978/23 "2002-08-12T03:56:24Z")

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Is the old Marine PLC program still in existence? I didn’t see it on **UncleBill’s** link, but I could have just missed it.

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**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-direct-appointment-to-officer/122978/24 "2002-08-12T12:22:13Z")

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Click the FAQ, and it is listed. I don’t kinow if they still do PLC Junior and PLC Senior classes (split OCS over two summers, 6 weeks each) AND the PLC Combined (10 weeks, one summer), but the program exists.

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