United States Navy Reserve

Naval Officer entry and service[edit]

The vast majority of commissioned officers in the Navy Reserve, both SELRES and TAR, are initially trained in and accessed from the Regular Navy following four to over ten years of active duty service. Commissioning sources for these officers are the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Naval ROTC (NROTC), Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS), or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Prior to its disestablishment, many of the Navy Reserve's Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, Air Intelligence Officers, and Aircraft Maintenance Duty Officers were also commissioned via Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS), to include its Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC) and Naval Aviation Candidate (NAVCAD) sub-programs. A small cohort previously commissioned via officer accession programs of another U.S. military service will also occasionally enter the Navy Reserve via interservice transfer.


Those officers who are Unrestricted Line (URL) officers will have typically attained a warfare qualification as a Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, Surface Warfare Officer, Submarine Warfare Officer, Special Warfare (i.e., Sea, Air Land (SEAL)) Officer, or Special Operations (EOD Diver) through the same training and qualification process as their active duty counterparts. Most Restricted Line and Staff Corps officers exiting the Regular Navy for the Navy Reserve will have also completed training on active duty associated with their respective designators and specialties.


Another commissioned officer program unique to the Navy Reserve is the Direct Commissioned Officer (DCO) program. DCO is typically limited to Restricted Line specialties such as Intelligence, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering Duty, or Public Affairs, or in Staff Corps roles as Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Medical Service Corps, Nurse Corps, Supply Corps, Civil Engineering Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, or Chaplain Corps. These officers will typically have either (a) prior active duty enlisted service, (b) non-prior active duty enlisted service as a direct entry into the Reserve, or (c) no prior active military service. However, their educational (undergraduate and often postgraduate/terminal degree) and professional credentials will offset their either limited, or lack of, prior military service. These officers, in an already-commissioned status, will attend a 5-week Officer Development School on active duty orders at the Navy's OCS campus at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. In very rare instances, these officers, mostly from the Engineering Duty and Aeronautical Engineering Duty designators, may apply for orders to extended active duty and be permitted to apply for flight training to become Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers, or to apply for training to become Surface Warfare Officers or Submarine Warfare Officers, and integrate into the Regular Navy.