Direct Commission Officers (DCOs)

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Military officers who serve on active duty or in the reserves in many cases receive their commission through a Direct Commission Officer (DCO) program.

1 Background
2 U.S. Navy Direct Commissioned Officers
3 U.S. Coast Guard Direct Commissioned Officers
4 External links

[edit] Background

Civilians who have special skills that are critical to sustaining military operations and supporting troops may receive what are called "direct commissions". These officers usually occupy leadership positions in the following areas: law, medicine, dentistry, nurse corps, intelligence, supply-logistics-transportation, engineering, public affairs, chaplain corps, oceanography, merchant marine affairs, and others.

The U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard have more extensive active and reserve component DCO programs than the other two U.S. armed services. The U.S. Marine Corps does not offer a DCO program. The Marines, however, do have a substantial population of Mustang Officers and Limited Duty Officers.

Depending on the specialization and duty-status of the officer, "DCOs" as they're called, will attend either Officer Indoctrination School (OIS) or Direct Commission Officer School (DCO School).

[edit] U.S. Navy Direct Commissioned Officers

The United States Navy has an extensive DCO program. It is important to distinguish between the Navy's active duty component staff corps school, called Officer Indoctrination School (OIS), and the Navy's reserve component Direct Commission Officer School (DCO School).

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) of 2005 decreed that reserve officer DCO School be re-located to Newport, RI from its current location at NAS Pensacola, FL as of January 2007. The U.S. Navy is consolidating many of its schools in one central location -- Newport, RI. The Navy is currently considering merging DCO School, Limited Duty Officer School, and Mustang University into one contiguous officer training program -- all located in Newport, RI. Active duty OIS is also located in Newport, RI.

The Naval Reserve Direct Commissioning Program allows university-educated professionals, between ages 19 to 35 (or older, in some cases), the opportunity to be appointed as an officer in the Naval Reserve. Most DCOs hold advanced degrees (MAs, MBAs, JDs, MDs and Ph.Ds.) and significant civilian work experience. The Direct Commissioning Program serves the expanded needs of the Navy in certain officer skill areas listed below:

Engineering Duty Officer
Cryptology Officer
Intelligence Officer
Information Professional (typically, personnel have Computer Science degrees and extensive industry experience)
Merchant Marine Officer
Public Affairs Officer
Oceanography Officer
Medical Programs (Medical, Dental, Nurse, and Medical Service Corps)
Supply Corps Officer (Transportation and Logistics)
Chaplain Corps Officer
Civil Engineer Corps

Some skill areas may not have openings each year. Each year, skill area recruiting quotas are promulgated for recruiters to fill. Upon completion of their training regimen, DCOs serve on nearly every type of ship in the fleet and at shore establishments around the globe. Navy DCOs are forward deployed and are currently serving on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are an integral part of the Navy's role in the War on Terror.

[edit] U.S. Coast Guard Direct Commissioned Officers

The United States Coast Guard uses the DCO program to bring specialized skills and backgrounds into the Coast Guard commissioned officer corps. The DCO course is conducted by the Officer Candidate School, located at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Depending on program and background, the course is three, four, or five weeks long. For the five-week program, the first week is an Indoctrination week.

There are seven Direct Commission Officer programs:

Some DCO programs may not have openings each year. While DCOs are expected to fill specific specialty areas, they are not specifically precluded from crossing into other operational or support billets in follow-on assignments.