.Recon Officer

Trooper99

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May 3, 2018
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What is the best option to be a Recon Officer? I know they only come from 0203's and 0302's. I feel 0203 will be the quickest, but at the same time I hear it is completely broken. New Lt's completing the pipeline are no even sent to an infantry Unit most of the time. Again, from what I hear. I would honestly like to be an 0302, but I don't know how long I have to wait to apply for BRC. I still feel 0302 is the best option. What do you guys think? I appreciate the response guys!
 
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0302 is your best bet. Some 0203s get lucky and get orders to a recon battalion out of ground intel officer course but some won’t even go to an infantry battalion. I work with several at my current command who ended up in artillery battalions (as the S2), a logistics battalion, or the Division G2.

Every 0302 will get a rifle platoon, which is a great foundation to build on for the rest of your career wherever you end up. You can request orders to a recon unit after that. It’s not hard to get a spot at BRC, but it’s a bit more difficult to graduate.
 
0302. I have several buddies whom I went to OCS/TBS/IOC with who went 0203 and are now S2As.

As a brand new 0302, I immediately fell in on a rifle platoon for 19 months before being moved up to Company XO. As a rifle platoon commander I got 2 workups, 1 deployment, and most importantly 3 different phenomenal 0369's to learn from.

Experiences vary, some 0302's went up to the S3 to wait for a platoon and yes 1 lucky 0203 got a sniper platoon for a short time. But keep this in mind, if there are 3 open platoons and 5 new 0302/0203 2ndLt's checking in, you can immediately take the 0203's off the list of who is getting one of those platoons.
 
Teufel and Boston_Grunt nailed it. You're not guaranteed a scout sniper plt coming out of intel school. Some of my buddies are S2 at random battalions are tasked with the occasional weather report and other briefs.

I only received 10 months as a Platoon Commander and went immediately to XO just because of the Lt 0302 flow. Did my first deployment as an XO. Length varies but my peer group was an interesting case.

Go 0302 and get your platoon. Learn everything you can to become a great leader and commander. Platoon time will be some of the most valuable and best times you'll probably have in your career that will definitely help whenever you decide to pursue 0307. Some 0203's I've heard get a shot at BRC earlier but it's not like the time as an 0302 is wasted. I personally would take the for sure valuable time then take my chances in the off chance for a quicker route to Recon. Either way, both good choices and you should just strive to be the best 0203/0302 you can be. Just sending my opinion on this one.
 
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