Courtesy Photo | On May 21, 2016, Aron Ochsner of Wichita, Kansas, will graduate from the United States...... read more read more
On May 21, 2016, approximately 1,200 U.S. Military Academy cadets will toss their hats high into the air as graduates of the illustrious institution at West Point, New York, and commissioned as second lieutenants – future leaders in the U.S. Army.
Each graduating cadet arrived at West Point from a different background, but only one came from the Kansas National Guard.
An active participant in extracurricular activities in high school with a 3.2 GPA and ACT score of 28 would make for a competitive candidate for admission into West Point. Add the discipline, leadership and military experience gained from U.S. Army Basic and Advanced Individual Training and while on deployment, and Aron Ochsner was the ideal candidate.
Ochsner, of Wichita, Kansas, joined the Kansas National Guard to serve close to home and become a commissioned officer through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while attending college locally.
“My goal had always been to become an officer in the Army,” said Ochsner. “I chose to enlist in the Kansas Guard to stay in the state around friends and family while I worked on a degree and commission through the Simultaneous Membership Program at Kansas State University.”
When he raised his right hand and swore the oath of enlistment in February 2011, he hadn’t imagined joining the “Long Gray Line” as a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy a mere five years later, but he graduates this month as a second lieutenant with a Bachelor of Science in international affairs.
Ochsner credits his service as a Kansas Army National Guard Soldier for his admission into West Point and his success as a cadet while there.
“I don’t know if I would have gotten in (to the USMA) right after high school,” he said. “The first thing you do here is go through West Point’s version of basic training. Because I already had that foundation, it was easy for me to help other people out. It gave me a head start to help out and refine skills that I had already acquired as a Guard Soldier.”
He learned of the USMA’s Soldier Admission Program while deployed to the Horn of Africa in Djibouti as a field artillery automated tactical data system specialist with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery, Newton, Kansas. Ochsner had previously expressed his intention in becoming an officer to his leadership.
“I wasn’t shy about my goals after the deployment,” said Ochsner. “My chain of command came to me to inform me of the opportunity to attend West Point.”
Maj. Mike McCoy, former 1-161 FA deployment logistics officer, said that West Point encourages Army and reserve-component units to advise Soldiers of the Soldier Admission Program.
Per USMA.edu: “West Point believes Soldiers enhance the Corps of Cadets, and we value the life experiences you have earned as a Soldier. If you want to be an officer in the U.S. Army, West Point will give you an excellent education and the training you need to lead Soldiers as you continue to serve.”
“We did a database query on battalion Soldiers who were qualified,” said McCoy, himself a graduate of the USMA, Class of 1997. “They had to be 17-22 years of age with no dependents. Once we had that list, we sent that to the battery commanders to present the opportunity to those who qualified.
“We had a meeting one afternoon and about 15 Soldiers showed up. I told them what West Point was all about as far as the academics, the challenges and what kind of opportunities await a West Point graduate.”
Ochsner, previously unaware of the West Point’s Soldier Admission Program, decided to seize the opportunity and applied for acceptance.
“He took the ball and ran with it,” said McCoy. “After those initial two meetings, he did everything on his own. He’s a highly motivated young man and he went through the entire process on his own as far as gathering what he needed to apply, all while deployed.”
Applying for the USMA entails providing the same documentation that civilian higher education institutions require – including transcripts and test scores – with a major additional requirement: a congressional letter of nomination.
“A lot of the difficulty someone going directly from high school trying to get in is getting that congressional nomination,” said McCoy.
For prior service applicants from the Army Reserves, National Guard or active duty, that requirement is a bit different.
“One of the benefits that a Soldier has,” said Michael Bedryk, USMA National Guard Admissions liaison, “is that in addition to being eligible for a congressional nomination, like any other applicant, they also can be nominated by their command.”
For Ochsner, that endorsement came from Capt. Kyle Bell, former Battery C, 1-161 FA commander.
“He was already an outstanding candidate with a high ACT score and a strong desire to grow and learn,” said Bell. “He stood out as a junior enlisted member of the battery by quickly learning and assisting his noncommissioned officers to achieve organizational objectives. The process to get him into the USMA was easier, from a commander's perspective, than getting a Soldier into Officer Candidate School or ROTC.”
For most applicants however, gaining admission into West Point is anything but easy. Per the U.S. News and World Report, only 9.5 percent of applicants were accepted in 2014. According to Bedryk, of the approximate 1,200 cadets admitted every year, there are 85 slots reserved specifically for reserve-component prior service applicants, which includes the Army Reserves, National Guard and USMA Preparatory School cadets.
“We want Soldiers to apply,” said Bedryk. “We want them to have this information. If someone actually goes through the process – they can certainly be disqualified for a number of reasons including academics, medical, failing the fitness assessment, etc. – and they are qualified, they stand a really good shot at either a prep school offer or an offer to the academy.”
Ochsner received a direct admission offer and bypassed the one-year preparatory school required of less-qualified candidates. Bedryk said that the USMA has three major acceptance factors: academics, fitness and leadership potential, and a great measure of leadership potential can be gleaned by service as an enlisted servicemember. According to USMA.edu, Soldiers are automatically considered for admission to the USMA Preparatory School, for later consideration for admission to West Point.
“A Soldier has some things that a civilian applicant simply won’t have,” said Bedryk. “They might have awards like an Army Achievement Medal or Army Commendation Medal. They might have platoon or squad leader experience. Other things that stand out is whether they’re an honor graduate from Basic, AIT or leadership schools like Warrior Leader Course.”
Ochsner weighed the decision to attend the USMA until he was actually accepted.
“I wavered for a while,” he said, “even as I was going through the application process. After high school, my thought process at Basic and AIT was to get through it and go back home and start college and be there for four years and get my degree.
“The thought of coming back from deployment and leaving again for four years to some out-of-the-way area in New York was really tough. But talking to everyone in my chain of command, from my team leaders to squad leader, to Captain Bell and Major McCoy, about the opportunities I decided it would be worthwhile.”
USMA cadets go through the “47-Month Experience” which includes academic curriculum and military training. West Point is considered a liberal arts college and Ochsner said that the schooling is academic-focused, with military training mainly reserved for the summertime.
“The coursework during the academic year is very comparable to any public or private school,” he said. “Everything from chemistry to physics to calculus to English plus all your major classes. Here, there is a wider base in required general classes. You don’t get any of your major classes until your junior year.”
The USMA is ranked 22nd in national liberal arts colleges per the U.S. News and World Report and is a taxpayer-funded institution, so cadet tuition is $0. According to USMA.edu, first-year cadets earn $900 per month for personal expenses and cadet expenses including uniforms, books, a computer and activity fees. That amount increases with each year of tenure.
Graduates will commission into one of 16 Army branches and will earn a starting salary of approximately $44,000 per year as active-duty second lieutenants, with a requirement to serve a minimum of five years. Benefits include military health insurance.
For graduates, opportunities for career progression are immense. Ochsner received his branch assignment as a field artillery officer and will attend the U.S. Army Basic Officer Leader Course prior to going to his first duty station at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, Hawaii, home of the 25th Infantry Division.
Ochsner asserted that attending the USMA has changed his life.
“I’ve met some of the greatest people in my life here, friends for life,” he said. “I was able to go to Airborne school. I shadowed a platoon leader at the Joint Readiness Training Center. I’ve had so many unique opportunities here that I would not have had otherwise.”
Bell said that it isn’t just the Soldier who benefits from the USMA experience.
“I strongly believe that the Army National Guard should continue to make these long term investments in junior enlisted Soldiers,” said Bell. “Commanders at all levels should encourage opportunities like the one Aron was fortunate enough to pursue. He will either return to the Guard at some point in his career or continue an active-duty career with a full understanding and appreciation of the junior enlisted (Soldier’s) skills, attributes, professionalism and capabilities.”
“My time as an enlisted Soldier will and has proven invaluable in my development,” said Ochsner. “It helps give me insight into what a junior enlisted soldier expects or wants in a platoon leader and what attributes are undesirable in a platoon leader. It will help me stay grounded and humble as I will move forward in my career and will be a resource I can draw on time and time again.”
Ochsner said he encourages any Guard or Reserve Soldier who is considering the USMA to research it and make an informed decision on whether or not it’s for them. He said he sees a return to the National Guard as a possibility in his future.
“Returning to the Kansas Guard is something that I’ve always kept in the back of my mind,” he said. “If I want to leave active duty and get into something in the civilian world, I love the military culture and lifestyle, so the Guard is definitely something I would consider returning to in order to continue serving.”
| Date Taken: | 05.03.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2016 12:49 |
| Story ID: | 197160 |
| Location: | TOPEKA, KS, US |
| Hometown: | WICHITA, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,250 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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