Civil Engineer Corps Officer, Designator 5100
The basic requirements for the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) Direct Commissioning Program for active duty in the Staff Corps and appointment as an Ensign, Civil Engineer Corps, United States Navy, designator 5100.
Those selected will attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) located in Newport, Rhode Island.
Commissioning Requirements for the Civil Engineer Corps
Open to both men and women. Applicant must be a citizen of the United States. Applicants must be at least 19 years old and be of such age that they will not have passed their 36th birthday on their commissioning date. This may be waived up to their 54th birthday at time of commissioning. Applicants with prior service who possess particularly exceptional qualifications and documented sustained superior performance in an expeditionary force unit do not require a waiver provided they can be commissioned prior to their 42nd birthday.
Source of Applicants
Civilian men and women.
Former United States Naval Academy midshipmen and former ROTC members of either the scholarship or college programs who have received pay entitlements, subsistence allowance, tuition or fees under the provisions of those programs are eligible but may not be placed on active duty until graduation from college.
Enlisted personnel of the Navy and the Naval Reserve (active or inactive) who have earned the appropriate degree(s).
Enlisted personnel of other branches of the armed services (active or inactive) with a conditional release from their respective service who have earned the appropriate degree(s).
Note: A conditional release is required for Army and Air Force ROTC members who are under contract. Conditional releases are not required for ROTC members not under contract, nor members of the Marine Platoon Leaders Class.
Enlisted personnel (active or reserve) wishing to complete their degree under the Collegiate Program must no longer be serving on active or reserve duty, or must possess an approved conditional release, and must already be enrolled in an acceptable degree program.
Education
Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR): All applicants must take the OAR examination. Applicants must attain a score of 45 or greater. This requirement may be waived down to 40.
Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). Collegiate program candidates must achieve at least a 35QT on the ASVAB. The results of the ASVAB shall be included in the candidate's professional recommendation package.
Applicants fall within one of two broad categories - Direct Accession or Collegiate, sub-divided dependent on degree and time until graduation.
- Graduate -- Direct Accession
- For Engineering, be in pursuit of an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology -- Engineering Accreditation Commission (ABET-EAC) accredited bachelor's or master's degree.
- For Architecture, have earned a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) accredited bachelor's or master's degree.
- Collegiate -- Bachelor's Program
- For Engineering, be in pursuit of an ABET-EAC accredited bachelor's degree.
- For Architecture, be in pursuit NAAB accredited professional degree of architecture. Degree can be either a Bachelor of Architecture or Master of Architecture degree. Bachelor of Science of Architecture degrees are not eligible.
- Collegiate -- Master's Program
- For Engineering, be in pursuit of an ABET-EAC accredited master's degree.
- For Architecture, be in pursuit of a NAAB accredited masters of architecture degree.
Acceptable degrees are a Bachelor's or Master's in an engineering program accredited by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology -- Engineering Accreditation Commission (ABET-EAC), or an architecture program accredited by National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
Any non-ABET EAC Engineering degree will not be considered unless the individual meets one of the following criteria:
- Already professionally registered as a state-licensed Engineer-in-Training;
- Already licensed as a Professional Engineer
Any non-NAAB accredited degree in Architecture will not be considered unless the individual meets one of the following criteria:
- Already a state licensed Architect;
- Pursuing a follow-on Master's degree in an NAAB accredited program
All applicants must have a minimum cumulative 2.7 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).
Collegiate officer candidates will have their academic transcripts reviewed twice per year and upon recommendation from the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) Officer Community Manager (OCM), may be removed from the program and separated from the Navy by Commander, Naval Recruiting Command (CNRC) if they fail to maintain a cumulative 2.7 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) or receive less than a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale in any STEM course.
Collegiate officer candidates must remain enrolled as full-time students (including summer session as required to complete degree required courses) and will not be permitted to increase their projected time in college, cease attending classes, change majors, enter an exchange program, or transfer schools without specific permission of Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) and the CEC OCM. Failure to obtain permission may result in disenrollment.
Applicants not selected at the current selection board may not reapply to the selection board immediately following their non-selection unless significant changes are made to improve their competitiveness.
Physical Examination
Applicants must be physically qualified in accordance with the physical standards established by the Manual of the Medical Department, Chapter 15. Candidates must meet the physical fitness weight or body fat standards at the time of application and at time of commissioning.
Separated prior-service and non-prior service applicants will normally complete their physical at the local Military Entrance Processing Station.
Technical Interview
Candidates must have a favorable interview with a Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) accessions officer or another senior CEC officer as determined by the CEC Officer Community Manager.
Candidates shall provide a minimum of one letter of reference. Candidates are strongly encouraged to provide at least three but no more than five letters of reference in their application.
Waivers
In cases where the applicant does not meet all of the qualifications, but otherwise has an exceptional record or proven skill-set required by the Navy, a waiver may be authorized in limited numbers.
Indoctrination and Training
Indoctrination begins with thirteen weeks at Officer Candidate School, Pensacola, Florida followed then by 12 weeks at Civil Engineer Corps Basic Course at CECOS, Port Hueneme, California.
Enlistment
Direct Accessions: Must ship to Officer Candidate School with 12 months of selection -- determined by OCS schedule. While at OCS, the Officer Candidate will be enlisted as an E-5. Enlisted members that are in paygrades E-4 or below are designated officer candidates and advanced to paygrade E-5 upon reporting to OCS. Enlisted members in paygrade E-5 and above are designated officer candidates in their present paygrade.
Collegiates: Placed into an active duty status as an Officer candidate, OCSN (E-3) and ordered to the Navy Recruiting District nearest their college and/or location for administrative purposes while they complete college and await OCS. Upon graduation, Collegiates will be meritoriously advanced to E-5.
Any collegiate officer candidate, upon referring a lead that results in an accession to any similar Navy Collegiate Officer Program, will be advanced one paygrade (i.e., E-3 to E-4) to a maximum paygrade of E-5, as well as be entitled to advance one paygrade, up to a maximum paygrade of E-5, for each year they are in the program.
Active Duty Obligation
All officers incur an 8 year service obligation (Title 10 U.S.C., Section 651), which may be served as a combination of active and reserve service. Officers shall serve at least 4 years on active duty from date of commission. The balance of service, sufficient to complete 8 years of total obligated service, may be served in a ready reserve status.
Collegiate officer candidates who disenroll from the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) Collegiate Program, or fail to complete all program requirements, or no longer remain eligible for a commission as a Naval Officer (due to academic performance, professional behavior, character, or physical qualification reasons) will be removed from the program and separated from the Navy.
Officer Training Command shall request a CEC Officer Community Manager recommendation for collegiate candidates enlisted for more than 1 year that fail to complete OCS for reasons other than unforeseeable hardship or failure to meet medical standards. The options available include, but are not limited to, two years of active service in the enlisted force to an outright discharge. See your recruiter or career counselor for complete details.
Pay and Allowances
Candidates selected, enlisted, and placed in an active duty status under this program authorization are entitled to full pay and allowances (with the exception of a clothing maintenance allowance) upon being placed in an active duty status.
Commissioned active duty Navy Civil Engineer Corps officers are paid allowances (BAH, BAS, etc. if eligible) and officer military basic pay based on years of service and paygrade.
