You have hit the wall in terms of automatic advancement. Your first promotion will be to sergeant (E-5) and will come only after you: 1 - Have 36 months of Active Army service (16 months if you are an exceptional soldier and are recommended for promotion by your CO.) AND 2 - Time in grade as a SPC for 8 months (4 months for exceptional soldiers). AND 3 - Must have gradated the Primary Leadership Development Course AND 4 - Have appeared before a promotion board to determine how many promotion points you have. AND 5 - Have enough promotion points to qualify when the Deparment of the Army releases the cutoff points for promotion in your MOS. You have a special problem. You're in the National Guard. The promotion system described above works freely in the Active side because you can be transferred to a new unit if you are promoted but too high in rank to fill any of the open slots in your unit. In the National Guard, the TOE is fixed; you can't move up unless there is a sergeant opening in your MOS in your unit. If you are in a MOS that is found in many units, like admin clerk or cook, you could transfer to the new unit to get promoted. If you are in a specialized MOS with no other unit in your area that has it, you will stay at SPC until a SGT in your MOS in your unit gets promoted or leaves the unit. It is not uncommon to find SGTs in the NG and the Reserves who retire as SGT due to this problem. What is your MOS going to be?

Be sure to read my last comment too. For a broader view let me tell you more about me, and why I thought I was taking the best action I have a B.A. in Psychology from a good accredited school, but my final GPA was a 2.2 I don't want go to grad school for psyc. (I don't have the GPA for that anyways) I've had problems getting a job due to the economy, so I turned to the military I thought that could I use the tuition assistance from the National Guard to go back to school, get a degree that I can use and actually apply myself to get a better GPA. What I am receiving from my contract $20,000 Bonus in my pocket $20,000 Student Loan repayment (I am over 20k in debt) $20,000 tuition assistance GI bill and the GI Kicker once I start classes. However the more I find out about the being officer the more I am considering becoming one, the idea of starting a secure career with longevity is alluring. Thanks for all the help

This is a reply to your last comment. The comment box does not have enough space for what I need to say. Repeat after me: "MY RECRUTER DOES NOT HAVE MY BEST INTERESTS AT HEART." ROTC is a commissioning program, just like OCS and West Point. If you went through ROTC, you would be an officer and not need OCS. The general requirements for OCS are: Age 18-41 US Citizen 60 college credits (to begin) Completed Basic Training Minimum test scores GT Score of 110 or greater Pass APFT Meet Height and Weight standards Pass medical exam Pass background check and obtain security clearance What state are you in? I think I can hook you up with the officer accessions office in your state. I hope you have not signed any contracts yet. You do not have to have been deployed or even been to AIT to buck for OCS in the NG. Most troops who go for OCS do so when the first enlist. They get OCS written into their contract because IF IT IS NOT IN THE CONTRACT, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!!!! Do NOT let a recruiter tell you "You can apply for that when you finish AIT." because he is lying. Getting into OCS as an enlisted man requires approval and recommendation from your chain of command. If you are in a MOS that is short handed or your CO thinks you are a needed body, they will probably find all kinds of reasons to deny your application.

Since you have already enlisted, it is important for you to let your commanding officer (after boot camp) know your ambitions. Tell him what your expectations are, and what the recruiter led you to believe. See if there is any chance that you will actually achieve your expectations. If not, make do with what you have, you're stuck now.