The Army of the Unites States enlists officers in aviation, artillery, signals, intelligence, civil engineering, special operations and infantry among other branches. Both men and women are recruited as officers under four major commissioning schemes.Unites States Military Academy, ROTC, Officer Candidate School and Direct Commissioning are the four methods employed. To become a commissioned officer in the Army you can begin by joining Reserve Officer Training Corps or ROTC while in college. This gives a great insight in the functioning of Army. Joining ROTC will also help acquire scholarships for college. Candidates of ROTC are used as reserved forces in case of national emergencies. The ROTC candidates are commissioned as officers for three years and may take a permanent commissioning later on.

You can also take admittance in Officer Candidate School after completing your degree. You can get application forms from an Army recruiting office and apply. There is no mandatory subject requirement. You will have to clear a written exam comprising of grammar and math. On clearing the test you are made to undergo a medical examination for physical fitness.

The most difficult route to being an officer is to first get enlisted as a soldier. Once you are enlisted in the army you can join various short term courses designed to help you become an officer. These include the Green to Gold program. This is a full time course under which the soldiers remain in service before becoming officers. You need to have completed 90 semester hours of college to get the commissioning.

There are certain programs under which civilians from all branches of profession can get commissioned as officers in the Army. The training is different for each profession. Though courses in military history and Army leadership are common to all. Some of the branches that allow for civilian participation are the Judge Advocate general Corps and the Army Chaplain Corps to name a few.

For becoming an Army officer you should have the personal qualities like physical fitness, self-discipline, confidence, intelligence, willingness to help and the presence of mind to take quick decisions. An officer should be able to withstand the pressure and stress of working under extreme climatic, physical and political conditions. A candidate who wants to be a commissioned officer is made to undergo psychological tests. Based on the results, the candidate is judged on his various abilities.