MAJOR Todd Baughman promotion ceremony
Horton Field House, February 2007.
After graduating from Illinois State, students who complete the Military Science program receive a commission as a Second Lieutenant. The student has the option of serving in the National Guard or Army Reserve as a part-time career, or on active duty in the Regular Army as a full-time profession. Lieutenants in the Army lead people, while also managing equipment, vehicle fleets, and financial resources. Immediately after graduating from college, new lieutenants are routinely put in charge of and lead groups of up to 30 people. Officer career specialties in the Army are as diverse as those found in the civilian sector.
See the Army Careers Action Videos for more information
Some of the 16 specialties students can request as an Army officer include the following:
Except for the health professions, an officer's specialty in the Army does not have to be related to his or her university academic degree. New lieutenants who go into the Regular Army serve on active duty for three or four years, and may then transfer into the reserves. Lieutenants commissioned in the National Guard or Army Reserve serve their entire tour in the Reserves.
Army career fields that require a graduate degree are not typically available to commissioned officers until after the sixth year of commissioned service. These include the following:
Officers accepted into these career fields attend leading universities and the Army often pays for these graduate programs.
One hundred percent of students who satisfactorily complete the Military Science program and commission into the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserves, or Illinois Army National Guard serve as Second Lieutenants within six months of graduation.
