Well looks like your following the same route I am. It's a blast being an older NCM starting out, things are so much easier for us (as long as your fit).
I went with NCM first to get a proper feel for "being in the troops" and to have a little fun for a while with the younger generation ;D Besides, I'm a personal believer in the Robert A. Heinlein model of Officers should have to go through as an NCM first (ala Starship Troopers, the book NOT the movie). I think that an Officer should know at least the basic skills of the troops that he/she leads (also has the added benefit in my trade of getting one's driver qualification on the G-Wagon
. Not applicable to all trades but certainly seems appropriate for the Combat Arms. Who knows, I may even stay NCM as my unit has a great bunch of Junior and Senior NCO's. Time will tell.
The weekend BMQ makes it much easier on guys like us (married, kids, full time management jobs) but unfortunately that is about where it ends. There was a weekend SQ back in 2006/2007 but I'm not sure if they still carry it on (and it all depends on where you live). I did the summer SQ, took an entire month off from work and it was well worth it. Really gives you a better appreciation of what your getting into. This prepares the Wife for the later longer courses... ;D Just be prepared to spend a summer with ~18-20 year olds... the Wife will think she married a new man once you get back!
Your trade course is at least an entire month in the summer, so be prepared for a leave of absence or at least using all your vacation (and yes the Wife will love you for it...). Unless by some miracle your trade has a weekend or unit run course. I had to wait an extra year to take my trade course due to the wonders of army course loading and scheduling.
Plan now for the Officer route however, it's known as CFR - Commission From The Ranks. Assuming the unit wants you to be an Officer, the will likely have a talk at some time with you (no idea if you can express interest, I assume so). The courses for Officer are MUCH longer. You won't need BOTP1 since you will have already done BMQ as a NCM. BOTP2 is only one week and your next course CAP (think Officer SQ) is around 11 weeks. Your trade course (DP1) can vary but mine would be 10 weeks or so (ouch).
CAP you can do in mods (think phases), breaking up the course into 2 week increments. However I understand most units don't look kindly upon someone who takes 5 or more years just to complete CAP by doing a mod a year... I gather doing it in mods is a real pain/strain as well. If you stay NCM long enough to get your Master Cpl, then you can skip CAP (PLQ = CAP) if you go Officer afterwards. Unfortunately at present, NCM SQ counts for nothing against CAP, hopefully that might change someday but for now, you have to do it all over again (though the course is leadership orientated and you don't get to play with the C6 again). Again not such a bad thing since it will get you into the proper "groove".
My trade's Officer DP1 course is not available in mods, so you have to take the entire 10 weeks off in the summer. No idea on your trade but I suspect it will be similar, another comms fellow can update you on this.
By the way, another fun part of the Officer CAP/DP1 courses is that they are Reg force courses, so things should be much more switched on and demanding.
In terms of years of service, I have seen examples in the PRes (Primary Reserve) of Privates being CFR'd but most appear to be Corporals or higher. Reg force seems to be a little more strict (after reading all the CFAO's etc) and requires more time in.
There is a chart online showing the course equivalencies but the only ones that matter for us "newbies" is BMQ=BOTP1, BMQ/SQ=BOTP1&2 but you still have to take the one week BOTP2 so I have no idea why they show this on the chart... and of course PLQ=CAP (PLQ is Primary Leadership Qualification, this is the course you require for Master Corporal rank). This information is in regards to the PRes, since we (or at least our area does) run mixed BMQ's with Officer Cadet's and NCM's). I expect the Reg Force will be different and for the life of me I can't find that chart at the moment...
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So as you can see, even as an NCM you better get acquainted with your companies Leave of Absence policies and start training up a subordinate in your department that can cover for you when your gone for an extended period in the coming years (budget time for at least a month straight each year to be safe).
Even better, try to hire some Reservists so you can cover for each other and build your companies tolerance for it. I just recently took over another department with a PRes MCpl from another Regiment. You can imagine the fun being his boss with me still a Private... he's likely going to itch for an Exercise where our units are together just to have a little "fun" with me... :
Cheers and good luck!
By the way, fill out some of your profile so people know what part of the country your in etc. Makes it much easier to "stay in our lanes".
