Prerequisites to apply for MOS 51C:

(a) For (Active Component) SGT(P) through SFC with less than 10 years of Active Federal Service in any Career Management Field at the time of submission for reclassification. This is waiverable up to 13 years time in service.

Available at: http://asc.army.mil/career/pro...s/nco/nco_prereq.cfm

As far as a civilian job, there is a huge amount of 1102 (GS series) contracting jobs available. You will however be required to have a Bachelor's degree with at least 24 hours in a business related field.

Depending on what agency you work for will impact on how much you interact with Soldiers.

Please think about this before you do it. If you enjoy being a leader this is not for you. I will grant that it is good for some, but those NCO's that love to train and lead Soldiers should back away from this. Only look at this if you are looking strictly at your civilian life after the Army.

That seems a bit harsh. Granted, yes you will not have day to day contact with typical Soldiers as in a line unit, but I'd be hard pressed to find a job where you can impact a greater number of Soldiers and improve their quality of life, living conditions, and work environment.

You may not train Soldiers in the traditional sense of CTT or SMCT tasks, but you will be responsible for training Soldiers in other tasks to ensure fiscal responsibility.

But you are right, that this job is not for everyone, which I have tried to convey over the past few months.

It may be harsh, but it is true. You can't count out that there will be little to no interaction wth Soldiers and some of us actually work for civilians instead of Army personnel. There is almost NO mentoring. Just about everyone I meet only talks about their civilian life after the Army.