mtbthis

Getting ready to head off to school, I have heard ROTC is a great way to pay for school. And I know that you commit 5-8 years after school to whatever branch. Thats about it. I am not opposed to joining ROTC, I guess I just don't know what it's all about. If anyone could help me out, or point me in the right direction.
I guess I would rather hear an honest opinion than a more biased opinion from a recruiter...
Thanks

rickair7777

You attend college like anyone else for the most part. You typically have one military class in your schedule, and a few non-academic activities to participate in. I think you might wear a uniform one day a week?

You spend a month or two doing a variety of training during the summer, some of which can be a lot of fun.

If you are not a scholarship student, you may be offered a commission upon graduation if they need extra bodies and you did well enough.

If you are on scholarship, you will have committed service after graduation. You can get a 4 year scholarship prior to college, but if you don't have one you can just show up and participate in ROTC and they will likely give you a scholarship for the last 2-3 years of school if you do well (in ROTC and academics). This allows you to try them out and vice versa.

The commitment varies depending on service branch and what specialty you end up doing once commissioned. Not sure if the shorter scholarships have a shorter commitment?

webecheck

its not necessarily a nerd haven like jrotc was in highschool and it's a great way to pay for college. i doubt anybody looks back and regrets making the rotc decision. i did it and it was worth it, my only regret was that i didnt find out about it sooner so the AF could pay for all 4 years. some bs to put up with, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

to sum it up, i intend to recommend it to my children when they are old enough.

Clue32

Like you I didn't understand what ROTC was about back when I was heading off to college. I figured if I was going to be an officer I wanted to be a "real" officer, so I tried the service academy route (only one school, only one congressman... now I know that was too limiting).

Back on track. ROTC will make you a "real" officer just like any of the academies. I'm fairly certain that there are more ROTC and prior enlisted OCS officers than West Pointers, if not it's a fairly even split. I've see great officers, average officers, and terrible officers from each commissioning source; none is better, just different.

I'll speak from the Army side, small details have probably changed over the years as I graduated in 2001.

Commitment is 8 Years. This is for every service, officer or enlisted. In the Army only 4 years has to be on active duty, the last four can be on active or inactive reserves. If you want to go aviaiton, then you have a 6 year commitment effective the day you finish your initial flight training (comes out to be about 7 years total active, training plus the 6).

I recommend applying before you go to school and not after you get there (4 years tuition plus books and room and board vs. 2 or 3 years tuition and books only). On scholarship you also get a monthly stipend, yours to spend on food, beer, or girls. I didn't have room and board and only a 3 year scholarship (showed up without one) and had to get a part time job while I was in school to cover food, rent, fun, gas, and the girl.

As a freshman and sophmore you will have one hour of military class per week and a 90 minute leadership lab once a week. You will also go to the field once or twice a semseter over the weekend where you will do land navigation, basic rifle marksmanship, obstacle courses, and learn small unit tactics. Your third and fourth year you will have three hours of class a week. Your third year you will also be evaluated on leadership and prepared for a summer time exercise where you will be evaluated on your leadership potential. Senior year is where you are really put in charge of the cadets, conduct the training, and develop the juniors.

Your future job will be based upon the armys needs, your preferences, your GPA, your summer camp score, and your on campus military performance.

If you show up without a scholarship, go to the orientation briefings during your "welcome to college" week before college really begins, talk to the instructors, decide which service you'd be most interested in, and sign up for the freshman course. If you want a scholarship then make yourself competitive. Get a good GPA, show initiative and interest, and volunteer. I volunteered to help out on one of the Junior only training exercises as the opposing force (enemy soldier). I also joined the colorguard squad and presented the flag during soccer, voleyball, and basketball games; participated in a couple of parades, and presented the flag during the national anthems during Daytona Speed week.

Best of luck with your decision. I'd be happy to talk about the Army if you are interested. Do your research, and it never hurts to apply. If you apply, apply to all services ROTC programs. Better to have choices than a "small envelope" waiting for you in the mailbox.

1Seat 1Engine

Last time I checked the system, they will commit you to a career slot no later than 2 years prior to graduation. Even if you're not a "scholarship student" they will start paying you some money once you're paired to a career slot.

They may actually have 1 year pipelines for limited career fields. They have in the past but this is historically rare.

Anything longer than 2 years prior to graduation will involve an actual scholarship.

Not sure what the commitment after graduation is any more but I know that it depends on your career field. You'll know before you sign on the dotted line.

If you take money from them, you're typically committed to some time in the military unless something extraordinary happens and they don't need you or you do something to become non-qualified.

It's a great way to get in the military. I don't know if I'd recommend it for aviation any more but that's primarily because the active duty can't figure out what an aviation career actually is right now.

rickair7777

Good point. The academies are actually rather small, annapolis and west point probably only account for about 10% of the new officers which enter the army and navy each year. Back in my grandfather's time, you had to be an academy grad to get anywhere in the military, but that is no longer the case. he higher ranks tend to have more academy grads but that probably has to do more with desire than anything else. The ROTC scholarship vs. academy decision really hinges on your personal preference. Do apply to more than one branch, like he said. I was always a navy wannabe, but I did army ROTC for a year before I got what I wanted from the navy.



True, this applies to anyone who joins the military period. But when we talk about commitment, we usually refer to the active duty commitment, which can be anywhere from 2-8 years depending on what you do. If you leave active duty prior to 8 years, you go into the inactive reserve, with little risk of ever being called up unless you have some really special skill (ie SEAL, Doctor)

KC10 FATboy

mtbthis:

Don't take this as anything I say personal or directed towards you as I say this to anyone who comes to this forum questioning a possible military career.

Please don't think about joining the military if you aren't truly looking to serve your country in the military. I know it sounds corny, but trust me when I say this, if you don't truly aspirations in serviving our country in possibly horrendous and terrible conditions, not to mention giving your life, then please reconsider. We need leaders in our military, and that is what ROTC delivers. If you aren't the type who wants to lead or to serve the country (even during sticky situations like an unpopular war -- we currently are in two right now), please don't join. However, if you are wanting to join the military, ROTC is an excellent way to get started.

Essentially, as others have said, you are a college student but one day a week you wear a uniform (even to your college classes) and you attend a military class and then a leadership laboratory (marching, physical training, exercise scenarios ... etc.). In the end, you will graduate college and entire service as an officer in the military.

The biggest question is, what do you want to do in the military? I assume since you are in this forum that you want to be a pilot. If this is the case, your commitment will be 8 years AFTER intial pilot training. So you can expect to serve up to 10 years before you can be released from your commitment -- something to think about. Then there is another big question, which service? UAVs are becoming a big player now, so actually becoming a pilot is getting harder. Regardless, the USAF has the most fixed wing positions. Second is the USN. Third, USMC. And last but not least, USA. DON'T forget about the Coast Guard. They have fix wing as well.

If your goal is not to be a pilot, I encourage you to look at the other profressions; medicine, law, computers, engineering. Being a doctor in the military is a very sweet deal and they are short of bodie ... especially the army.

Anyhow, there are some pitfalls you should be aware of about ROTC. Your performance in ROTC and college DIRECTLY determines how you are racked and stacked and what career you will have in the military. So you always need to do your very best and never give up. That way, you will get your first choice when you get to select what careers you want. Another pitfall, any type of law enforcement or drug problems will pretty much end your career before it starts. Don't even think about it.

Lastly, go to a college near you and ask the ROTC students themselves about the current situation in ROTC. They can tell you much more accurate and timely information. All you would need to do is call the ROTC office and ask to speak to a ROTC recruiter and explain to them you would like to speak to some students ... they will not have a problem with this. You can go there and meet one on one and see what it is to be in ROTC.

Good luck!!

rickair7777

This segues back into the academy vs. ROTC discussion. I forgot to mention the one significant advantage of the naval and air force academies...they seem to have a MUCH higher availability of pilot slots than ROTC. I have seen USNA classes where all you needed to get a flight slot was 20/20 vision and to be in the top 90% of the class. In ROTC it is rather more competitive.

I think the USAF is similar.

webecheck

fyi, the usaf upt commitment is 10 years. realistically, plan on 12 yrs of service before punching if you so desire. at that point, why bother...so plan on 20.

AZFlyer

I envy you, mtbthis. I really wish I had known about ROTC when I was your age. Too late for me, but you sound like you're in a great position right now for a lot of great things.