Ex-Enlisted going to ROTC this fall... Advice needed

Squirrelly

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In-service selected for ROTC scholarship, back to college this fall!

I suspect a prior enlisted cadet is much in the minority with all the other fresh out of high school cadets! Some say staying stealth about active duty is the way to go but it's bound to be found out. Will the upper class cadets harass more? Will the ROTC cadre expect more?

Any comments and suggestions for integrating and blending in to successfully complete the program without a lot of hassles would be greatly appreciated!
 
You will go in so far ahead of the pack when you come in. You should be able to use that to your advantage by becoming a leader within your squadron/flight immediately. We have a few prior enlisted in our det and they are the coolest and most chill guys ever.

Answer to your questions:

From what I have seen I would say yes on both counts. Freshman year should be a breeze for you with little to no pressure. Come your 200 year as long as you perform you will be fine. You have a chance to come in right away and get noticed. 1st impressions go a long way.

Congrats and best of luck! :thumb:
 
First, congratulations on your scholarship, is it a Green to Gold scholarship.

I wouldn't worry much at all.

I have a son that is a MS3, he was a straight from high school scholarship cadet. We talked about the different type of cadets in his batallion. He has at least 3 if not more cadets that came from enlisted, he told me that nobody really cared where anybody came from, they were all in the same boat now.

Remember ROTC is not like the service academy, at least at my son's school, you don't have the ditinct separation between the classes. As a freshman he had a few good friends that were MS4 seniors, there was never any harassing of the lower classes especially the prior enlisted some of which were older, some even married with 2 kids. He told me that everyone got along pretty good.

You will find that the cadre expects a lot out of everyone, so you shouldn't worry about that at all.

You will have a runnig start ahead of a lot of your MS1 class, you will already know military lingo, proper uniform, rank, and regulations which will help you in your beginning classes. During field training you will now be taught from an entirely different perspective then when you were enlisted.

My advice is to just be yourself, the other guys will want to ask you questions but for the most part won't really care that you were enlisted, you'll be one of them now. The only thing would be this, don't throw around your enlistment in a way that makes you seem superior, that would be the fastest way to alianate your classmates.

Remember too that there will be a lot of SMP Reserve cadets in your batallion as well so you won't be the only one.

Just go into it like your starting fresh, which you are, and you will be fine and have a great time as well. My son is having a blast, some of his best friends in ROTC are prior enlisted or SMP's.

Good luck, your starting a great adventure, have a great time.

And again, Congratulations.

PS Are you Army, Air Force, or Navy
 
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PS Are you Army, Air Force, or Navy

Actually, note that the inquiry above is not "I got an ROTC scholarship". I'm doing inquiries to help out my son so I can give good advice. Just yesterday he got word about selection for an Air Force ASCP Type 2 ROTC scholarship. He's an Air Force SSGT in the PMEL field - Highly complex precision electronics calibration and maintenance. He's going for a degree in physics.

I'm a retired Navy Medical Service Corps Commander but started my military career as an Army medic. Active duty & reserve, Army & Navy = 28 years!
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding, but still congratulations to your son.

I'm sorry I couldn't give much information regarding the Air Force ROTC, my older son is in the Army program and my younger son is starting the same next year.

Your son sounds like a terrific and bright young man, I am sure he will fit right in. Again I wish him the best of luck.

I personally served my time in the US Coast Guard. I left as a LTJG with prior enlisted time. I regret sometime that I did not stay in to retire, it was a great time in my life. To a Navy man like yourself I can only say.....Yes we did get scared when the water was deeper then our knees...HaHa

Our kids sure make us old dogs proud don't they.
 
I was a little abstract with my initial post, I'll admit.

I'd forgotten the Coastie jokes - "Knee deep Navy" we used to say!

:wink:
 
We've got a number of Green to Gold cadets in the Golden Knight Battalion. They are highly valued for their insight into what it's really like. Many of them have multiple deployments, and they are great to have. We value them so much, we have assigned a cadre member full time at Fort Drum to do nothing but recruit Green to Gold.

http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/green-to-gold/

If your son is in a unit where the upper upperclassmen harass a prior service cadet I would tell you that program has some issues. On the other hand your son should probably be prepared to "play the game". We remind our prior E-5s and E-6s that they are now Cadets. They still have a lot to learn about how the officer side of things works.

I'm sure your son will do fine...just wanted to throw my 2 cents in, and shamelessly plug our Green to Gold recruiter at Drum.
 
Some thoughts

Just a couple of thoughts based on my experience as a Cadet Dad, Midde Dad and working with Military.

Your son will stand out, but in a good way. His ribbons will be the first thing people notice.

It will not be his first time away from home. Others will be freaking out that they can stay up till 2 with impunity.

He will understand the value of the schollie. Not all recipients are "get it" right off the bat.

He has heard people raise their voice before. Other new cadets maybe not so much.

I am guessing the cadre will be busy with the green cadets and will be looking for leadership or "help" if you will.

Finally, as an example here is a quote from Hudson News. Imagine showing up to R-day with all this experience, compared to your peers who captained their football team. (both good, but different.)

"Gordy graduated from Lincoln High School in 2002 and then joined the Army. He is a former sergeant in the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment and was a scout sniper for the last year and a half of his three years in the Army before he attended the U.S. Military Preparatory School at Fort Monmouth, N.J., for a year, graduating in 2006.

Gordy received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained while deployed with the 101st during Operation Iraqi Freedom I. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor device for his actions while deployed."

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/August09/14/USMA_CFC-14Aug09.html


Yes he will be different.
 
Your son will stand out, but in a good way. His ribbons will be the first thing people notice.

Yes, he's been deployed and has garnered 10 medals & ribbons in just a few years of Air Force active duty. That's only one less than I earned during my 28 year Army & Navy career! However, as I read the AFROTC regs, he could only wear a Purple Heart or awards for valor while a cadet. He was mildly upset when I told him... He earned Eagle Scout and the Venturing Bronze, Silver & Ranger awards so he's attuned to being recognized for his accomplishments. But I understand there's a whole menu of AFROTC ribbons so he'll get his chance to shine, I'm sure.

Thanks to all for the info and comments, I'll be more able to give him that fatherly advice now. My wife and I are very proud of him.
 
My advice is to just be yourself, the other guys will want to ask you questions but for the most part won't really care that you were enlisted, you'll be one of them now. The only thing would be this, don't throw around your enlistment in a way that makes you seem superior, that would be the fastest way to alianate your classmates.

Best advice I've seen. That is the biggest peeve of most cadets. I can't tell you how many times I hear "I'm in the Guard, we do it this way, that's wrong." Frankly, all the non-prior service cadets respect that service, but don't care. That's not how it's being done in ROTC. Your first semester will be simple for you, just like it is for some JROTC cadets, because you know everything that is being taught already. Just be yourself. Go with the flow.
 
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