Air Force ROTC Uniform

fly_savannah

5-Year Member
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Apr 9, 2013
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My friend was thinking about joining AFROTC but she was worried about the uniform. She wont be on scholarship, so she wasn't sure if the college provided the uniforms and with paying for college, and the dorm, and books, she won't really be able to afford paying for uniforms. So will the uniforms be provided, and of course retuned before summer? And also the books necessary for ROTC, will the be provided as well? Thanks in advance! :smile:
 
Yes, books and uniforms are provided free of charge for cadets, so long as they return them at the end of the academic year.
 
Yes, uniforms are provided. At my det. you have to earn them by passing both the PFA and Warrior Knowledge test, and then they will be issued. So until that is done, we have temporary uniforms we must wear (for example, a white long sleeve shirt and black athletic pants are the equivalent to ABUs). So, if it is like that at your friend's det. she may have to go purchase the temporary uniform, as I did. It's fairly cheap, and if you already have the items, then it's free.
PT uniforms and books are given to you at in-processing.
 
Yes, books and uniforms are provided free of charge for cadets, so long as they return them at the end of the academic year.
Do you have to be contracted to receive them? Or do requirements vary det by det?
 
Do you have to be contracted to receive them? Or do requirements vary det by det?

No, most people are non-contracted so they couldn't refuse to give it to them. The uniform process is a little different for every det. At mine, all incoming 100s, scholarship and otherwise, wear modified dress which is just dressy clothes(shirt and slacks, no jeans, etc) until they issue everyone a Det shirt to wear with khakis, you have to get the pants yourself if you don't have any. Eventually, they get around to issuing us all dress blues. Scholarship cadets didn't get any preference in this process. You don't get ABUs until you earn an EA for FT, or, at least at my det you don't.

As far as keeping them, it would be a logistics nightmare to have to collect everything from everyone at the end of the year only to have to re-issue it again in the fall. You get to keep them until you disenroll or are det dropped. If your coming back, you get to keep them, if not, you will be pestered by the NCO in charge of that kind of thing to return them until you do. After you've worn the PTUs though, their yours regardless, nobody wants them after you've sweat in them.
 
No, most people are non-contracted so they couldn't refuse to give it to them. The uniform process is a little different for every det. At mine, all incoming 100s, scholarship and otherwise, wear modified dress which is just dressy clothes(shirt and slacks, no jeans, etc) until they issue everyone a Det shirt to wear with khakis, you have to get the pants yourself if you don't have any. Eventually, they get around to issuing us all dress blues. Scholarship cadets didn't get any preference in this process. You don't get ABUs until you earn an EA for FT, or, at least at my det you don't.

As far as keeping them, it would be a logistics nightmare to have to collect everything from everyone at the end of the year only to have to re-issue it again in the fall. You get to keep them until you disenroll or are det dropped. If your coming back, you get to keep them, if not, you will be pestered by the NCO in charge of that kind of thing until you do. After you've worn the PTUs though, their yours regardless, nobody wants them after you've sweat in them.

Interesting. My Det is similar. You get your Det shirt pretty quickly, because that is our "Civilian Equivalents" for the ABUs. You also get Blues pretty quickly along with PTUs, socks, low quarters, etc. Once you've completed a semester of AFROTC, you then get issued your ABUs, boots, undershirts, etc. I really appreciate this because my boots are quite broken in now -- less chance for any foot issues at FT.

I find it surprising that some Dets wait till you get an EA. For this year, that really stinks because AS200/250s will only have several weeks to get use to it!
 
And that is why folks, they request moleskin for SFT!:shake:

Honestly, I would hold back on what you get and don't get when it comes to class of 17. 16 is not 17. Sequester was not in anyone's vocabulary. DoD is cutting their budget even for FY14. Money is tight...please read the SFT/EA thread and my link about how 17 combat squadrons are grounded or standing down.

Will they get service uniform regardless of scholarship? Yes. However, when DS entered only 200's got ABUs when they became a 200, not 100 and 1 semester in AFROTC. They all got service blues, and PT gear, but that was the start and end for 100s.

If it is true that the AF is cutting 21% of their budget, things will be different for 100's. Than again, the new ABUs are suppose to change (the current is not working). Thus, they may give them out to 100's because they will have a new one when they become ADAF.

DS's yr group they changed from BDU to ABU. AFA got the new ones 1st.

In the end every det is different. I would bank on blues, and probably PT uniforms, but ABUs is a det by det. Sim to the flight suit question thread for CSO/ABM scholarship recipients. Some are getting them as soon as they have the scholarship, other dets are waiting until they become a 300, and than you have others waiting until they are 400s.

JMPO, now throw that 0.018643 cents in the circular filing cabinet. The fact is whatever they give, it will be free.

Only when they get higher up, will they start buying items. I.E. Mess Dress. Corframs, etc. That is why they offer every cadet commissioning the option to return the items, or purchase new.

We purchased every yr items. 200 yr, bought blues pants, and shirts. 300 yr. purchased a mess dress and corframs. 400 another set of pants, shirts, and jacket. When he graduated he handed back all of the items they gave him over 4 yrs. It wouldn't have been xmas or his birthday without an AF clothing item.:rolleyes:
 
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