Switched from AFROTC to AROTC

DS made the decision today (after having a little time to lick his wounds) to change course and pursue Army ROTC after being notified a couple of weeks ago that he was being dis-enrolled from AFROTC after not being selected for SFT. Apparently he will not be required to start from scratch as a first year cadet, and will instead start as if he had completed one year of ROTC already. This will put his graduation date out one year, but he was already considering that may be a possibility when he was originally told he was on a "waiting list" for SFT and was hoping to be able to continue and try again next year if he wasn't selected. He made a road trip back up to campus to speak with cadre and came back pretty pumped up today Personally, I feel this will be a better fit for him in the long run, and they seemed (according to DS) happy to have him. Just curious if any other forum members not selected for SFT are taking this route....

GemState,

There are threads here over the yrs that AFROTC cadets jumped to AROTC after their 200 yr. However, if I recall, last yr. AROTC were not taking any AFROTC cadet trying to jump because they made their numbers for that yr group (14). Thus, it maybe hard to find anyone that did the jump. I am sure there are posters that know cadets in their det., but if you are looking for personal insight it might be hard to find.

Good luck to your DS.

According to Cadet Command Regulation 145-3 which references Army Regulation 145-1 if you completed AS 100 and 200 you could get credit for MS 100 and 200, and go right into MS III year. You might want to ask why you are being asked to take an additional year of school.

clarksonarmy said:

According to Cadet Command Regulation 145-3 which references Army Regulation 145-1 if you completed AS 100 and 200 you could get credit for MS 100 and 200, and go right into MS III year. You might want to ask why you are being asked to take an additional year of school.

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I asked DS about this. Apparently they didn't give him this option, but was told he could opt to do only one semester extra, but that it would really be difficult and they recommended the one extra year option. I think DS is okay with this, as he won't have such a heavy credit load for each remaining year, plus he will have room to take a class or two over that he didn't do so well on the first time around to bring up his overall GPA.

My DS did not get SFT either. He was given an option of trying again next year, but felt like his chances may not be that different next year. He was out-of-state at the last school, so he applied to a university here in our state and got accepted last week. He is going to try Navy ROTC (he had debated after high school whether to do AF or Navy but chose AF at the time). He has to get over to talk to the detachment to see how this could work, but he also started a summer job right away so he is waiting to get a full week's schedule so he'll know in advance when he has a day off to try and schedule something. I hope it won't be a problem joining Navy ROTC. He realizes that he will have to do an extra year, but he is okay with that, for the same reasons you stated. He can take a lighter load and get his grades up. He is also going to change his major which will hopefully help him improve his GPA. He was deflated after finding out about SFT, but his intentions of serving in the military have not wavered. He continues to work out and he quickly moved on to a Plan B. I give him a lot of credit for that, and also to your son.

hockeypals said:

My DS did not get SFT either. He was given an option of trying again next year, but felt like his chances may not be that different next year. He was out-of-state at the last school, so he applied to a university here in our state and got accepted last week. He is going to try Navy ROTC (he had debated after high school whether to do AF or Navy but chose AF at the time). He has to get over to talk to the detachment to see how this could work, but he also started a summer job right away so he is waiting to get a full week's schedule so he'll know in advance when he has a day off to try and schedule something. I hope it won't be a problem joining Navy ROTC. He realizes that he will have to do an extra year, but he is okay with that, for the same reasons you stated. He can take a lighter load and get his grades up. He is also going to change his major which will hopefully help him improve his GPA. He was deflated after finding out about SFT, but his intentions of serving in the military have not wavered. He continues to work out and he quickly moved on to a Plan B. I give him a lot of credit for that, and also to your son.

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Thank you Hockeypals. Good luck to your son with the Navy ROTC. I hope that route works out for him. You have to give these young men and women credit for not giving up! As a parent, however, it sure is hard to sit by and watch them go through so many disappointments and setbacks!

Hockey and Gem,

I think your children are going to be the best officers ever. I remember a saying that makes me think of them.

Destiny is what we do when coming face to face with fate. (paraphrasing)

The only advice I would give is simple.
~~~ Clear their mind of the way AF taught them. It might mean biting their tongue until it has welts, but tell them to try to keep it to the min. "Well, in AFROTC, we did it this way".

It is common to say these types of things because it is now 2nd nature to them, but they are not AFROTC anymore and they need to be cognizant of it. Too many times saying it, and someone is going to finally say, well you're not in AFROTC now! Not in a pleasant way either.

Later on, when they have their footing it will be an asset because it will creat dialogue for learning purposes.
~~~ As you can see from this site, every branch has a different training process.
~~~ It will also help them if they make this a career because as they rise in the ranks the military likes to see a joint assignment. He will probably forget a lot by that time, but just the broad strokes gives him an edge remembering that just because they are all military doesn't mean they all train the same way.

They will be great. It has been a hard path for your children, and your family, but in 3 yrs from now, when you pin on those butter bars, you will say, this was their destiny.

I hope that AFROTC candidates and 100s read this post. It is important to realize that when we say always keep a plan B in place until you raise your right hand and take the oath as an O1, it is because we know LIFE gets in the way. Nothing is guaranteed.

It is especially important for scholarship recipients if this is the only way to attend that dream college.

Best wishes for them, and remind them that people like us here are so proud to have people like them defending this great nation.

Pima,
As you have done many times, your post brought tears to my eyes. I have truly valued all of your posts, for their candor, humor and information. All of this has been a real learning experience for me, and it is wonderful to have a resource like you and this forum to understand all that is happening. I only wish that there was someone like you on the Navy side of all this, because now we are in a whole new world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the time that you have spent the last couple of years educating all of us. I can't even tell you how much it means to us.

GemStateMom,
I agree that it is hard as a parent to sit back and watch them go through such a disappointment, especially after seeing all the effort and determination they put in for the last 2 years. I know what you are feeling. We constantly tell our kids that when one door closes, another opens. I sure hope that is true this time! I wish your son all the best as he starts with Army ROTC. I'll be thinking about you and him!

hockey,

You have a go to poster here, use them, their name is: Kinnem. No offense to other NROTC posters.

You have spent 2 yrs+ living, breathing, thinking AF. You probably just glossed over the NROTC posts because you were an AFROTC parent.

Please keep reading AFROTC posts because between you and Gem, you will be the biggest asset for candidates.and 100/200 cadets from personal experience.

It is called pay back. In Nov. this site will be filled with SFT chances. The two of you will be able to give the best advice. In May the site will also have posters like you, new life, and your experience will be invaluable on how to navigate the new life.

Gem,

You too have go to posters, too many to acknowledge because AROTC is more popular.

Your children will make it because they have great parents that put their own ego aside, and place their kids dreams as their number 1 priority.


God Speed, and God Bless.

OK. Pima's post made me go do my research and I had planned on commenting on hockeypals post anyway.

Hockypal... have your son call now!!! Do not wait until he knows his work schedule. I'm sure a lot of questions can be answered over the phone without meeting and if a face-to-face interview is required that can be scheduled, perhaps, once he knows his schedule. I know you mentioned your DS plans on extending his education to three years instead of two at this point. I don't know how three year programs work with the Navy but I'm confident it is doable. The NROTC does have a two year program for college programmers. This is from the NROTC website:

When accepted, two-year applicants will attend six-and-a-half week Naval Science Institute program in Newport, RI during summer between sophomore and junior years

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This program will get him caught up to his year group, entitle him to the monthly stipend, and could enable him to graduate in two years unless there are academic reasons he wants to extend to three. It could save you all a significant chunk of change on his schooling. I have no idea what the chances are for getting into this program at this point (I read somewhere else applications were due in March), but it might be worth pursuing and time's a'wasting.

If this doesn't pan out I expect he could double up on Naval Science classes over the next two years to catch up, or because of his position some might be waived. If he's pursuing Navy option then hopefully he has already taken 2 semesters of calculus and calculus based physics which will transfer over. Otherwise he'll need to cram them in too. If he's pursuing Marines then there is no need for the Calculus and Physics, but then he better be a stud physically or be prepared to become one.

If you have any further specific questions on NROTC I'll be glad to attempt to answer them for you.

Good luck to your DS. He seems like a determined young man who I'm sure will have many achievements in his life which will make this sting go away regardless of the outcome with NROTC.

GemStateMom,
Sorry to hear that your DS was not given another chance to compete for a SFT slot for this upcoming year in AFROTC, but glad to see that he is continuing to go after his dream of being a Military Officer in AROTC. I followed the SFT thread last year and was pulling for all the members, because I knew in a year from now I would be going through the same thing with my DS. Hoping this year will not be filled with delays like this past year, because I know the wait can be brutal. I could tell a few members were getting aggravated and discouraged as the wait continued. Thanks for sharing your experience and keep us updated as your DS starts down his new path in the AROTC. God Bless!