~
I think scout was inputting some realism into his goal. If any stranger on a forum can convince you to go one route over another or give you up your goal than the question begs how committed the poster is to that dream.
What happens come March if they did transfer into AFROTC and is not picked up for SFT? There is a 50-50 chance that this can occur. Will he regret going AFROTC now?
~ I am betting he will since chances are he will have regrets when he is disenrolled.
~~ If I recall correctly they are considering joining Det 330. That is a very large unit. It has won the best large det. in the nation in 08 and 12. It is something to think about when they can have 75-100 cadets enter in the fall as either 200s or 250s. The CoCs rec./rank accounts for 40% of that score.
What happens if he is selected for SFT, but gets RPAs out of the rated board? Will he wonder if he would have been selected for helo's out of AROTC if he just stuck with AROTC?
~ Again, I bet he will.
Worse yet. What happens when he goes to WPAFB for his FC1 flight physical and is DQd? Either way he would not be flying for either branch, but sitting at a desk at least for the AF.
~ The difference is he could go Guard or Reserve with the Army and march on with his goal of at least being involved with NASA. AFROTC requires they go ADAF.
~~~ Caveat this year group (AFROTC) is the 1st given the option of Guard or Reserve, but nobody knows what 2017 will be like and if that option will be available, thus it is better to believe they will go ADAF.
Would he be happy being a maintainer, or Mission Support for at least 4 years?
~ Most AFROTC grads wait at least 5 months before going AD, and the clock does not start ticking until they go ADAF.
That is the point. The dream is great as a goal, but you need to be realistic about the chances and just like we tell ROTC scholarship candidates make sure you have Plan B, C, D... in place. This is also true for career ambitions that take 20 years to obtain.
To be honest I think the OP's comment also made no logical sense of why to stay in AROTC
mjones61 said:
The thing that I like about Army ROTC is the summer opportunities, which I plan to take advantage of.
So you are willing to devote 4 years 24/7/365 days because AROTC sends you on more 3 week summer trips over 3 years as a cadet than AFROTC?
I will ask him if this was the smart route of his selecting one branch over another process when he is stationed at the great places the Army can send him like Ft. Polk, Ft. Drum, Camp Red Cloud, or worse yet 12 months in the sandbox, with a 18 month rotation period. IOWs 12 months in, 18 months home, 12 months deployed again.
This is not an easy life. College you chose what to major in, where to attend. It is 30 weeks a year, and it is not Full Time.
Military life is they get to have the last say on where you live, what you will do, and even if you get to go home for Xmas or your siblings wedding.
~ If you go into the branch because you think that will give you the easiest path to a 20 year goal, it is highly probable that you will not remain motivated for 20 years, heck even 5 years is not probable.
Thus, the advice given was honest.