SamAca10 said:
I think the thing that is different with ROTC is that one can choose how involved they want to be while SA cadets don't get that option.
Who ever told you that a cadet can
choose how involved they want to be in a unit was bold face lying.
I know for our DS he has mandated volunteer hours every semester. This is not an option...you will do it. That includes things like being at football stadium Sunday morning at 7 to clean it up until noon, twice a semester. Counting hours it means 80 hours over 4 yrs and that is before other mandates like running in the Susan G. Kolhman race on a Saturday. Or if you attend a school like VT or TAMU with a Corps, you will now have to be in uniform for football games and Corp duties.
It also means that you will attend the dining in and outs.
They do have the choice to join a military organization, for the AF it would be the Honor guard, Arnie Air or Angel Flight. They do have the choice to attend GMC nights. However, that is about where it starts and ends for them.
Understand, a smart cadet knows how the OML works for them, and if they want that highly desired career field, they will be involved. DS probably spends at least 30 hrs a week on top of his academics with some aspect of ROTC. Some times his ROTC day starts at 5:30 in the a.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. with classes of course in between.
As far as the immersion, yes OCS attends for 10 to 17 weeks, or in total, including weekends. The OCS cadet will spend no more than 119 days and 70 days at the min.
Now start looking at the ROTC cadet.
For AFROTC SFT is @ 30 days, living, breathing, eating AF life 24/7. That places the difference between them down to 40-79 days. I am going to assume LDAC and summer cruises are just as long, maybe longer.
Now add in as -Bull- and I stated the ROTC hours.
MSI/C100 7 hours a week or 1 business day. Multiply that by 30 weeks = 30 days.
~~~ Difference now is 10-39 days in OCS favor
MSII/C200 10 hrs a a week, I will still call it 1 duty day. That is again 30 days.
~~~ Difference is now at the top 9 days in OCS favor for "immersion"
MSIII/C300 16 hrs a week, 2 duty days. That makes it 60 days.
~~~ Difference is now +50 for ROTC
MSIV/C400 are at least 20 hrs, 2 duty days. Again 60 days.
~~~ Difference is now 110 days in ROTC's favor.
Hence, the ROTC cadet has at least 2X more in Immersion than an OCS cadet. That is before we go back and add in those volunteer hours, or hours being in a test center for their AFOQT or TBAS.
It is also before we add in the hours for Honor Guard or Arnie Air. Both require at least 5 hours per week. 150 hours a yr = 18 duty days in a yr, and 72 days over their college career. These organizations also have mandated community service, which I will not include for this purpose.
Sure, they don't have to join them, but it is an exposure to another aspect of the military. It also is something you will want for your OML.
OML's at least for the AF has a big chunk of the score assigned to the CC's rating/ranking of the cadet. Think about it I can only give 1, number 1. Do you think the CC is going to give it to the cadet that has the exact same gpa, PFT scores, AFOQT, etc, but they do just what is expected/required of them. Or will they give it to the cadet that is a military organization, one that is mentoring cadets after duty hours, one that even as a POC pops their face in for GMC night?
That is the system for AFROTC. Those little things start to matter when the Commander has to decide who to support. There will always be a number 1 and 2 to decide from, just like there will always be those that fight not to be classified as the bottom cadet.
You shouldn't jump to a leap that ROTC in college is like JROTC in HS. It isn't.
In the end these cadets that are contracted endure 4 yrs. of training, granted with a slow integration, but still is a commitment to hang for 4 yrs with 3 of those yrs not knowing where you will land.
OCS cadets enter with their follow on. They can play the mind game of counting down and saying the end is in sight.
Now back on topic. I still believe if it comes down to a budget crunch, they will look at ROTC prior to OCS because it is more cost effective, and that is where we are now.
OCS also has an easier ability for the military to control manpower. ROTC will have a drop out rate, and it typically remains at a certain rate, but they can't project it like OCS.
It is not because OCS turns out officers any better or worse than ROTC. Just like attending an SA equates into them being better than ROTC or OCS. It is all about the fact it is a viable solution when it comes down to choosing between diverting funding from AD personnel to ROTC and not diverting the funds by increasing OCS as a source of commissioning.