How will a government shutdown affect ROTC?

jchaff1134 said:
Hey all, Ohio AROTC here.

Been hearing a lot of effects on this forum and from my buddies in other states and thought I'd share an update on what effects our program has seen:

- Our finance and recruiting guys are still furloughed but may come back to work this week. Not too much has been getting done in the offices for this reason.

- Stipend pay is suspended for all cadets until further notice. Also all of the SMP cadets in my platoon reported that they were not paid for drill.

-FTX is scheduled for the weekend of 01NOV, but we use gov vehicles and conduct it at Camp Sherman (ARNG site) so we're crossing our fingers that things are resolved by then. Three of my friends from other schools have had Ranger Challenge and FTX cancelled, but they were set for this month.

-Ranger Challenge is set to occur the weekend before Halloween and so far as we know it is still on.

Keeping everyone who's been affected by this, cadets, civilians, and families alike, in our thoughts and prayers. We're doing our best to be motivated leaders and avoid the example set by our congressional leaders.
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The real pain will be felt if Congress does not allow a vote on the Debt Ceiling by Oct. 17th. It seems that certain members of congress are planning to use the Debt Ceiling vote as leverage just as they are doing with the Gov. Shutdown.

Things are bad and inconvenient now, if the Gov. is allowed to default we will be entering into some very dark waters. The cuts will be deep and fast, I imagine those in control will have some very serious knee jerk reactions. Closed down War Memorials will be the least of our worries.

I used to be naive to think "They wouldn't let this happen" well, that feeling has left a while ago. If the leadership doesn't start to pull their collective heads out of their...well you know....to heck with the Arab Spring, we could see an American Spring, things could get ugly.

Soooo....when are the next Congressional elections?
 
Jcleppe said:
The real pain will be felt if Congress does not allow a vote on the Debt Ceiling by Oct. 17th. It seems that certain members of congress are planning to use the Debt Ceiling vote as leverage just as they are doing with the Gov. Shutdown.

Things are bad and inconvenient now, if the Gov. is allowed to default we will be entering into some very dark waters. The cuts will be deep and fast, I imagine those in control will have some very serious knee jerk reactions. Closed down War Memorials will be the least of our worries.

I used to be naive to think "They wouldn't let this happen" well, that feeling has left a while ago. If the leadership doesn't start to pull their collective heads out of their...well you know....to heck with the Arab Spring, we could see an American Spring, things could get ugly.

Soooo....when are the next Congressional elections?
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Not soon enough!
 
Jcleppe said:
The real pain will be felt if Congress does not allow a vote on the Debt Ceiling by Oct. 17th. It seems that certain members of congress are planning to use the Debt Ceiling vote as leverage just as they are doing with the Gov. Shutdown.

Things are bad and inconvenient now, if the Gov. is allowed to default we will be entering into some very dark waters. The cuts will be deep and fast, I imagine those in control will have some very serious knee jerk reactions. Closed down War Memorials will be the least of our worries.

I used to be naive to think "They wouldn't let this happen" well, that feeling has left a while ago. If the leadership doesn't start to pull their collective heads out of their...well you know....to heck with the Arab Spring, we could see an American Spring, things could get ugly.

Soooo....when are the next Congressional elections?
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Thanks for bringing this up, Jcleppe. I don't want to go off of OP's original topic, but I keep hearing these ominous whispers of "Just wait until the debt ceiling debate comes" among fellow cadets, cadre, and active family and friends. I've heard it will make sequestration cuts worse, but not how it will do so. Would anyone be so kind to explain what new issues the debt ceiling brings to the table? I don't want to taint this thread so if you'd rather PM me that is all right too. I'd appreciate it very much; I don't like being ignorant on something that ostensibly has a great impact on the military.
 
jchaff1134 said:
Thanks for bringing this up, Jcleppe. I don't want to go off of OP's original topic, but I keep hearing these ominous whispers of "Just wait until the debt ceiling debate comes" among fellow cadets, cadre, and active family and friends. I've heard it will make sequestration cuts worse, but not how it will do so. Would anyone be so kind to explain what new issues the debt ceiling brings to the table? I don't want to taint this thread so if you'd rather PM me that is all right too. I'd appreciate it very much; I don't like being ignorant on something that ostensibly has a great impact on the military.
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Others will have the question and, in fact, it's pertinent. I'm sure folks will forgive me for dealing in round numbers.

US spent in 2012 = $3.5 trillion
US revenue in 2012 = $2.5 trillion
2013 sequester cuts = $0.085 trillion, about half of that comes from defense. Pretty small compared to the entire budget

If the debt limit isn't raised we will be unable to borrow $1 trillion to meet our budget, so we'll be cutting $1 trillion in spending in 1 year. This makes the sequester look like child's play. The debt and mandatory spending (soc. security, medicare etc) will take most of the available funds so there won't be much left for defense and other discretionary spending.
 
kinnem said:
Others will have the question and, in fact, it's pertinent. I'm sure folks will forgive me for dealing in round numbers.

US spent in 2012 = $3.5 trillion
US revenue in 2012 = $2.5 trillion
2013 sequester cuts = $0.085 trillion, about half of that comes from defense. Pretty small compared to the entire budget

If the debt limit isn't raised we will be unable to borrow $1 trillion to meet our budget, so we'll be cutting $1 trillion in spending in 1 year. This makes the sequester look like child's play. The debt and mandatory spending (soc. security, medicare etc) will take most of the available funds so there won't be much left for defense and other discretionary spending.
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Military Pink Slips.

Son has heard from others that in-processing has all but stopped on some bases, a lot of people in limbo. He has his ticket to Hawaii and a report date. How long it will take to in-process is yet to be known.

Not having a lot of confidence in our leadership (and I use that term loosley) right now. If nothing else, our kids will get an interesting lessons in civics.
 
Jcleppe said:
Military Pink Slips.

Son has heard from others that in-processing has all but stopped on some bases, a lot of people in limbo. He has his ticket to Hawaii and a report date. How long it will take to in-process is yet to be known.

Not having a lot of confidence in our leadership (and I use that term loosley) right now. If nothing else, our kids will get an interesting lessons in civics.
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I suspect Secretary Lew will find a way to juggle the books for a few days, whether he is really able to or not. But I'm confident it's a few days only.
 
kinnem said:
Others will have the question and, in fact, it's pertinent. I'm sure folks will forgive me for dealing in round numbers.

US spent in 2012 = $3.5 trillion
US revenue in 2012 = $2.5 trillion
2013 sequester cuts = $0.085 trillion, about half of that comes from defense. Pretty small compared to the entire budget

If the debt limit isn't raised we will be unable to borrow $1 trillion to meet our budget, so we'll be cutting $1 trillion in spending in 1 year. This makes the sequester look like child's play. The debt and mandatory spending (soc. security, medicare etc) will take most of the available funds so there won't be much left for defense and other discretionary spending.
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Beg to differ. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, the guvamint won't be able to borrow incremental funds. It would be bad but not as bad as a 1 trillion spending cut.

My bet is they don't end up playing 52 pick-up. One possibility is that they would agree to lift the debt ceiling but keep the shut-down in force. Another is that that they agree to a short term solution for both the continuing resolution (budget) and the debt ceiling, though I think Pres. Obama would resist this, especially if he believes blame can be directed toward the Republicans.

If you really want to know what's going to happen, hack the trading account of House Member Spencer Bachus, who has a predilection for trading on his knowledge of "current events".
 
EDelahanty said:
Beg to differ. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, the guvamint won't be able to borrow incremental funds. It would be bad but not as bad as a 1 trillion spending cut.
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Your right....but the talking heads on all the cable news networks will make sure to spell out the doom and gloom, scaring the bageebies out of everyone.

The public's wallets will close tighter then a Bruce Jenner face lift.
 
Jcleppe said:
Not having a lot of confidence in our leadership (and I use that term loosley) right now. If nothing else, our kids will get an interesting lessons in civics.
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Duty, Honor, Country, Congress.

Which doesn't belong? :yllol:
 
Per my post on the Scholarship Board question, I don't think the Army ROTC Scholarship Boards will be able to meet at their appointed time. The civilian contractors who by and large prepare the files for the Board aren't performing that function right now. I doubt the Board can meet, and if they do, it will be a long time before the OML is compiled, the Awardees are determined, the Awardees are matched to their school preferences and school openings, and then the Awardees are notified.
 
goaliedad said:
Duty, Honor, Country, Congress.

Which doesn't belong? :yllol:
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John Adams in Play 1776, not an authentic quote but good

"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress!"
 
ROTC Scholarship affected by shutdown

My daughter was notified this morning at PT that her scholarship might be in jeopardy. She is part of the PLU Battalion in Tacoma, WA. She contracted about a month ago with 11 other cadets at the first physcial fitness test of the school year. They signed their paperwork that Friday and took their oath the following Monday. She has received her book money and half a month of stipend for September. She was told this morning that stipends will not be paid in the future and that if the shutdown does not end by next week her scholarship might be in jeopardy. They were also told not to go out and get loans yet, and that they should sit tight and wait to see what happens in the next week or so. They also said that the school would work with them if the scholarships were affected. Not a good thing to find out a few weeks into the semester. Just told her to keep studying and focus on school and Cross Country and ROTC training and we will deal with things as they happen.
 
ROTC affected by shutdown

Just another note. Her battalion was supposed to have some trainig at Joint Base Lewis-McChord this past weekend but that was cancelled. The office personnel at her battalion were allowed to return back to work this Monday.
 
ernrun said:
My daughter was notified this morning at PT that her scholarship might be in jeopardy. She is part of the PLU Battalion in Tacoma, WA. She contracted about a month ago with 11 other cadets at the first physcial fitness test of the school year. They signed their paperwork that Friday and took their oath the following Monday. She has received her book money and half a month of stipend for September. She was told this morning that stipends will not be paid in the future and that if the shutdown does not end by next week her scholarship might be in jeopardy. They were also told not to go out and get loans yet, and that they should sit tight and wait to see what happens in the next week or so. They also said that the school would work with them if the scholarships were affected. Not a good thing to find out a few weeks into the semester. Just told her to keep studying and focus on school and Cross Country and ROTC training and we will deal with things as they happen.
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You gave your daughter good advice. Unless her contract was signed with invisible ink, the tuition bill will eventually get paid, probably sooner than later. PLU and other ROTC schools have plenty of experience in dealing with irregular timing of receipts of government-funded ROTC scholarships, and the school should be delighted that it is getting the full rack rate for her tuition.
 
+1 to Parent Delahanty. Your DD should treat this as noise... as though the conversation never occurred. I'm confident there will be enough time to address things should the need arise (and I doubt it will).
 
Now feeling a little nervous. DS is at a cross-town affiliate, he finally made it down to BN to sign his contract last week and 1 minute before he was called in to sign, the Lt Col came out to notify the cadets that he was instructed to stop all contracts due to government shutdown. Now what do you think this means for my DS? He was a awarded a 4 year scholarship. Hopefully it's just a waiting game! Ugh!!!
 
I too am concerned. DS passed his PFT the first week of school, but his battalion is a little slow on getting paperwork completed. He didn't sign his contract until the week before the shutdown and his swearing in was 4 days later. I don't know if his paperwork was completed (or should I say submitted) before the shutdown or what will happen. But worrying will not make any difference. Although the scholarship is greatly appreciated and wanted, it was not a factor in my son joining ROTC. He would have committed anyway. He is destined to be an officer.

So I'm just playing the waiting game to see what ROTC will pay and when. If the school is worried, I'm sure they will contact me.
 
My son is an MSIV serving as the S3 for his BN. He has had to completely redo the training schedule for the BN. He said that their FTX has been canceled off site. They are trying to schedule something on campus, but clearly not the same. They can't travel anywhere, the MSIV'S were supposed to go to Ft Campbell to get fitted for their dress uniform, that is on hold. He received his 10/1 stipend and I know his tuition was paid. He feels bad for the MSIII's that they are not getting the preparation they need to succeed at LDAC.
 
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