Mountain Warfare School

Also if I'm not mistaken, Pathfinder School is another summer option in AROTC. How competitve is getting a slot this also?

My understanding from USMA cadets/grads is that Pathfinder normally requires Airborne or Air Assault as a prerequisite.

And from current Benning IN Pipeline types that it's fairly hard to get even with that unless honor grad or your receiving unit requests it.
 
The chances of going to Pathfinder are next to 0 in ROTC. I've never heard of someone going and I'm not sure cadets are even able to go as its restricted to certain MOS's and branches, though that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Do you have a reason for wanting Pathfinder or are you just interested in as much training as possible? You won't use it in ROTC or need it to commission. And if you do need it when you commission, you'll go.
 
I want it for a little bit of both reasons. I want as much training as possible, but at the same time, Pathfinder school is something that I want to do REALLY REALLY badly. The skills and lessons learned in Pathfinder School is something that I am very interested in. Navigation, mapping , air control, etc. are things that I have always been really interested in. I also know that Marines with certain MOS's are able to attend Pathfinder school, so hopefully if I am able to go MO NROTC, I will still be able to take it eventually (although I realize the chances are slim).
 
taymcg12,

It's great that you want to attend as much training as you can, nothing wrong with that. My son pestered his Cadre for any school he could get, he ended up going to Winter Mountain Warfare and CDQC.

Now for the reality, there is an old saying "Putting the cart before the horse" The first thing you need to worry about is doing well in both ROTC and school.

Schools are given out based on your position on the OML, if you want to be considered for one of the basic schools (Airborne, Air Assault) you will need you be #1 or #2 in your battalion and have a good GPA and most likely a 300 APFT. These slots are competitive.

If you want any chance at the more cometitive schools your asking about you will have to be even better. These schools, if even available will come from the Brigade and there may be only one slot open. When my son went to CDQC there were only 20 slots given in the entire country, Mountain Warfare had only 2 slots in the Brigade.

So for now worry about how well your doing, if you find your self with the stats I mentioned above then you will give yourself more opportunities. If you have a 3.2 GPA, 270 APFT, and are ranked in the middle of your battalion....you can ask every day but you won't be getting any of these schools.

So best advice, put the horse back in front of the cart for now, the rest will work itself out.
 
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