SMP (national guard) to Active duty

L

Leo

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Is it possible to go for active duty with SMP programm?

I'm going out -of- state college which is extremely expensive and i did not get enough financial enough.

So My plan is to join national guard, get tuition assistant, doing ROTC together. (ARMY).

Is that going to be possible?

Going active duty is incredibly important to me and my ultimate goal.
 
Not a chance. Once you touch Guard (state) money, you are stuck there.

So don't be thinking that trying to get additional funding assistance via Reserve/Guard will help you in the long run of going AD.

Better start looking at more scholarships and loans.

Also, what are you right now? High school senior?

If so, don't get so bent up about setting a career goal, 4 years in advance. Yeah, don't get me wrong it's good to set goals. But you need to also come to the realization that what you want to do now can be very different in 4 years (heck, even just one year).

Trust me, I was one of those guys too. Wanting to do 20+ years AD ... lets just say it's been a long 3 years since then.

Just keep your head up and an open mind, you'll do fine.

Good luck.
 
Sorry, Thompson is wrong. You CAN go active from SMP, as long as you do NOT accept a GRFD (Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty) Scholarship. It is honestly the best deal IMO. My plan B that I had been working on the past few years, if plan A didn't work out was to do SMP and commission AD from there. Luckily plan A worked out and I was accepted to USMA. Otherwise I'd have contracted and commissioned from ROTC. I would talk to a recruiter and the cadre at your ROTC you are planning to join. Again as long as you do not sign a GRFD scholarship you are eligible for AD. You can use State Tuition Assistance and Federal Tuition Assistance along with GI Bill and an optional GI Bill Kicker. All together you would get most, if not all of your school paid for, along with E5 Drill pay, GI Bill (if you want) and GI Bill Kicker (talk to a recruiter) and the monthly ROTC Stipend. Like I previously said, contact a recruiter, and the ROTC cadre directly. I wouldn't rely on this website for accurate information.
 
I may be reading this wrong, but to get tuition assistance wouldn't you have to enlist in the guard and go thru basic and be in the guard while going to college? In which case you would not be eleigible for SMP.

This is a little bit different scenario than what delta describes.

I may be way off but it sounds like different paths and agree that talking to the ROO or cadre would be best. I would steer clear of national guard recruiters for this information.
 
Talk to the ROO or the Reserve Recruiter at your out of state school. In general delta_1103 is correct that as long as you don't sign a GRFD contract you will not be forced into NG or Reserves. However, the state NG contracts sometimes require a release to switch to AD and not all will provide the release if State funds or tuition waivers were used to pay for school. I believe Ohio is a state that is now forcing their NG SMP cadets to stay in the NG.
 
I enlisted in the Guard (completed BCT and AIT as a 12B), attended school, participated in ROTC, was on track to contract with the ROTC. If I would've stayed that course I would've been an SMP cadet within the Guard. Receiving E5 drill pay as a cadet in my unit, the ROTC stipend, GI Bill and Kicker, along with STA helping me with school. When accessions time came I would have still been able to opt for AD, dependent on the OML results. So it is entirely possible. As for using state funds, I was told by my recruiter and the ROTC cadre that I would still be eligible for AD.
 
Yes, AROTC Parent is correct about OHNG. However, you may be able to take an AD commission and repay a portion of your aid. DS was contacted by OHNG recently to repay approximately 1/2 of the aid provided. He was sworn in prior to the change in policy and owes nothing but this letter gives me an idea of how it might work in Ohio since the new policy went into place April of 2012.

OP, do contact ROO, each state is different and SMP still requires a contract from AROTC so ROO has the most accurate information. Please search this forum for numerous SMP threads too. There are a lot of pros vs cons to this path discussed.

Good luck.
 
delta_1103 said:
I enlisted in the Guard (completed BCT and AIT as a 12B), attended school, participated in ROTC, was on track to contract with the ROTC. If I would've stayed that course I would've been an SMP cadet within the Guard. Receiving E5 drill pay as a cadet in my unit, the ROTC stipend, GI Bill and Kicker, along with STA helping me with school. When accessions time came I would have still been able to opt for AD, dependent on the OML results. So it is entirely possible. As for using state funds, I was told by my recruiter and the ROTC cadre that I would still be eligible for AD.
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I'm sure your recruiter told you all of this. That does not mean it is the same for every state, or that it will be the same when the OP tries to contract. Your description of SMP is a simplified version, there is a lot more to it. Enlisting in the National Guard does not guarantee you will get a contract, the cadet competes with every other cadet looking for a SMP contract along with all non contracted cadets looking for a contract as well. The number of contracts given are based on what the Battalion has available in their Mission Set, it can be possible that there are less contracts available then those seeking one.

While you had looked into SMP, you never had to follow through because of your appointment, so you don't really know how things would have worked out for you. Things are changing quickly in ROTC, and even in the SMP program. What was normal a year ago can be vastly different next year.

OP,
All advice about contacting the Recruiting Officer at a ROTC Battalion is great, don't start out talking to an Enlistment Recruiter, and don't sign anything before to talk to ROTC. Research everything before you make a decision.

Frankly, if AD is the most important thing, I would stick with traditional ROCT and avoid the risk. If money is the deciding factor then you will need to be ok with what ever happens in the future. Remember, if for some reason you are not given a contract by the start of your Junior year, you will still be required to fulfill your National Guard Commitment.
 
Jcleppe said:
I'm sure your recruiter told you all of this. That does not mean it is the same for every state, or that it will be the same when the OP tries to contract. Your description of SMP is a simplified version, there is a lot more to it. Enlisting in the National Guard does not guarantee you will get a contract, the cadet competes with every other cadet looking for a SMP contract along with all non contracted cadets looking for a contract as well. The number of contracts given are based on what the Battalion has available in their Mission Set, it can be possible that there are less contracts available then those seeking one.

While you had looked into SMP, you never had to follow through because of your appointment, so you don't really know how things would have worked out for you. Things are changing quickly in ROTC, and even in the SMP program. What was normal a year ago can be vastly different next year.
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I can agree to that. Yes, my recruiter told me most of it, albeit I was weary to fully trust him. I did my own research and talk to other SMP cadets within my ROTC and unit. Yes you are also correct that I would have to compete for a contract however, I was not worried about receiving a contract. As for my contract, I was ready to sign papers until I found out that signing them would void my appointment. Thanks to our HR Manager, I did not sign.

OP: Speaking of HR, it may be very beneficial to talk to the HR Manager of the ROTC Battalion, they are very knowledgeable and understand how it works. Also, I agree with Jcleppe on talking to the ROTC before a recruiter. Talk with the cadre and other cadets, find out how many contracts are given during the semester and compare that to how many uncontracted cadets there are and you can sort of figure it out form there.
 
delta_1103 said:
OP: Speaking of HR, it may be very beneficial to talk to the HR Manager of the ROTC Battalion, they are very knowledgeable and understand how it works. Also, I agree with Jcleppe on talking to the ROTC before a recruiter. Talk with the cadre and other cadets, find out how many contracts are given during the semester and compare that to how many uncontracted cadets there are and you can sort of figure it out form there.
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Good advice.

delta_1103 said:
I can agree to that. Yes, my recruiter told me most of it, albeit I was weary to fully trust him. I did my own research and talk to other SMP cadets within my ROTC and unit. Yes you are also correct that I would have to compete for a contract however, I was not worried about receiving a contract. As for my contract, I was ready to sign papers until I found out that signing them would void my appointment. Thanks to our HR Manager, I did not sign.
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I have no doubt things were working in your favor with your battalion. The only point I'm making is that what works for one person's situation, may not work for another. While your battalion may have had plenty of slots and you "Weren't worried" and your State's NG may not have issues with going Active, the same can't be said for every cadet and every state. So before you make a blanket statement that someone is wrong and that yes you CAN compete for active duty, make sure you understand how every state and battalion works. People come her looking for advice, if they see a post telling them they CAN absolutely do something, they may run with that and make some bad choices along the way. The advice you gave above is great and should be of help to the OP.
 
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