Tips for incoming Army ROTC freshman

I am going to be an incoming freshman on a 3 year AROTC scholarship this upcoming fall and was just wondering what advice or tips people could throw my way. I'm not looking for the obvious be early to be on time and give it 110%, that goes without question. I am more interesting on the less obvious things that can make you stand out. Also I know there are clubs in ROTC like ranger team, but what other ways can you be more involved in ROTC than just the PT, Class, and lab. Thanks for any information u guys give me.

Sometimes you'll find out that standing out may not be best. I'd keep a low profile early until you start learning more about ROTC. But since I know this won't satisfy your curiosity (nothing against you, but all new cadets want answers like this spoon fed to them) the easiest way to stand out early is to be a PT stud. Sandbaggers get caught fast. You're not expected to know tactics yet, so dont worry about it.

Other ways to get involved are Color Guard, marksmanship teams or anything else your unit may offer.

thanks for the info, i plan on doing well in PT i ran a 10:30 2 mile in track this year so i know i'll kill the running part haha. But i do understand what ur saying and i probably should of used a better word than stand out, i dont want to be like annoying standing out, i just want to make sure they know im a hard worker, etc. But i guess by just being there early and giving 110% they will know that. thanks again

sjbd94 said:

thanks for the info, i plan on doing well in PT i ran a 10:30 2 mile in track this year so i know i'll kill the running part haha. But i do understand what ur saying and i probably should of used a better word than stand out, i dont want to be like annoying standing out, i just want to make sure they know im a hard worker, etc. But i guess by just being there early and giving 110% they will know that. thanks again

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Nice to see you're thinking ahead sjbd94. A 10:30 two mile time is certain to place you among the running elite in your battalion - 13:00 is good for 100 pts. on the APFT. With this as a base you should work on the other APFT areas (Perhaps someone else can say when the new tests will be instituted but in any event you'll be doing pushups).

One unobtrusive way to stand out will be to earn good grades in your courses. (Attend your classes, take notes, do your homework and the grades are there to be had.) If you can score well on the APFT and get a high grade point average, it will enhance your position in the battalion Order of Merit List. This can open up desirable summer opportunities such as CULP, Airborne School, Air Assault and others. Also, if you are still interested in transferring, a high OML can help on the ROTC side. (The GPA will of course be paramount).

Also, as others have said, get involved in ROTC activities, though don't overextend yourself at the cost of other priorities. I know that joining and committing himself to Ranger Challenge was a major factor for Cadet Delahanty.

-Bull- said:

standing out may not be best. ... the easiest way to stand out early is to be a PT stud.

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Well, that is potentially contradictory! It's all about attitude. I am NOT sure that putting the petal to the metal in your first the 2 mile run is the best initial strategy. Maybe ease off a little in your first run. If you smoke everybody in the Battalion in your first PT test, again depending on attitude, you might be treated like that guy who sets a very high curve in Calculus class and pisses everybody off.

Volunteering for Ranger Challenge is a good, structured, measured way to show your excellence.

I understand what you're saying, but that's not what I mean. By standing out, I mean being a new cadet that is known by all upperclassmen, maybe not neccesarily for the best reasons, and could be a target of unwanted attention. Example, letting everyone know about your JROTC hero stories or how badass you are in D&C. That could lead to "special" attention from upperclassmen and cadre (they form opinions just like everyone else).

In PT, all bets are off. If you can smoke everyone else in the run, do it. Don't sandbag to avoid beating others by a good distance. Although it probably won't be an issue, a 10:30 probably won't be the fastest run time. Cadre love studs. My PMS is from the 75th Ranger Regiment and he loves competition. If you're a stud, he'll let you know and if you're struggling, you'll hear about it daily. They like to see everyone push themselves and push others. This will make you stand out in a positive way.

I might tend to disagree a small amount with the run issue. Having two sons that were as fast or faster, as you stated with the 2 mile run, I would say go for it. My older son did his first APFT and beat the battalion record, beating the MS4 that had held the old record the previous 4 years, the battalion competed in the Bloomsday run in Spokane the Spring of his first year. There was a friendly competition between the two of them, the MS4 saying his goal was to beat my son at the race, in the end my son beat him by 100yds. My older son held the record for the next couple years....that was until my younger son started school.

The younger one beat my older son on the first APFT. The mantra became.."Beat the XXX Boys" it was all in good fun.

Because of his run time both my older and younger son were picked for the A level ranger Challenge team their freshman year. They were both given the task of helping the slower runners train to better their times.

ROTC is a competition from day one, don't hold back, run as fast as you can. The cadre starts ranking you from day one, Don't worry about showing off when it comes to the APFT. My younger son had the highest APFT score in the battalion on the first day he took the test as a MS1, he was never treated badly by any of the other cadets, although a lot of them did increase their time at the gym after that test. Trust me, nobody else will be holding back.

With a 2 mile time like yours you have a very good chance to be the fastest in the battalion so one piece of advice. When you cross the line first, turn around and give support to those that come in behind you, be a team player, and above all be humble.

Now, work on your PU's and SU's try to max them on the first APFT, get a 300 on the first test and you'll get noticed, and that won't be a bad thing.

10:30 probably won't be the fastest run time

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Bull, you must have some fast runners in your battalion, just out of curiosity, do the runners that beat that time max out the rest of the APFT.

Jcleppe said:

I might tend to disagree a small amount with the run issue. Having two sons that were as fast or faster, as you stated with the 2 mile run, I would say go for it. My older son did his first APFT and beat the battalion record, beating the MS4 that had held the old record the previous 4 years, the battalion competed in the Bloomsday run in Spokane the Spring of his first year. There was a friendly competition between the two of them, the MS4 saying his goal was to beat my son at the race, in the end my son beat him by 100yds. My older son held the record for the next couple years....that was until my younger son started school.

The younger one beat my older son on the first APFT. The mantra became.."Beat the XXX Boys" it was all in good fun.

Because of his run time both my older and younger son were picked for the A level ranger Challenge team their freshman year. They were both given the task of helping the slower runners train to better their times.

ROTC is a competition from day one, don't hold back, run as fast as you can. The cadre starts ranking you from day one, Don't worry about showing off when it comes to the APFT. My younger son had the highest APFT score in the battalion on the first day he took the test as a MS1, he was never treated badly by any of the other cadets, although a lot of them did increase their time at the gym after that test. Trust me, nobody else will be holding back.

With a 2 mile time like yours you have a very good chance to be the fastest in the battalion so one piece of advice. When you cross the line first, turn around and give support to those that come in behind you, be a team player, and above all be humble.

Now, work on your PU's and SU's try to max them on the first APFT, get a 300 on the first test and you'll get noticed, and that won't be a bad thing.

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Great post Jcleppe. I absolutely agree. Do your absolute best and support the others in doing their best. NEVER, EVER make the rest of the folks "choke" on your excellence. That will definitely get you noticed, and not in a good way. Humble is the watchword.

Jcleppe said:

Bull, you must have some fast runners in your battalion, just out of curiosity, do the runners that beat that time max out the rest of the APFT.

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I should've clarified a little. I'm sure most people have a general idea of which school I go to and if you do know about this university, you know we have the best collegiate track program in the nation and one of the top cross country programs in the nation. Some of these athletes have also made a choice to serve their nation. I should've said this was specific to my battalion, 10:30 is a very fast run time. If I recall they are all maxing the APFT, or hovering around 295.

PS- I cannot brag, I'm nowhere close to a sub 11:00 run. I'm around 12:45. I also don't have the build near as skinny as a CC runner ha.

For standing out... I'd agree with you guys, go ahead and stand out in PT, it will earn you points and more activities that you can participate in such as Ranger Challenge, but as for the other 2/3rds part of ROTC listen more than you talk. Remember you have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. I'll give you 2 examples of people who I have worked with
1. This person is a PT stud, can run 2 miles in under 10 minutes and maxes everything else out on the PT test. The cadre saw this in him and offered him a spot on the Ranger Challenge team with myself (it was coed, all of us were 1's and 2's, he was a 2/1 because he was new). We were excited to have him as we were a young team and needed some boosting in the PT area. With such an opportunity ahead of him, we figured that he was eager to learn and would had been supportive of the team seeing that he had always been physically active. We practiced for activities such as the rope bridge during PT sessions and during lulls throughout the day. The problem was that he never showed up. Soon came around ranger challenge and our substitute got sick from the caf food, but took the treck along to the fort to be supportive. Therefore we had to rely on our core team members even more. The first thing, the PT test, went fine. Then came our troubles from there. We moved on to the obstacle course where you had to complete all of the obstacles with a good time for a good score. We all moved through the obstacles fairly quickly, but our PT stud was lagging behind, we encouraged and offered him other ways to to complete each obstacle, but he would shut down and yell discouraging words back at us due to his struggle. This happened time and time again with each event, from weapons assembly to our ruck march he often would not display a positive demeanor. We finished ranger challenge and that was that. Fast forwarding through the year, we saw remnants of ranger challenge through him from arriving late with his uniform messed up to not listening to his CoC. This cadet has gone to basic this summer, we have yet to hear anything. Moral of the story is, listen to your peers because you are going to struggle and often the people around you will have gone through the same exact thing.
2. This cadet participated in jrotc in high school. She came in as the "all-knowing" cadet. I often corrected her on her personal appearance as she wore a pony tail in uniform and as myself being one also, it is one of my pet peeves. She never put her hair into a bun, even on military bases. She complained that her hair was too short. (There is only myself and 1 other contracted female in our company (its a small one) so we like to set a personal appearance standards so our organization looks professional.) The males in our company noticed that she was out of uniform and often consulted me about this. I reminded her time and time again, but no change. Finally one of our big events for D&C arrived and she had been selected to do a color guard at a MLB game. I couldn't attend due to other commitments. I reminded her publicly in the office to put her hair into a bun because she was representing this organization in front of many veterans and active duty personnel. She said she would. She never did. Moral of the story here is that listen to those around you, don't just talk. Take the advice that others give you and utilize it. If you don't, at least put it in your tool box for future use.

Don't try and stand out. Your there to learn. Great leaders are constantly learning from those around them and listen more than they talk.

Jcleppe nailed it. You are very fast. Push yourself to improve. Work to max the other areas if you are not already. I know at that speed seconds are improvement. When you finish go back and help others. This would go for any type of physical event in which you are done early. During the school year if you have a classmate that is struggling offer to help them with their running and help them set up a program to become better. Like everyone has said here, keep your eyes and ears open and mouth shut and learn. As you progress and learn the lay of the land you will start to see where you fit in. Get a good feel for your academics before you start to commit to alot of extra activities. Over extending yourself and not being able to keep it all going will get you noticed in the wrong ways.

I would find out if your MS Class has a reading list, ie Black Hawk Down, Killer Angels, Band of Brothers, etc. If so, buy those books now and read them before September.

If your MS I class has a reading list you're in for trouble...

Just pay attention...be open minded...help where you can...learn what you can...and get good grades. The two biggest things that will get you negative attention as an MS I are bad grades and not doing well on the PT test. Short of run ins with the law there are few other things you can do or fail to do that can't be fixed early on.

And enjoy the ride!!!