ROTC

P

Prepswimmom

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
375
So now that DS received the TWE from USNA he is looking at plan B's. One of his choices only has ROTC, not NROTC. Can anyone shed some light on how ROTC is? Liked? Good? Happy in it? Any info would be valuable!
 
Do you mean one of his plan b's only has Army ROTC?

And I mean, really, your question is so broad. There are probably thousands of posts on here about people's experience with "ROTC" as well as AROTC. What, specifically, do you want to know that can't be found through searches?
 
Prep,

What your DS needs to think about is AROTC means he will go Army. His first thing he should do is not concern himself with what AROTC will be like compared to NROTC, but what he will do in the Army for the fours he will owe upon commissioning.

Is he willing to be in a tank, and never at sea?

Our DS went AFROTC, he never would have gone A/NROTC because the career field he wanted was not going to be offered in the way he wanted. DS is at UPT (pilot training) and will wing in 4 weeks from this Friday. He didn't want his runway to move while he was out on a mission (Navy's runways move) and he didn't want Rotor (helos), thus the AF was his true option.

College is 30 weeks, 20 credit hours a week per year for four years. They chose where to go to college. They chose their major. The military is 24/7/365 days a year for at least four years, and the military decides what their job will be and where they will live.

Serve because he wants to, but go in with eyes wide open and understand that branches have specific missions and they are like any sibling in a family. They have common bonds, values, ideas, but they are each unique with their own personalities.

I also would say that ROTC units have unique personalities, A det at UCLA might not be like Clarkson's unit. To get a true idea of what that ROTC unit at the college for his Plan B you need to at least throw that out there, or go to www.collegeconfidential.com. and post it under their college there if you get no response here.
 
Last edited:
ThunderHawk said:
Do you mean one of his plan b's only has Army ROTC?

And I mean, really, your question is so broad. There are probably thousands of posts on here about people's experience with "ROTC" as well as AROTC. What, specifically, do you want to know that can't be found through searches?
Click to expand...

Correct - One only has Army, one has all branches.
 
Prepswimmom said:
So now that DS received the TWE from USNA he is looking at plan B's. One of his choices only has ROTC, not NROTC. Can anyone shed some light on how ROTC is? Liked? Good? Happy in it? Any info would be valuable!
Click to expand...

ROTC

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a college-based program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. ROTC officers serve in all branches of the U.S. armed forces (although the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard do not have their own respective ROTC programs, graduates of ROTC programs do currently serve as Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers).

AROTC - Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps
NROTC - Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps
AFROTC - Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps

I would think that if DS was interested in the USNA that his first choice among ROTC's would be NROTC.
 
Pima said:
Is he willing to be in a tank, and never at sea?
Click to expand...

Hopefully we don't think this is the only option:smile: I've never been in a tank (have been in a bradley though), and I've been on a boat at sea during my duty (It was an LST in Ranger school).

It's kind of late in the game to be figuring out what the Army does, but there's this invention called the internet that provides a wealth of information. Also keep in mind that kids often don't know what they don't know. What the Army is going to do, if he completes the program is allow him to lead 30-40 of our employees (we call them soldiers) within a short time of graduating college. He may be leading them in the woods (or in Tanks) with his face painted green, looking for bad guys or he may be leading them as they install a communications network for a disaster relief operation. You have a lot of research to do to make an informed decision...good luck
 
Prepswimmom said:
So now that DS received the TWE from USNA he is looking at plan B's. One of his choices only has ROTC, not NROTC. Can anyone shed some light on how ROTC is? Liked? Good? Happy in it? Any info would be valuable!
Click to expand...

Have to say I agree with Pima and ERAUMattmom.

I presume there is something about the college that just has AROTC that makes it attractive to your DS. If it's just something marginal then I would think the NROTC program would be more attractive. If it's a big deal thing then I could see where the AROTC program school could be more attractive. Question is, is it worth "stepping down" from NROTC and 5 years AD in Navy.

Of course it could also be a financial reason. There are more in-school scholarships available through AROTC. But again he will have to ask himself the same question but with respect to debt load etc.

Finally, in AROTC there is no guarantee of Active Duty. A large percentage each year goes Reserve/National Guard and not AD. Navy always goes AD. I wouldn't expect this to be an issue for your son either way but it's something he should be aware of. I suspect he hasn't explored the detailed in's and out's of AROTC.

My own gut feel is he will be far happier in NROTC. And being happy in his program will go far in making him successful in college and in his unit. My son's academic major is History, but really his major is NROTC. That's what his life and passion revolves around. And while he was a B student in high school, he's been on the Dean's list in college all but one semester. I have no doubt it was his passion and focus on being successful in NROTC that also lead to his academic success and happiness in college. YMMV.

Bottom line though is it needs to be affordable, regardless of which program it is. If one or the other is a real financial stretch, including whatever debit load he might need to take on, then I'd be looking hard at the less financially demanding school/program.

Of course I know i'm speaking to the choir and that you've already thought of all that... but wanted to point out some of the things to think about just in case. It's an emotional time and sometimes rationality gets left behind.

Good luck prepswimmom. :thumb: Perhaps if you and DS can think of more specific questions we might be able to be more helpful.
 
How Do You Pronounce ROTC

As this thread involves basic knowledge, I'm talking the opportunity to raise a question which has been nagging at me for some time.

How do folks pronounce the acronym ROTC?

1) ROT SEE?

or

2) ARE OH TEE SEE?

Also: is there a difference between how you say it aloud and how you hear it in your mind?
 
Last edited:
EDelahanty said:
As this thread involves basic knowledge, I'm talking the opportunity to raise a question which has been nagging at me for some time.

How do folks pronounce the acronym ROTC?

1) ROT SEE?

or

2) ARE OH TEE SEE?

Also: is there a difference between how you say it aloud and how you hear it in your mind?
Click to expand...

I've always pronounced it the 2nd option (same way I hear it in my head). In fact, until recently, I had never heard it pronounced the 1st option. I was recently speaking with someone I know about ROTC and they pronounced it ROT SEE. To me, that's a much more efficient way of saying it, but I'm having a hard time switching over to that method. Now that you've brought the issue up, I'll have to give it another shot. :smile:
 
ROT SEE isn't very sound appealing. Sorry, I don't think I could ever switch to that pronunciation!! Are oh tee see just sounds more sophisticated:shake:
 
EDelahanty said:
As this thread involves basic knowledge, I'm talking the opportunity to raise a question which has been nagging at me for some time.

How do folks pronounce the acronym ROTC?

1) ROT SEE?

or

2) ARE OH TEE SEE?

Also: is there a difference between how you say it aloud and how you hear it in your mind?
Click to expand...

Depends. When just referencing ROTC I will generally use 1 although both are acceptable.

AROTC - A ROT SEE.
AFROTC -A F ROT SEE.
NROTC - depends on who I'm talking to. If someone knowledgeable I'll use N ROT SEE. If someone I don't know, or know isn't knowledgeable, I use Naval ARE OH TEE SEE.

It's important to know your audience. :rolleyes:
 
the ROT SEE pronunciation is frowned upon in the Cadet Command realm.
 
Prepswimmom said:
So now that DS received the TWE from USNA he is looking at plan B's. One of his choices only has ROTC, not NROTC. Can anyone shed some light on how ROTC is? Liked? Good? Happy in it? Any info would be valuable!
Click to expand...

Sorry you guys are on to plan B. (Though your DS' plan B was my 2nd son's plan A)

So I have one son that considered Army but ended up choosing usna-->marines. The second son only only considered army. What does your son want to do for ~8 years after college? So, maybe one way to do that is have him chose what "job" he would 'want' and then 'not want' in each branch. It may get the conversation started.




and my vote is R*O*T*C

not rot-see!!!!!
 
ROT-See is generally seen as a derogatory term in my experience. I don't know anyone who currently uses that pronunciation.
 
Prepswimmom said:
So now that DS received the TWE from USNA he is looking at plan B's. One of his choices only has ROTC, not NROTC. Can anyone shed some light on how ROTC is? Liked? Good? Happy in it? Any info would be valuable!
Click to expand...
We are in the same boat. One the top schools my DS is considering only has Army ROTC. He has decided that he is only interested in NROTC or AFROTC so should he choose that school he would not do ROTC.
 
I've always spelled it out while saying it. It secretly bugs me when people say rotsee.

Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top