Why is NROTC so strict?

Akrogan

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Just a quick question, AFROTC here (Btw it is going great, thanks for all that have helped!)

Anyhow, my AFROTC detachment is very well run and isn't anything like an SMC. My friends in Army and AFROTC programs around the nation feel the same...its an excellent training environment that isn't crazy...

However, I have noticed from my NROTC friends...their program seems to be much stricter overall than AFROTC or Army ROTC? Why is this, is it the Marine Corps influence on the program?

Just curious, thanks so much!
 
I would assume its the Marine Corps influence. While at a VMI overnight last weekend, I listened to the head of each ROTC departments. Both the Army and Air Force COs were very calm and concise. Then a USMC Major began to speak. His speech consisted of saying "good to go" and "cleared hot" constantly and talking about how the Marine Option Midshipmen PT all the time. As a HS senior I clearly can't give a very good answer to your question but that was just my impression. It could also just be your friends specific units.
 
Each branch of the military (and certain communities) has its own culture and feel. Given the active duty Cadre at each ROTC unit, that vibe is going to transfer, in general, to the unit. On top of that, each individual Cadre creates its own atmosphere such that one ROTC unit may feel completely different than another.

I am glad to hear, however, that the Marine reputation is being maintained and carried on (in real life, word of mouth, and folklore)!!
 
I guess just in the sense that they have an orientation complete with haircuts, lots of PT, etc, the whole professional civilian attire, and a very "hardcore" attitude.

I've noticed this at multiple schools where I have friends involved in NROTC.

And yes I guess I will assume it's the Marine Corps influence. We don't see that in Air Force land! Haha, but we're all in this together
 
How to Tell the Difference Between the Branches of the US Armed Forces!

If you give the command "SECURE THE BUILDING", here is what the different services would do:
The NAVY would turn out the lights and lock the doors.
The ARMY would surround the building with defensive fortifications, tanks and concertina wire.
The MARINE CORPS would assault the building, using overlapping fields of fire from all appropriate points on the perimeter.
The AIR FORCE would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy. ;)

Old joke, but a classic . . .
 
I guess just in the sense that they have an orientation complete with haircuts, lots of PT, etc, the whole professional civilian attire, and a very "hardcore" attitude.

I've noticed this at multiple schools where I have friends involved in NROTC.

And yes I guess I will assume it's the Marine Corps influence. We don't see that in Air Force land! Haha, but we're all in this together

It's quite dependent on the detachment, not the branch of service.
 
How to Tell the Difference Between the Branches of the US Armed Forces!

If you give the command "SECURE THE BUILDING", here is what the different services would do:
The NAVY would turn out the lights and lock the doors.
The ARMY would surround the building with defensive fortifications, tanks and concertina wire.
The MARINE CORPS would assault the building, using overlapping fields of fire from all appropriate points on the perimeter.
The AIR FORCE would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy. ;)

Old joke, but a classic . . .

The COAST GUARD would bring the beer and chips.
 
I remember when my younger son arrived at school and went to AROTC Orientation. When it was done a few of us walked with the ROO back to the ROTC Offices. We passed a group of NROTC Mids, they were bouncing up and down from the ground, being yelled at by the cadre, "Get Up, Get Down, Jump, Get Back Down". My son commented to the ROO "When do we do that", he responded " Um....well we have punch and cookies back at the office"

Everyone has a different way of doing things. Their "Get up Get down" came later in various other ways.
 
I remember when my younger son arrived at school and went to AROTC Orientation. When it was done a few of us walked with the ROO back to the ROTC Offices. We passed a group of NROTC Mids, they were bouncing up and down from the ground, being yelled at by the cadre, "Get Up, Get Down, Jump, Get Back Down". My son commented to the ROO "When do we do that", he responded " Um....well we have punch and cookies back at the office"

Everyone has a different way of doing things. Their "Get up Get down" came later in various other ways.

Maybe "punch and cookies" is the nickname for the drill instructor? haha
 
I guess just in the sense that they have an orientation complete with haircuts, lots of PT, etc, the whole professional civilian attire, and a very "hardcore" attitude.

I've noticed this at multiple schools where I have friends involved in NROTC.

And yes I guess I will assume it's the Marine Corps influence. We don't see that in Air Force land! Haha, but we're all in this together

Each NROTC unit does it's own orientation. Some handle it as you described, others just have one a couple hours in the evening during the first week of classes. M son's unit has done both, fortunately his was a tougher one with actual former Marine DIs running it. He was a changed man when I saw him a mere week later. Of course, every unit has to have haircuts at some point, usually that orientation week, whatever form it takes.

The Marines certainly are stringent about attire and given the role of the AMOI and MECEP, that also bleeds into the Navy side of the house (IMHO).
 
Agree, I think its probably the Marine influence that sort of crosses over to the Navy side of things. Navy and Marine Corps tend to be pretty strict on civilian attire. This has to do with ships heading into port and wanting our Sailors and Marines to be good representatives of the flag while abroad.
 
As an NROTC midshipman, everything we do is based on some form of tradition. The navy and marine corps both have a million rules and regs on how everything should be done and having a marine corps gunnery sergeant breathing down your neck all the time ensures that those rules and regs are followed. It sucks and half the things we do are seemingly pointless, but I guess it makes our rotc program slightly harder than other service branches just because it is more time consuming.
 
JP: I encourage you to "embrace the suck."

Follow rules and regs without supervision and work towards becoming a leader.
 
It sucks and half the things we do are seemingly pointless,

Seemingly is the key word here... some of them will make sense when you get to the fleet, others won't until you are more senior, and some quite frankly never will. But, yes all the Services are steeped in tradition, especially the Navy and Marine Corps.
 
The three ROTCs are indeed very different… four if you count NROTC as being two separate communities.

NROTC has the following distinct differences as compared to AROTC:
- all NROTC scholarships are 4 year-- there are no 3 Yr. AD given to high school applicants
- NROTC has a formal week long orientation for incoming mids
- NROTC requires all Navy Option mids to complete a year of Calculus, and a year of Calculus-based Physics
- NROTC has summer mandatory activities each year.
- NROTC incorporates two distinct programs: Navy Option and Marine Option. Unlike the Naval Academy where getting assigned to Marines isn't guaranteed even for those for whom it was first choice for all four years, Marine Option mids get Marines, period.
- NROTC is allocated service selections in exactly the same proportion as is the Naval Academy.. i.e if 27% of USNA mids get Aviation, then 27% of NROTC mids get Aviation. This is very different from Army where the % who Branch into Infantry, a highly prized branch, is much, much lower for AROTC cadets than it is for USMA cadets.

If the above differences are what you mean by "stricter", than I can only say that each Service has developed its ROTC program to meet its specific mission set for commissioning.
 
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Very well said dunninla.

The only thing I would add is that NROTC all go active duty as well.
 
Thanks for the info everyone, quite an interesting thread for a mom of a future Navy guy. My son is waiting to hear results on his NROTC scholarship, but insists he will do what it takes to serve in the Navy, and achieve his goals. We will be proud regardless of how he gets to go about it, and are thankful for any understanding we can get on how all this works!
 
My son is a Junior in NROTC at a highly-regarded university that also has AROTC and AFROTC (I was an Army ROTC grad myself). Quite simply, NROTC is harder - the units are smaller, virtually everyone is on scholarship and almost everyone is either (i) a Marine ('nuff said) or (ii) an engineering major (NROTC targets 85% of scholarships to engineers or science majors). They do PT 4X per week at 6am - Army does it twice per week, and they keep a whiteboard with tick marks of how many times PER SEMESTER Air Force does PT (current total at the end of March: 4 - and one of those was dodgeball...). They do a week long "voluntary" orientation in the fall for freshman (woe to he or she who doesn't volunteer....), and typically 25% drop on the spot.

My experience was that Army ROTC got harder each year; Navy ROTC seems to just be hard from the start. The good news is that if you get through it, junior Navy officers have the best post-service employment prospects of any of the services. Everyone wants them.
 
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