Does anyone know about the GRFD scholarship? my son has been speaking with the ROTC Scholarship coordinator at his school and told me that although he is eligible to contract through the school he is not able to compete for active duty due to the high level of competition at his school. Had he competed for active duty he would not have a scholarship (non-line scholarship) and would have done 3 years active and 5 reserves since he is a transfer and only has two years left. So now his next plan is to compete for the GRFD scholarship (guaranteed reserve forces duty) I believe this scholarship will automatically enroll him in the SMP program however he would not have to enlist just drill one weekend a month with a reserve unit (from my understanding) I looked through a website that stated that he in fact MUST BE ENLISTED to be eligible for the GRFD. Any advice??
GRFD Scholarship??
- Thread starter Army.Dad
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I won't elaborate on GRFD because I am not a member of the reserve component or an expert on it, but that last part could be referring to the contract he will sign for it. When cadets accept a scholarship or the normal contract, it is an enlistment contract and they take the typical enlistment oath along with it.
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If he participates in SMP then he will be enlisted in the Guard or Reserves while he is in college. If you are SMP then you are enlisted. If he doesn't want to be enlisted then he should pursue a non scholarship contract. He will still have the option of going guard or reserves when he graduates, but without the SMP requirement while he is in college.
Not sure why being enlisted is a concern. If he is SMP he is non deployable. If he is a Cadet in good standing and meets all the requirements he will be commissioned when he graduates. If there is a concern with giving up one weekend a month then steer clear and try for a non scholarship line contract.
Not sure why being enlisted is a concern. If he is SMP he is non deployable. If he is a Cadet in good standing and meets all the requirements he will be commissioned when he graduates. If there is a concern with giving up one weekend a month then steer clear and try for a non scholarship line contract.
This is the line that confuses me.
Is the Cadre telling him that he is able to contract as he stands right now. If he is able to contract how does the cadre know that he would not be able to compete for Active Duty since it sounds like he has 2 years left in the program. The competition for Active Duty is not with his Battalion, it is on a National level. He would not be competing for Active Duty against the cadets in his battalion, it will be based on his OML on the National level. Just because a battalion has a class of high speed cadets doesn't mean one of them won't get Active.
On the other hand, are they telling your son that unless he takes a GRFD he will not be offered a contract. That would make more sense since contracts are given on the Battalion level.