Service Obligation- 4 Year Scholarship

cmccabe24

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Dec 3, 2014
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Is the service obligation for the 4 year scholarship 4 years or 8 years? I am not asking because I am already counting down the days. I was looking at future options and after finding out officers can use 100% of the post 9/11 GI Bill if they have 3 years of service past their service obligation, I was curious to know.
 
Well, the answer depends on which ROTC in part. For NROTC, there is a 5 year active duty commitment for a 4 year scholarship.

Others can speak to the other ROTCs.
 
For AFROTC it is 4 years owed upon commissioning regardless if they were scholarship. HOWEVER, AFROTC grads can wait 6-9 months before the go ADAF, thus it really would be close to 5 years before you can bolt. Additionally some career fields have a commitment past that 4 years. Rated world is going to push you closer to a decade before you can leave.

Many will use the Tuition Assistance program for their grad degree. TA runs concurrent with the commitment owed.
 
I'm sorry, Army ROTC. But thank you both for your responses!

4 Years active duty service obligation and 4 years IRR for a 4 year AROTC Scholarship, or.....

8 year Reserve/National Guard.

Just remember that your service obligation does not start at graduation/commissioning, it starts when you are activated before reporting to BOLC. This can sometimes be a few months and sometimes longer.
 
For AROTC scholarship recipients - whether the scholarships are 3 or 4 years - the Active Duty Service Obligation (ADSO) is four years ( if selected for active duty). For non-scholarship AROTC-commissioned officers, the ADSO is 3 years (again, if selected for active duty).

OCS graduates have an ADSO of 3 years, while the ADSO for USMA grads is 5 years.

Some AROTC cadets will extend their ADSOs for 3 years in exchange for ensuring that they get the branch or post of their choice.

This is discussed in detail in Army Reg. 350-100

http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r350_100.pdf
 
I'm pretty sure all ROTC programs have a 3 or 4 year reserve requirement after completing active duty.
 
One other thing, if you sign an additional ADSO for branching, that extra three years counts as the time needed to get the GI Bill benefits. So for example, if you Branch ADSO and your obligation is now 7 years, the first 4 years would satisfy the obligation for your scholarship, and the next 3 years would satisfy the requirement for the GI Bill as well as the Branch ADSO.
 
It also depends on what you do as an active duty officer, at least in the Air Force. My 2 boys have pilot slots, which come with a ten year commitment, after training. My oldest commissioned in 2014 and will be in until at least 2027. Seems like a long time, but I look at it this way: I've been in my present job for 8 years and my wife has been with her company for 33 years. Those are commitments as well, but we don't think of it that way. There are so many opportunities in each branch. Find something you want to do and go after it.
 
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