Commission from VMI

Goblin324

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Apr 1, 2016
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if i attend vmi or the citadel , i know i am guaranteed a commission , my question is , am i guaranteed my first choice commission , or is there a ranking system? I would like to commission as infantry with the ultimate goal of moving into sf.
 
no guarantees. If you are on a 4-year ROTC scholarship, then 99% chance you will commission, still need the grades, and graduate. In-house scholarships bring the odds down, you need to earn it and competition is fierce. About half of VMI grads commissions each year. Go for the 4-year national ROTC Scholarship, then if need be, compete for the in-house, then their is OCS and other paths to your goal.
 
no guarantees. If you are on a 4-year ROTC scholarship, then 99% chance you will commission, still need the grades, and graduate. In-house scholarships bring the odds down, you need to earn it and competition is fierce. About half of VMI grads commissions each year. Go for the 4-year national ROTC Scholarship, then if need be, compete for the in-house, then their is OCS and other paths to your goal.
i thought that if you wanted to commission as army you could , and that only navy and air force contracted?
 
Per U.S. Law,For Army ROTC, only SMC's (and USMA) can guarantee active duty upon satisfactory graduation from the Corps of Cadets and approval of the AROTC Professor of Military Science (PMS).

At other non SMC ROTC colleges, AROTC can dictate reserves or NG instead of active duty upon graduation. NROTC and AFROTC only contract active duty.

Here is the actual legal code:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/2111a?quicktabs_8=1#quicktabs-8

(e)Assignment to Active Duty.—
(1)
The Secretary of the Army shall ensure that a graduate of a senior military college who desires to serve as a commissioned officer on active duty upon graduation from the college, who is medically and physically qualified for active duty, and who is recommended for such duty by the professor of military science at the college, shall be assigned to active duty.
(2)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of the Army from requiring a member of the program who graduates from a senior military college to serve on active duty.
(f)Senior Military Colleges.—The senior military colleges are the following:
(1)
Texas A&M University.
(2)
Norwich University.
(3)
The Virginia Military Institute.
(4)
The Citadel.
(5)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
(6)
The University of North Georgia.
 
To answer the original question, yes a graduate of a SMC can be assured active duty so long as the PMS approves but no such guarantee exists as far as assignment to a branch such as infantry or other combat arms.

That depends on hard work and where you fall on the OML, plus the needs of the Army.
 
A large number of those graduating VMI this May commissioning into the Army from AROTC were granted their first choice, but not all. First choice is not guaranteed. The higher you place on the OML, the better your chances. My son is a 4th at VMI and has already had to start hid branching list.
 
To answer the original question, yes a graduate of a SMC can be assured active duty so long as the PMS approves but no such guarantee exists as far as assignment to a branch such as infantry or other combat arms.

That depends on hard work and where you fall on the OML, plus the needs of the Army.

thank you for the clarification
 
if i attend vmi or the citadel , i know i am guaranteed a commission , my question is , am i guaranteed my first choice commission , or is there a ranking system? I would like to commission as infantry with the ultimate goal of moving into sf.
Also - some good info on Commissions and branching on the ROTC forum of this web site. One response in particular points out that branch selection competitive credentials change from year to year. GPA is always important, but the % it plays in your overall scoring by the Service selection boards may change. Here is a comment to a question about branch selections:

"GPA is now only worth 25% of your OML, and it is not figured like it used to be when a 3.5 was worth 35 points. Now they give points based on the mean average of all GPAs, if that Average is 3.3 then those with that average would get 12.5% points, you can see how that can effect the OML. The Standardized tests, ROTC test, and the PMS Eval make up a much larger part of your OML. APFT and Athletics is still worth 15%

Like Thompson stated, the system today could look vastly different when it comes your time to go through accessions. The best thing you can do is work hard and control the things you have control over."
 
One thing to remember when looking at Branch Satisfaction among cadets, how many received their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice, is to look at what they listed in each slot. Every cadet will go through Branch Counseling with the PMS. During this counseling they will get a better understanding on their chances for certain branches. How well they are counseled will will have an effect on whether they get one of their top 3 choices.

With the addition of the Compass style testing for Branch suitability this coming year, the whole branching system could look different again.

On a positive note, the elimination of the dreaded "Dead Zone" has made it possible for cadets that would not have been in the zone for certain branches to now have a shot at every branch. The push is now to have cadets actually put what they really want in their top 3 instead of trying to game the system based on where they are on the OML.

The biggest thing to remember is that not everyone will be happy on Branch Day, there will be those that don't get one of their top choices. Remember that the main goal is to be an officer in the military, as someone much wiser then me said "Grow where they plant you"
 
As said OML and Army needs.... Last year was nicknamed "The Year the Rifles Fell." It may not be that way next year, or the next etc...
 
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