Underage drinking

gill0610

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I know that my DS has tried alcohol on a couple of occasions. Getting him to admit to it on his ROTC applications will be a tough sell. He would prefer to pretend it never happened and will worry that it will put him at a disadvantage in the scholarship process. Any advice?
 
Tell the truth. If they find any sort of evidence that he did when he claimed he didn't, it will haunt him and put his whole opportunity at risk. A local kid got the NROTC full ride a few years back and then they found a video of him smoking weed on his friends phone (long story about how the parents of the friend saw it and reported it to the NROTC Recruiter) and his scholarship was completely revoked along with a few of his college acceptances. While this is very much a worst case scenario, as long as he can confidently say to DODMERB and to the Officer in the interview that he will not do it again and realizes the fault of his actions, he is a-okay.
 
ALWAYS be honest and tell the truth in theses processes. It's all part of the honor and integrity standards that go along with being an officer in the military. That being said, I personally think occasional under-age drinking is a non-issue for the most part. My son drank at high school parties against the advice I had given him regarding the potential consequences, and admitted so on the application, yet still did fine. Once they get to school, they will most likely get another warning from the cadre about underage drinking but I think they know that many of the cadets will still drink alcohol at parties. I know at my son's school that there were underage cadets that received citations for drinking and there were no serious repercussions because they were honest with the cadre.
 
Ditto tell the truth, exactly as it is: "yes, tried it on a couple of occasions." Not at all unusual. Eliminates all future lying on the issue, and is much more likely that someone his age did. Honesty and integrity start with simple yes or no questions like this.
 
There are no questions on the ROTC application, or follow up paperwork, pertaining to underage drinking. There are, however, probing questions pertaining to drug use. They are less interested in use if it was experimental, or due to peer pressure, limited to isolated incident(s) firmly in your past. They are, however, keenly interested in your truthfulness. Honesty is always the best policy.
 
I know that my DS has tried alcohol on a couple of occasions. Getting him to admit to it on his ROTC applications will be a tough sell. He would prefer to pretend it never happened and will worry that it will put him at a disadvantage in the scholarship process. Any advice?

Various surveys indicate that the vast majority of American teens under 18 have tried alcohol on one or more occasions. This is probably why they don't ask about it on the application. We don't want to start our future officers on a path of lying. If the subject comes up in an interview, just tell the truth and get past it.
 
I agree, be honest! Our dau was on Accutane and I was so worried that would be an issue. We researched DoDMERB and found out after a certain amount of time this was a non issue.
 
On a related note, once you commission you may be asked questions about alcohol use again during a physical.

My younger son sat with the Doc during his flight physical at Rucker a while back. He was asked about his alcohol consumption, how many drinks/beers per week, how many at one sitting, and so on. He answered truthfully, as best he could.....maybe two beers a week (but not every week and never the night before he was flying) and maybe 3 or 4 in an evening if they were out for a weekend (not every weekend). The Doctor looked surprised he had answered in that way and told him he was 2 points off from having to go to an Alcohol Awareness class.

So, for a 23 year old he will have a beer sometimes when he won't be flying the next day, and as most flight students they take advantage of the weekend from time to time. Just be careful how you answer the questions when asked, as he said the Doctor put it "Be honest, just not too honest"
 
Tell the truth. If they find any sort of evidence that he did when he claimed he didn't, it will haunt him and put his whole opportunity at risk. A local kid got the NROTC full ride a few years back and then they found a video of him smoking weed on his friends phone (long story about how the parents of the friend saw it and reported it to the NROTC Recruiter) and his scholarship was completely revoked along with a few of his college acceptances. While this is very much a worst case scenario, as long as he can confidently say to DODMERB and to the Officer in the interview that he will not do it again and realizes the fault of his actions, he is a-okay.
Can I say that the parents of the friend who reported it were a**holes
 
Can I say that the parents of the friend who reported it were a**holes
Completely. They are the "My kid is an angel and everyone needs to know it" type. They hired a pageant coach and payed off judges for my school's "Miss School Name" pageant. They have also been known to call in anonymous tips on parties.
 
I can't believe people would go out of their way to literally destroy a young person's life. For what purpose? To teach him a lesson that wasn't their place to teach?
I agree with Humey...complete and total a**holes.
 
I do not recall any questions on the DodMERB medical history related to underage alcohol use. What is the specific question?
 
I do not recall any questions on the DodMERB medical history related to underage alcohol use. What is the specific question?

Well it is not specifically to underage drinking, but if earning a scholarship in high school, the applicant would be underage when filling it out. "Have you ever"....drank alcohol, smoked marijuana, etc.
 
I did look up a pdf of the medical history form and it does ask if you have ever... and alcohol is on the list. It prompted me to do some google research. Drinking alcohol under the age of 18 is not illegal per say. In most states, consuming alcohol with the consent of your parents in a private home is legal. Consuming alcohol at religious events is legal. In europe there is very little enforcement of a drinking age and you can purchase at least beer and wine at 16. So, an answer of yes I have consumed alcohol infrequently is not an admission of doing anything illegal ie illegal underage drinking.
 
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