Army ROTC Cross Enrollment

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jork32

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Jan 9, 2019
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2
Hello all,

I am a freshman in college about to go into my second semester. My school does not offer ROTC but I am able to do it through cross-enrollment with a nearby university. I am a bit nervous about the process as I will have missed the introduction semester and will be going into the second semester with no prior experience/knowledge. The first course you take is MILS 100 but since I am enrolling the second semester of the year rather than the first I will be taking the MILS 110 course.

I come to this forum asking for any tips or advice to make my transition as smooth as possible. I am not very familiar with the courtesies and customs of the Army and do not want to go in lacking the knowledge necessary. For instance, the ranking structure of ROTC, how to properly address my peers and officers, when to use what stance / be at attention, how to dress in uniform properly, and the proper length of hair and facial hair (not allowed I assume). I have always kept my hair short on the sides but my hair grows very quickly so it sometimes gets semi-long on the top is this permitted or do I always have to keep it short on both the sides and top. Also, let me know of anything else you feel I should know.

I am also a bit curious about the physical portion of ROTC. I want to be very competitive and stand out so what would be ideal scores for the PT test? In high school, I was a four-sport athlete so I am not too concerned but I just want to be prepared. Typically I can run a mile in 7:15 or less, do around 40 / 50 pushups in one go, and about 50/60 sit-ups. However, I am not so strong in regards to my weight lifting as I just recently have been hitting the gym again. My working weight for bench press is around 115 pounds, with my deadlift and squat around 185.

Looking forward to all of your input.
 
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You don't mention if you are male or female so it's impossible to properly comment on your physical fitness stats. I suggest you look for the Army PFT scoring charts online and assess yourself. Many a four sport athlete found themselves humbled by the APFT since they hadn't trained for it. No one will care about what you can bench press, deadlift, or squat. They are not part of the test.
 
Given the haircut and facial hair questions, I will assume OP is a male...

Good news is any current athlete can get 270+ pretty easily in about a month with smart daily training. Look up the requirements to get a 270+ for the APFT and alternate running one day with the other stuff the second day. Do that for a month with no days off (about 30 minutes per day). Don't do any other fitness and time yourself on everything.

Nevertheless, you are focusing on all the wrong things. All your questions about saluting, dress, appearance, customs, courtesies, etc. will be answered once you are in the Det. All that is small potatoes. The more important question is whether or not AROTC is for you, and only you can figure that out.

Give it a whirl for 6 months. If it grows on you, keep going. If you hate it, don't. That's all that the military boils down to. Those that feel called to join and then stay in voluntarily are typically internally motivated to do so. You will either (a) like it, (b) hate it, or (c) be okay with the deal as long as you are paid. They'll tell you how to cut your hair and stand at attention. I promise. :)

Regardless of the outcome, thanks for even considering joining. You are a minority among your generation, and I am very pleased that you did not even mention the money once in that entire opening post. That (and your desire to begin well) says a lot about your character. My guess is that they will be happy to have you, and it will be more a question of whether or not you want to stay instead of whether they will allow you. Good luck, kid, I hope you stick around!
 
Tbpxece said:
Given the haircut and facial hair questions, I will assume OP is a male...

Good news is any current athlete can get 270+ pretty easily in about a month with smart daily training. Look up the requirements to get a 270+ for the APFT and alternate running one day with the other stuff the second day. Do that for a month with no days off (about 30 minutes per day). Don't do any other fitness and time yourself on everything.

Nevertheless, you are focusing on all the wrong things. All your questions about saluting, dress, appearance, customs, courtesies, etc. will be answered once you are in the Det. All that is small potatoes. The more important question is whether or not AROTC is for you, and only you can figure that out.

Give it a whirl for 6 months. If it grows on you, keep going. If you hate it, don't. That's all that the military boils down to. Those that feel called to join and then stay in voluntarily are typically internally motivated to do so. You will either (a) like it, (b) hate it, or (c) be okay with the deal as long as you are paid. They'll tell you how to cut your hair and stand at attention. I promise. :)

Regardless of the outcome, thanks for even considering joining. You are a minority among your generation, and I am very pleased that you did not even mention the money once in that entire opening post. That (and your desire to begin well) says a lot about your character. My guess is that they will be happy to have you, and it will be more a question of whether or not you want to stay instead of whether they will allow you. Good luck, kid, I hope you stick around!
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Thank you for your input, sorry for not clarifying before but yes I am a male. I have always had a desire to serve, as my father did as soon as he migrated to America. I also have aspirations of serving the country with the DOD and one of its many agencies after I serve, I feel that this is the first step.

I have thought on it and realize that the questions I have asked are menial and an outcome of my nervousness about going in blind. I do however now have some more important questions regarding my competitiveness and whether ROTC is right for me. As I stated before ultimately, after serving, I want to end up working with some agency in the Department of Defence, specifically the D.I.A. To get to that point I need to get myself into the Military Intelligence assignment which I have heard is very competitive amongst graduating ROTC cadets.

I plan to double major in political science (concentration international affairs & strategic studies) and history (concentration on the Middle East) at a competitive private college. I have been told by some people that OCS after college would be a better option than doing ROTC as you might not get the assignment you want. My question is if this is true and if so how difficult will it be for me to get an M.I assignment.
 
You have less control over your fate doing OCS than you do participating in ROTC
 
clarksonarmy said:
You have less control over your fate doing OCS than you do participating in ROTC
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+1 to that. OCS/OTS is definitely the tougher way to go as a civilian applicant. Many, many, many fewer seats. You'd almost be better off enlisting post-graduation, doing a few years in Intel, and then applying for OCS (or AF OTS :) )as an E-4 or young E-5.

If you can go ROTC, go ROTC. Be very vocal and proactive about what you want to do and let your cadre know.

Also, I don't know about the Army, but if it's anything like the USAF, you'd do better to attach a technical degree or foreign language attached to that Mideast history major. Or switch to just doing the Mideast History/Culture course and minor in the language. Both PoliSci and History degreed officers are a dime-a-dozen and don't necessarily have a whole lot of applicability to what their job winds up being. Also, AFROTC (and I'm sure AROTC) pretty much gives you a set number of years to get your degree done. Can't bust that, even for a double major.

So, to try and double major+cross-town ROTC+keep grades up at competitive private school+maximize ROTC involvement to improve chances of getting ideal assignment+get all schooling done in limited number of years = A really tough college experience...

Just tossing some strategy out there. :)
 
Tbpxece said:
Also, I don't know about the Army, but if it's anything like the USAF, you'd do better to attach a technical degree or foreign language attached to that Mideast history major. Or switch to just doing the Mideast History/Culture course and minor in the language.
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Army ROTC and the NROTC/MO are nowhere near as tech focused as NROTC and AFROTC is. For Army ROTC, it is generally best to major in something you enjoy, and will be successful at, as GPA is an important factor for competing for active duty and choice of branch.
 
jork32 said:
Hello all,

I am a freshman in college about to go into my second semester. My school does not offer ROTC but I am able to do it through cross-enrollment with a nearby university. I am a bit nervous about the process as I will have missed the introduction semester and will be going into the second semester with no prior experience/knowledge. The first course you take is MILS 100 but since I am enrolling the second semester of the year rather than the first I will be taking the MILS 110 course.

I come to this forum asking for any tips or advice to make my transition as smooth as possible. I am not very familiar with the courtesies and customs of the Army and do not want to go in lacking the knowledge necessary. For instance, the ranking structure of ROTC, how to properly address my peers and officers, when to use what stance / be at attention, how to dress in uniform properly, and the proper length of hair and facial hair (not allowed I assume). I have always kept my hair short on the sides but my hair grows very quickly so it sometimes gets semi-long on the top is this permitted or do I always have to keep it short on both the sides and top. Also, let me know of anything else you feel I should know.

I am also a bit curious about the physical portion of ROTC. I want to be very competitive and stand out so what would be ideal scores for the PT test? In high school, I was a four-sport athlete so I am not too concerned but I just want to be prepared. Typically I can run a mile in 7:15 or less, do around 40 / 50 pushups in one go, and about 50/60 sit-ups. However, I am not so strong in regards to my weight lifting as I just recently have been hitting the gym again. My working weight for bench press is around 115 pounds, with my deadlift and squat around 185.

Looking forward to all of your input.
Click to expand...

1. That you nervous is a good sign. That means you take this step in your life in a serious manner. Outstanding.
2. Not familiar with military courtesies, customs, dress, etc.? Who wasn't before taking that big leap? Don't worry. It ain't rocket science. You'll learn quick enough.
3. Your physical fitness sounds good. Not a concern.
4. You appear to be motivated - you'll need that for cross-campus ROTC, which can be time consuming as difficult to juggle.

Good luck!
 
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