ROTC/Reserve Units (Advice needed)

Karmylooking

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Jan 17, 2019
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I'm a senior in high school this year and I was looking to enlist in Army reserves after I graduate. However, I can't just enlist in a unit because I need to be non-deployable so I can finish college in 4 years then go active.
Is the split-option route good? and am I deployable after I finish AIT? Since I don't qualify for SMP till my sophomore or junior year.

Or, is it possible for me to be contracted right out of high school? So that way I won't be deployed and I'll be a full time college student.

If nothing works out, I can wait till my sophomore/junior year, however I want to get started as soon as possible. Not doing this for the money, I have college paid for already.
 
If you want to finish college in 4 years, then stay out of the Reserve Component and do normal ROTC.

If you want to be prior enlisted, then just go AD now. Get some school done while you are in, and then separate, join ROTC, and finish your degree.

The path you are proposing is way too complicated, especially if you don't need college money but also don't want to deploy.

Missing deployments and/or being nondeployable as junior enlisted in the Army is a great way to negatively impact your career. I really recommend against it.
 
If you want to finish college in 4 years, then stay out of the Reserve Component and do normal ROTC.

If you want to be prior enlisted, then just go AD now. Get some school done while you are in, and then separate, join ROTC, and finish your degree.

The path you are proposing is way too complicated, especially if you don't need college money but also don't want to deploy.

Missing deployments and/or being nondeployable as junior enlisted in the Army is a great way to negatively impact your career. I really recommend against it.

So even if I just went split option? Do BCT this summer and AIT next summer is not a good idea? The LtC at my school said it could be a good option and that's also what my recruiter is telling me.
 
I agree with @Tbpxece .

I don't think it's possible to be in the USAR or ARNG and not be deployable.

You can do a split option, but once you're MOS-qualified/fully trained (ie done with AIT), you're at risk for deploying - regardless of where you're at with your studies.
 
I agree with @Tbpxece .

I don't think it's possible to be in the USAR or ARNG and not be deployable.

You can do a split option, but once you're MOS-qualified/fully trained (ie done with AIT), you're at risk for deploying - regardless of where you're at with your studies.

The thing is, I'll most likely be qualified for SMP at that point, after AIT, so I would just turn to non-deployable? Or I'd be contracted after my freshman year.

If not, what are the chances of being deployed with a reserve unit?
 
I'm telling you, you are making this too complicated. If you enlist, be it active or reserve, you will be deployable.

As for the recruiter, they are there to enlist people. Even the nice ones. It's like wanting pizza and going to Taco Bell. They can make you a pizza, sure, but it's not the best pizza. If you want pizza, go to a pizza joint. Same concept applies here.

You said you don't need money for school, want to go AD, and that it is important to finish in 4 years. Why would you do anything but (a) ROTC, or (b) enlist in AD for 4, then go to school? Anything else is not inline with your stated goals and runs the risk of making you appear dead weight to the Army.
 
If not, what are the chances of being deployed with a reserve unit?

As a junior enlisted, fresh out of AIT, presumably single, with minimum obligations, and no family responsibilities? About as high as it gets.

You know we are in about 10 different conflicts right now, right? :)
 
If not, what are the chances of being deployed with a reserve unit?

As a junior enlisted, fresh out of AIT, presumably single, with minimum obligations, and no family responsibilities? About as high as it gets.

You know we are in about 10 different conflicts right now, right? :)

Ok great, actually thank you. I'll wait to apply for SMP and just stick with that junior/senior year.
 
Thanks for being willing to serve, even if you got a crazy idea of how to go about it. :)

Seriously, ask that recruiter why you just going the normal 4 year ROTC route is not the best solution for you if money is not a factor, but time is.

Btw, I am priorE, and happy I was enlisted before commissioning, so this isn't coming from someone who is down on enlisted and/or recruiters.

Again, thanks either way for being willing to serve when so many are not. Very cool of you.
 
Thanks for being willing to serve, even if you got a crazy idea of how to go about it. :)

Seriously, ask that recruiter why you just going the normal 4 year ROTC route is not the best solution for you if money is not a factor, but time is.

Btw, I am priorE, and happy I was enlisted before commissioning, so this isn't coming from someone who is down on enlisted and/or recruiters.

Again, thanks either way for being willing to serve when so many are not. Very cool of you.

So, personally, you think me just doing ROTC and trying to get contracted/SMP is the best route to do?

No problem, I'm glad I'm able to have the opportunity to do something better with my life and be able to serve.
 
If your goal is to be an AD Army officer, and you don't need college money, then pick your school, join their AROTC as a noncontracted cadet, and contract when you can. Keep it simple, and normal. College is hard enough when in ROTC.
 
If your goal is to be an AD Army officer, and you don't need college money, then pick your school, join their AROTC as a noncontracted cadet, and contract when you can. Keep it simple, and normal. College is hard enough when in ROTC.

Which is most likely what I'll end up doing. I'm just super excited to get into the real world and my mos and past ROTC but I need to be patient with it.
 
Which is most likely what I'll end up doing. I'm just super excited to get into the real world and my mos and past ROTC but I need to be patient with it.

Awesome to hear that. Don't let naysayers get you down along the way. Keep that enthusiasm and you'll get a lot to be excited about.
 
Which is most likely what I'll end up doing. I'm just super excited to get into the real world and my mos and past ROTC but I need to be patient with it.

Awesome to hear that. Don't let naysayers get you down along the way. Keep that enthusiasm and you'll get a lot to be excited about.

Thanks for the help. Its been wild talking and getting so many different opinions, that I'm not sure who to listen to.
 
Thanks for the help. Its been wild talking and getting so many different opinions, that I'm not sure who to listen to.

Always listen to those above you who have an active interest in your professional development. In this case, your parents, your faith leader, and your future cadre. Go talk to actual cadre at the ROTC you wish to join. They likely won't bs you.
 
I'm a senior in high school this year and I was looking to enlist in Army reserves after I graduate. However, I can't just enlist in a unit because I need to be non-deployable so I can finish college in 4 years then go active.
Is the split-option route good? and am I deployable after I finish AIT? Since I don't qualify for SMP till my sophomore or junior year.

Or, is it possible for me to be contracted right out of high school? So that way I won't be deployed and I'll be a full time college student.

If nothing works out, I can wait till my sophomore/junior year, however I want to get started as soon as possible. Not doing this for the money, I have college paid for already.

Actually, the path you are proposing is a valid option, and I think you are overly concerned about getting deployed. If you do split option you aren’t deployable until you finish AIT. By the time you finish AIT you should be a contracted Cadet, and doing SMP. Sounds like the PMS you talked to probably has a lot of Cadets that take this path.

Here is the risk though...what happens if you come to school and ROTC isn’t quite what you thought it was and you decide not to SMP/continue? What happens if your grades are good enough to earn a contract, or they cut back on contracts and you can’t SMP when you planned to. The other risk is that if you want to get Active Duty then you need to focus on grades and participation in Army ROTC. If you are going to drill each month and you have to worry about annual training with you unit it could be a distractor. Of course if you don’t get active duty you will already have a unit.

I don’t know what school, or what you plan to study. At Clarkson, most of my Cadets are studying engineering, so we make sure they are academically set, and Army is a good fit before we go talk to the recruiter about enlisting and SMP. In our state they can receive State Tuition Assistance without attending basic or AIT.

I suspect the recruiter may have tried to sell you on the “you’ll be a better leader if you go to Basic/AIT and were enlisted” pitch. Don’t fall for it.

Recommend you carefully consider enlisting first.
 
I would suggest researching the minuteman scholarship option. Folks on this board may know more about it but that does seem to line up with not being deployed while in school as you stated was a concern.

This board seems to have gotten an edge in recent days. Probably from nerves as folks wait for decisions on options. Hang in there. Check it out and see if that might appeal to you, or not.

Good luck!
 
I suspect the recruiter may have tried to sell you on the “you’ll be a better leader if you go to Basic/AIT and were enlisted” pitch. Don’t fall for it.

Recommend you carefully consider enlisting first.
My suspicion as well. That, and forgetting/not hearing that OP doesn't need TA or a scholarship.
 
I'm a senior in high school this year and I was looking to enlist in Army reserves after I graduate. However, I can't just enlist in a unit because I need to be non-deployable so I can finish college in 4 years then go active.
Is the split-option route good? and am I deployable after I finish AIT? Since I don't qualify for SMP till my sophomore or junior year.

Or, is it possible for me to be contracted right out of high school? So that way I won't be deployed and I'll be a full time college student.

If nothing works out, I can wait till my sophomore/junior year, however I want to get started as soon as possible. Not doing this for the money, I have college paid for already.

Actually, the path you are proposing is a valid option, and I think you are overly concerned about getting deployed. If you do split option you aren’t deployable until you finish AIT. By the time you finish AIT you should be a contracted Cadet, and doing SMP. Sounds like the PMS you talked to probably has a lot of Cadets that take this path.

Here is the risk though...what happens if you come to school and ROTC isn’t quite what you thought it was and you decide not to SMP/continue? What happens if your grades are good enough to earn a contract, or they cut back on contracts and you can’t SMP when you planned to. The other risk is that if you want to get Active Duty then you need to focus on grades and participation in Army ROTC. If you are going to drill each month and you have to worry about annual training with you unit it could be a distractor. Of course if you don’t get active duty you will already have a unit.

I don’t know what school, or what you plan to study. At Clarkson, most of my Cadets are studying engineering, so we make sure they are academically set, and Army is a good fit before we go talk to the recruiter about enlisting and SMP. In our state they can receive State Tuition Assistance without attending basic or AIT.

I suspect the recruiter may have tried to sell you on the “you’ll be a better leader if you go to Basic/AIT and were enlisted” pitch. Don’t fall for it.

Recommend you carefully consider enlisting first.

The thing is, I know I 100% want to continue with ROTC and go active duty so my mind isn’t going to change on anything. I want to be able to get the experience from enlisting now and I understand the extra time it would take away from school and I am working on ways to work around it. My grades should be just fine, I study enough that I hope to do very well in college.

It would be a good route to try to be contracted my sophomore year then? I still have to talk to my school again and a few others.

Even if I do choose to do this, I can still go to active duty after I graduate, correct?
 
As previously said, if you want to have enlisted experience, then just enlist AD. You can knock out classes while AD without too much trouble. You will be deployable, though. After you feel you have checked that box, then separate and go to ROTC, WOCS, or OCS (if you managed to finish your degree while enlisted).

If you want to graduate college by spring 2025, with a standard 4-year degree, then do regular ROTC.

If you want to have an atypical enlisted experience, delay graduation by up to a year (depending on how quickly you get to Basic, and what AIT you attend), and generally make things harder for ROTC, then look at split option.

I'm not in the Army, so @clarksonarmy or your ROTC fulltimers would be better POCs than me. However, if you don't need the money, but really want to graduate in 4 years (to the point you are worried a deployment would delay that goal), I have no idea why you would consider anything other than normal ROTC. That advice holds across all branches.
 
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