Any truth to the rumor?

N

Navy1

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So, my DD friend spoke to his ROO at his prospective college and was told that b/c of the current administration and the fact that Biden wants to defund the military, that there will be significantly Less or NO campus based ROTC scholarships.... Does anyone know if this is accurate?
 
What rumor? This is one person’s opinion. And does he have a link to Biden stating he wants to ‘defund’ the military? Per Defense News from last month: ‘U.S. President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget request asks for $753 billion in national security funding, an increase of 1.6 percent that includes $715 billion for the Defense Department.’
 
Actually the PresBud. . . the actual submission of the President's desired budget has not been unveiled yet and sent on to Congress. It is actually later than it usually is and will cause difficulties for the various Defense Committees to work through/process. There are actually four full committees who all get a chop and each has different subcommittees. This is a very complex process and it takes a lot of time.

The full Committees are:
  1. House Armed Services Committee
  2. Senate Armed Services Committee
  3. House Appropriations Committee
  4. Senate Appropriations Committee
 
Not sure what college DD's friend is attending, but several of our incoming AROTC parents were on a zoom call with our ROO a couple days ago and were told that there would likely be no campus based scholarships for the class of '25. He wanted to be as transparent as possible so the families could weigh options going forward. Everyone knows that no cadet is guaranteed those campus based scholarships, but to not have it as possibility can really change things.
 
No, the current administration has not defunded the military. In fact his current request asks for more funding. The issue is that-

1.His spending plans do not keep up with inflation.
2.There has been speculation that funding for the DOD will be allocated more to the Navy and Air Force.
3. The Army's budget has been stagnant for the past few years, With the current spending plans, the Army will have to end up cutting a few things.


The past two decades, our wars have been fought in the Middle East where the Army has dominated. Now, the Pacific poses bigger challenges for the United States and we face greater threats from missiles and drones.
 
CarolF said:
So, my DD friend spoke to his ROO at his prospective college and was told that b/c of the current administration and the fact that Biden wants to defund the military, that there will be significantly Less or NO campus based ROTC scholarships.... Does anyone know if this is accurate?
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There has been NO publication of next years White House Budget Request. Rumors (and that is all it is) is that the White House is going to propose a "flat" defense budget at $715 billion (same as last year). As of right now NO ONE knows for sure what the upcoming budget will look like, but there has been NO "Defund the military" calls from the White House.

As for campus based scholarships, my understanding of quite a few of these is that they are funded "in house" by grants and funds from past graduates. If you find your units homepage and look under scholarships you will see what is available. As for this year, I do not believe there have been any cuts, but every year it can and sometimes does change. There are the typical "side load" scholarships that go thru National, and as it stands right now there has been no advice to students not to expect those scholarships for the typical two or three year term starting in the fall of 2021. It makes little sense for the military to cease the two year National Side Load Scholarships as they cause a longer Service Obligation than "Advanced Standing" for the final two years (3 years versus 5 years AD). Both types of students graduate with the ability or commitment to Commission AD.
 
lipton_hot_tea said:
Is he closing Leidos and Northrop Grumman too? Seriously any adult saying this to you isn't being honest. People say all kinds of crazy things. I've been hearing since I was 10 that the next president is the anti-Christ.😆
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Agree. The defense budget goes up and down every year, but not by very much percentage-wise. Neither party controls Congress to the extent that it can dictate the defense budget. There will have to be consensus. And there will be.

But I have this thought about national defense long-term: Our biggest threat is not from foreign powers. Our biggest threat is fighting among ourselves. If we don’t come together, no amount of $$ spent on defense can save the United States from decline.
 
After seeing what happened with AFROTC recently, perhaps this is an attempt to be a bit transparent about where things stand. Hopefully stated with a caveat that its a ‘best guess opinion’, vs fact. But maybe they are trying to let families know things are a little less ‘status quo’ this year than prior. Perhaps its an attrition thing due to COVID. All this makes sense to me. BUT its still not fact. Always go in EYES WIDE OPEN. Nothing is a guarantee. Nothing.
 
justdoit19 said:
After seeing what happened with AFROTC recently, perhaps this is an attempt to be a bit transparent about where things stand. Hopefully stated with a caveat that its a ‘best guess opinion’, vs fact. But maybe they are trying to let families know things are a little less ‘status quo’ this year than prior. Perhaps its an attrition thing due to COVID. All this makes sense to me. BUT its still not fact. Always go in EYES WIDE OPEN. Nothing is a guarantee. Nothing.
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What happened with AFROTC?
 
NJROTC-CC said:
Agree. The defense budget goes up and down every year, but not by very much percentage-wise. Neither party controls Congress to the extent that it can dictate the defense budget. There will have to be consensus. And there will be.

But I have this thought about national defense long-term: Our biggest threat is not from foreign powers. Our biggest threat is fighting among ourselves. If we don’t come together, no amount of $$ spent on defense can save the United States from decline.
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^This, the Defense Budget changes through all administrations. Even in an administration that spends more on the military, there can still be cuts due to changes in warfare and priorities of each branch. Unless you are a part of congress or a high ranking officer, don't worry much about what you can't control. Worry about what you can control (PT, Grades, and your health).
 
ghostwritergirl said:
Not sure what college DD's friend is attending, but several of our incoming AROTC parents were on a zoom call with our ROO a couple days ago and were told that there would likely be no campus based scholarships for the class of '25. He wanted to be as transparent as possible so the families could weigh options going forward. Everyone knows that no cadet is guaranteed those campus based scholarships, but to not have it as possibility can really change things.
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My DS and I were on a zoom call Tuesday evening learning this exact information from his ROO. His school is still honoring the pre contract that was offered for freshman year.
 
lipton_hot_tea said:
Is he closing Leidos and Northrop Grumman too? Seriously any adult saying this to you isn't being honest. People say all kinds of crazy things. I've been hearing since I was 10 that the next president is the anti-Christ.😆
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The person who said this was a ROO at my DD friends College. He wanted to put it out there b/c he (her friend) is/was planning on getting a 3 year Campus based. Now the ROO is letting him know that may not happen....b/c of cuts or whatever...
 
obaad5 said:
My DS and I were on a zoom call Tuesday evening learning this exact information from his ROO. His school is still honoring the pre contract that was offered for freshman year.
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Yea... They just want to keep the kids informed so they know coming in it may not happen. I feel so bad for him b/c he may change his college plans now, his first choice is too expensive w/o ROTC Scholarship. :(
 
CarolF said:
Yea... They just want to keep the kids informed so they know coming in it may not happen. I feel so bad for him b/c he may change his college plans now, his first choice is too expensive w/o ROTC Scholarship. :(
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I've always read on this forum "don't pick a school you can't afford" because there are no guarantees .. great advice. my son is moving forward with his plan since it's his #1 college choice with a major he wants to study. if he doesn't get a campus scholarship for years 2,3,4 we will re- evaluate the numbers and have a backup plan to transfer to a school that offers his major and where we can benefit from the academic common market in-state tuition. gotta always have a plan😉
 
obaad5 said:
I've always read on this forum "don't pick a school you can't afford" because there are no guarantees .. great advice. my son is moving forward with his plan since it's his #1 college choice with a major he wants to study. if he doesn't get a campus scholarship for years 2,3,4 we will re- evaluate the numbers and have a backup plan to transfer to a school that offers his major and where we can benefit from the academic common market in-state tuition. gotta always have a plan😉
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Good advice. No one should assume they will excel enough to win a campus scholarship in ROTC. Especially, if the numbers are down.

It is state school all the way for us unless DS wins a 4 yr scholarship. Even with in-state tuition and a prepaid college plan, we will have to take out some modest loans for room and board. But, sacrifice is sometimes necessary to get a college degree.
 
I appreciate them trying to help a kid make plans but them sharing the idea that one person in a country with a stable democracy can defund the military before the scholarship info is what makes them sound off the wall. Even without knowledge about how the AF staffs officers or budget info they shouldn't be saying that.
 
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