Weight Requirements For Army ROTC?

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FatRob63

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Back in January I was offered a 2 year Army ROTC early commissioning scholarship to Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Because it is an accelerated version of the 4-year ROTC program into 2 years, I am required to attend the 30 day Army basic camp at Ft. Knox this July, however, I am worried that I may be disqualified from attending because of my weight. I am 17, 5'9", and currently weight 215 pounds. I have played football, wrestling, and thrown shot put during track season all four years of high school, and consider myself to be very athletic for a guy my size. I maxed out push ups at 75 for many of the ROTC PFTs and CFAs I did this year, ran a 7:02 mile, and can perform 11 strict pull-ups. I also do a lot of weight training and am at a well above average strength level. When I interviewed for the scholarship at VFMC, the Major interviewing me was already aware of my weight and that it was above the Army's standards, so he requested that I bring PT gear to the interview so that I could be taped for a body fat percentage. The result of the measurements placed me at a 20% body fat percentage, which the Major didn't hesitate to inform me was the absolute maximum the Army would allow. He then proceeded to offer me the scholarship, but did mention that weight loss would do me good. What I am uncertain of however is if I will be able to participate in the basic camp if I am still above the Army's weight standard for my height. Does being athletic and within the body fat requirements for the give me a sort of "waiver" regarding my entry to the ROTC program, or do I absolutely have to meet the weight standard. I have always been a bigger kid, I was just born that way. I have always been sort of bulky and I haven't weighed below 200 pounds since middle school, which is what is worrying me when trying to lose weight for the program. I am trying my hardest to lose weight at the moment and am definitely making progress, but I am not certain that weighing 184 pounds is something that my body will be able to do between now and the time I ship out. I am by no means looking for an easy way out having to cut weight to meet the standards, but I would just like to know if anyone can give advice regarding what will happen if I don't but am still within the body fat percentage.

Any advice will help and thank you in advance.
 
Unfortunately, if you can’t meet Height/Weight standards, and can’t meet the body fat test, you aren’t able to join. I think it’s pretty ridiculous given that there are some very fit big guys. It should be that if you can pass the PT test, it shouldn’t matter even if you’re 500 pounds, but sadly, the rules are rules.
 
Minimalmaple28 said:
Unfortunately, if you can’t meet Height/Weight standards, and can’t meet the body fat test, you aren’t able to join. I think it’s pretty ridiculous given that there are some very fit big guys. It should be that if you can pass the PT test, it shouldn’t matter even if you’re 500 pounds, but sadly, the rules are rules.
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Thanks you for the reply, I really appreciate it! Guess I just have to keep grinding.
 
Remember it isn’t just for basic training, your height and weight will also be used to activate your scholarship each semester, as well as continue to be a standard throughout your service. Keep working. The reason why body fat percentage can override height and weight is because someone who is more muscular is going to be over the weight standard, but sitting at a 20 percent body fat means you do have weight you can lose, meaning it is not all lean tissue. It might take some dietary adjustments but you don’t want to go crazy with it either, combining your workouts with making some meaningful changes in diet will yield in losing some pounds. The good news is, you have time. Worrying about it is stressful, instead channel that into working towards your goal. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Not only that, but once you get in the military you either have to maintain that body fat or get back down to the weight standard in the Army I believe
 
You can do it!! Don't give up. do a lot of high intensity training like sprints. Do watch your diet; you can also try intermittent fasting. I have faith you can do it! It takes the right mindset.
 
FatRob63 said:
Back in January I was offered a 2 year Army ROTC early commissioning scholarship to Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Because it is an accelerated version of the 4-year ROTC program into 2 years, I am required to attend the 30 day Army basic camp at Ft. Knox this July, however, I am worried that I may be disqualified from attending because of my weight. I am 17, 5'9", and currently weight 215 pounds. I have played football, wrestling, and thrown shot put during track season all four years of high school, and consider myself to be very athletic for a guy my size. I maxed out push ups at 75 for many of the ROTC PFTs and CFAs I did this year, ran a 7:02 mile, and can perform 11 strict pull-ups. I also do a lot of weight training and am at a well above average strength level. When I interviewed for the scholarship at VFMC, the Major interviewing me was already aware of my weight and that it was above the Army's standards, so he requested that I bring PT gear to the interview so that I could be taped for a body fat percentage. The result of the measurements placed me at a 20% body fat percentage, which the Major didn't hesitate to inform me was the absolute maximum the Army would allow. He then proceeded to offer me the scholarship, but did mention that weight loss would do me good. What I am uncertain of however is if I will be able to participate in the basic camp if I am still above the Army's weight standard for my height. Does being athletic and within the body fat requirements for the give me a sort of "waiver" regarding my entry to the ROTC program, or do I absolutely have to meet the weight standard. I have always been a bigger kid, I was just born that way. I have always been sort of bulky and I haven't weighed below 200 pounds since middle school, which is what is worrying me when trying to lose weight for the program. I am trying my hardest to lose weight at the moment and am definitely making progress, but I am not certain that weighing 184 pounds is something that my body will be able to do between now and the time I ship out. I am by no means looking for an easy way out having to cut weight to meet the standards, but I would just like to know if anyone can give advice regarding what will happen if I don't but am still within the body fat percentage.

Any advice will help and thank you in advance.
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So it sounds like you are confused. You exceed the screening weight but if you are passing tape at 20% you are good to go. However, being on the line isn't a place you want to start or spend your career particularly as you age. What you want to do is look at your diet and exercise regimen and then see where you need to make adjustments. For most people that is at the gut (the tape test is the neck and the midsection and the closer the numbers the better. So look at good core work outs to reduce belly fat while maintaining your fitness ability overall.

However, rest assured if you are 20% or lower then you are eligible for scholarship and all that ensues. It will remain 20% until you are 21 years old then it will increase to 22%. There is a gradient increase every 7 to 10 years after that.
 
FatRob63 said:
I would just like to know if anyone can give advice regarding what will happen if I don't but am still within the body fat percentage.
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@emwvmi01 posted ahead of me and addresses your questions.

But... the tape test is dramatically inaccurate and relies on the person doing the taping. You DO NOT want to be at the maximum body fat percentage and take the chance that you get a bad measurement. You need to shed weight and you need to start now.
 
You want to control what you can and not have to rely on the vagaries of a tape test. Nightmares like the following don't occur often, but some years back the son of one of our posters was disenrolled (from NROTC?) only a few weeks before graduation and commissioning because of a failed tape test. The poor kid was obliged to repay four years of scholarship funds after appeals were rejected.

Maybe one of the other dinosaurs will confirm this.
 
@USMCGrunt 1000% agree and well said!

My daughter is 5’5 3/4”
She has MOSTLY been evaluated at the obvious round up to 5’6” for height and weight
She has once been measured at 5’7”
And TWICE been measured at under 5’5” and rounded up to 5’5” and both times had to be taped due to being 1 lb over that lower weight standard. Both times it wasn’t a problem, her body fat percentage was way below, but it always made her nervous because if they can’t be consistent on measuring height, measuring the circumference of several different body parts seems even more of an issue! So yes, I totally agree, if you know you will always be taped, make sure you are low enough below the max that you have margain for error.
 
EDelahanty said:
Nightmares like the following don't occur often, but some years back the son of one of our posters was disenrolled (from NROTC?) only a few weeks before graduation and commissioning because of a failed tape test. The poor kid was obliged to repay four years of scholarship funds after appeals were rejected.

Maybe one of the other dinosaurs will confirm this.
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Dinosaur #12 reporting in....
Here is a link to what I believe is the correct NROTC case:
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/update-on-disenrollment-from-nrotc.27658/
 
EDelahanty said:
You want to control what you can and not have to rely on the vagaries of a tape test. Nightmares like the following don't occur often, but some years back the son of one of our posters was disenrolled (from NROTC?) only a few weeks before graduation and commissioning because of a failed tape test. The poor kid was obliged to repay four years of scholarship funds after appeals were rejected.

Maybe one of the other dinosaurs will confirm this.
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I can definitely confirm the tale.It was AFROTC but that's beside the point. I think the repayment amounted to 144,000 dollars which is pretty gross in my mind!
 
kinnem said:
EDelahanty said:
You want to control what you can and not have to rely on the vagaries of a tape test. Nightmares like the following don't occur often, but some years back the son of one of our posters was disenrolled (from NROTC?) only a few weeks before graduation and commissioning because of a failed tape test. The poor kid was obliged to repay four years of scholarship funds after appeals were rejected.

Maybe one of the other dinosaurs will confirm this.
Click to expand...
I can definitely confirm the tale.It was AFROTC but that's beside the point. I think the repayment amounted to 144,000 dollars which is pretty gross in my mind!
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That’s absolutely ridiculous! Obviously the kid should have been keeping track of that stuff, but it’d seem the military would give a little leeway when taking into account that they had done everything right up until that point. Why do they care what your weight/bf% is if you can pass the PFT?
 
Minimalmaple28 said:
That’s absolutely ridiculous! Obviously the kid should have been keeping track of that stuff, but it’d seem the military would give a little leeway when taking into account that they had done everything right up until that point. Why do they care what your weight/bf% is if you can pass the PFT?
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That horse has been dead for several years. Let's not resurrect it and beat it to death again. The rules are the rules and the violator was aware of them.
 
You will want to confirm this with the school but I’m thinking that you won’t need to meet the requirements exactly to be able to attend the Basic Camp, you would however need to be in compliance by the time you start school to be eligible to activate your scholarship. If this is indeed the case I would still advise you work very hard to get closer to the requirements before heading to camp. The camp should help you to continue the progress

Talk to your school to make sure how the requirements work in regards to going to camp.
 
Words of encouragement...my DS is currently a sophomore. In HS he was offensive lineman 6'2 265...well over requirements...every year after football he would get down to about 215 for baseball season....he's now 6'3 and is down to 196...lost about 20 lbs since he went back to school in January. He works out daily on his own in addition to PT, he is constantly eating but it's all healthy tuna, egg whites, fruits vegetables. It takes alot of discipline being a college student with dining hall food and it's easy to make excuses not to work out based on course load etc....but if you put your mind to it, anything is possible...my DS is healthier and weighs less than freshman year HS....hang in there...you can do it.
 
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