Active duty

Warhead

Warhead

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May 12, 2018
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How hard is it for me to get active duty through ROTC.
Also could I get a list of the entire officer branches that are available.
 
Cole McCleary said:
How hard is it for me to get active duty through ROTC.
Also could I get a list of the entire officer branches that are available.
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Which Service?

I went to the Navy ROTC site and the available
officer warfare communities (branch) are listed.

I am sure the Army and Air Force master ROTC sites are similarly set up, as primary research sources for you to explore. All the services have official web sites set up that cover officer warfare areas, all specialties. Not all are available directly from ROTC.

Navy and Marine Corps ROTC grads go AD, to the best of my knowledge. There are many here who can address Army and Air Force.

Edit: using my most advanced google search term skills, I used “Army post-ROTC career branch.” Landed right on it.

There is an enormous amount of info out there on official sites, targeted toward people in your age range who are thinking about this path. This will be the accurate program info. Similar to my standard advice for those exploring service academies, I recommend finding the primary sites, reading every page, link and drop-down. That exercise in self-reliance will hone future junior officer skills in initiative, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

Don’t be surprised if some military sites are “.com” and not “.mil.” They are official, just part of the general recruiting platform.
 
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No one can answer that but you. The best path is the one that is best for you. OCS tends to be a path with the most variables because it tends to surge and slow depending on the needs of the service. So at times there could be tons of spots, for other times the pipeline is dry.
 
Cole McCleary said:
Ok thank you

Also which is better to do OCS or ROTC
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No “better” - just what is right for you. After you research both, you can think about what feels like a good fit for you. Top-quality officers come out of all commissioning paths.

ROTC is a great balance of regular college life (assuming you are not at a senior military college, which is a different choice, but also has ROTC) and progressively more advanced officer training. You get plenty of opportunity to learn about the service, absorb the culture, get out to training opportunities. The scholarship money can be excellent.

There are plenty of threads on OCS/OTS. Your main takeaway there is that you could be the greatest possible OC candidate on the planet, but if they don’t need you, you’re not selected. OCS can afford to be enormously selective, because the “needs of the Service” is the primary driver.

I mentioned senior military colleges. Don’t overlook them in your research.
https://m.goarmy.com/rotc/courses-and-colleges/military-colleges.m.html
 
It is just scary sometimes how I post and there’s NavyHoops succinctly saying the same thing by the time I correct a typo and hit Save.
 
Cole McCleary said:
How hard is it for me to get active duty through ROTC.
Also could I get a list of the entire officer branches that are available.
Click to expand...

Cole --some great advice from Capt MJ and Navy Hoops . . .

How are you doing in school? Are you in middle or high school? college? do you have good grades? are you a Scout? are you in Junior ROTC? Do you play a sport?

In order to earn a "national" ROTC scholarship right out of high school takes a good school record with good grades, good SAT/ACT scores, a good Physical Fitness Test score, and evidence that you have leadership and teamwork abilities. Typically if you complete your "national" ROTC scholarship you are then able to commission as an officer upon college graduation

Another path is to earn an "on-campus" ROTC scholarship through your academic performance at college and your participation and performance as part of your college ROTC detachment. Again, typically those that complete the awarded on-campus ROTC scholarship are able to commission as an officer upon college graduation.

There are also some that participate as part of ROTC at their college, perform well, but not well enough to earn a ROTC scholarship, but are offered to "contract" with ROTC and they are also usually able to commission as an officer upon graduation.

As Capt MJ stated, be sure to look into the SMCs. For the Army, SMC graduates have a codified priority for commissioning over non-SMC ROTC graduates.

There is also an "Early Commissioning Program" for the Army through some of the nation's Junior Military Colleges.

You can find a lot of information on all these things on line as well as in threads here on the forum. Use the search tool in the upper right on this page.

Best wishes to you.
 
Ok. I’m a senior this year(graduating in 2019). I have all A’s except for a few B’s. I play soccer And basketball I’m also in my schools band and choir. I have been looking at the army since my freshman year and I have found a few different things then what I have been told here, not saying anyone is wrong by the way. With ROTC once you complete it and you contract regardless if you have a scholarship or not you become a officer in the army. And that it is not hard to contract if you don’t have a scholarship. Also if you get a scholarship you go reserve but if you don’t want a scholarship you can go active. Also some scholarships allow you to go active. Again don’t know how true these statements are. And I’m not saying anyone is wrong.

Also I’m only talking about army that is what I want to do.
 
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I have studied up on military tactics and literally anything army related from techniques to well anything. I go shooting and workout. Everything I do is so I can do well in the army. Should I go for a scholarship? I’m not a genius but a I’m a “A” student
 
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Why not try for the scholarship? If you don’t receive one then you enroll in ROTC and compete to receive a contract. Both paths will get you to being an officer. Yes, the Army has some unique scholarship programs combined with reserve opportunities. It’s important to understand the fine print of any contract. There are a few PMSs on this board who provide some great knowledge, especially on some of the reserve options Cadets will be offered. If you want to become an active duty Army Officer, ROTC is a great path. You seem to enjoy tactics and things and if your goal is to be infantry realize that you will be competing for an infantry spot. You could end up with any branch. Enlisting probably gives the best control as you sign a contract with a branch. Also just a note... it’s great you enjoy tactics and shooting, but when you get in uniform it’s best to listen up and learn, regardless of what you have read. They are teaching it fro the ground up from reason.
 
Cole McCleary said:
Ok. I’m a senior this year(graduating in 2019). I have all A’s except for a few B’s. I play soccer And basketball I’m also in my schools band and choir. I have been looking at the army since my freshman year and I have found a few different things then what I have been told here, not saying anyone is wrong by the way. With ROTC once you complete it and you contract regardless if you have a scholarship or not you become a officer in the army. And that it is not hard to contract if you don’t have a scholarship. Also if you get a scholarship you go reserve but if you don’t want a scholarship you can go active. Also some scholarships allow you to go active. Again don’t know how true these statements are. And I’m not saying anyone is wrong.

Also I’m only talking about army that is what I want to do.
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OK -- great! thanks for the additional info.

Others will help correct me. . . but getting an AROTC scholarship does not automatically put you in the "Reserves". SMC graduates get a priority requesting an active duty commission. In addition, in recent times there have been enough slots for the majority of those requesting an active duty commission from non-SMC schools to also gain an active duty commission in the Army. Some however do go into the Reserves or choose the National Guard. My DS is on a 4 year AROTC national scholarship at VMI and will commission as a 2LT in the Army next year with an Active Duty commission. He has a roommate that has contracted with the Army, but does not have an AROTC scholarship, and he will also commission as a 2LT in the Army with an Active Duty commission.

Cole McCleary said:
I’m not planning on getting a scholarship. Is that a problem?
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It is not a problem, but why not apply for an AROTC national scholarship? Sounds like you may have the record for it. You don't have to accept it if it is offered. Just go on line and apply! The Army awards 4-year and 3-year scholarships that is typically used for tuition. The Army also pays for your books and gives you a stipend (pay) for going to school. You are still responsible for paying for "room and board". Some schools are able to help out with those other expenses if you have earned an AROTC scholarship

Cole McCleary said:
I have studied up on military tactics and literally anything army related from techniques to well anything. I go shooting and workout. Everything I do is so I can do well in the army. Should I go for a scholarship? I’m not a genius but a I’m a “A” student
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Absolutely! You also sound like you'd be a great candidate for one of the SMCs -- Univ North Georgia, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Norwich University, Texas A&M, & Virginia Tech. Be sure to check them out on-line. They each have a Corps of Cadets with rich military traditions. If you have any questions on VMI let me know. Others here on line can tell you about the other SMCs.
 
I have actually found a college it’s called Bob Jones University. They are partnering with Furman university in AROTC.
 
Since they are not a SMC will it would be hard for me to get a active duty commission?
 
It shouldn’t be extremely difficult to get active duty. The percentage varies each year. Do well in ROTC and more doors are opened in pursing active duty and your branch of choice. As others mentioned SMCs do get active duty as long as they get their commander’s endorsement.
 
No. Just perform well academically, physically and in leadership positions. Those things will determine your OML ranking and as long as it's high enough you'll get active duty. A slouch will NOT get active duty. Participate fully.

One more suggestion - contact Tactical Nuke to get your screen name changed. It's not a very good idea to identify yourself on an anonymous forum. You have no idea who is lurking out there.
 
Ok thank you all for the help that has cleared some major issues up. And I will change my name thanks for the tip.
 
My wife and I were both ROTC. I will tell you what you will hear ad nauseum if you enter the military- "Needs of the Army" will determine active duty.

My wife and I were "fortunate" to graduate when there was a perceived need for lieutenants to potentially plug the Fulda Gap. Just a few years later I probably would not have gotten active duty, much less aviation with my grades. Also, I was a contract/SMP (simultaneous membership program- in the National Guard as well as ROTC), cadet, not a scholarship cadet. Somehow I got active duty aviation branch. My wife performed quite well academically and had a "guaranteed reserve" scholarship as she had no desire to be a full-time Army officer. She was going to go to grad school and be a teacher. Well, "needs of the Army", she got a "congratulations" letter in the mail that she had been selected for active duty and Regular Army. She jumped up and down on her ROTC commander's desk and complained but ended up having to salute the flagpole and move on. She is STILL active duty and a colonel but made me a pinky promise that she's getting out after this assignment.:rolleyes:

So there are no guarantees. Control what you can through academics and performance in ROTC. Playing soccer will help as you will learn as much about leadership on the soccer pitch as you will in the ROTC classroom. Consider your other options such as service academies. It's always possible to transfer from a college to a service academy though that is not for everyone and there is no guarantee. Good luck.
 
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If you make it through AF Rotc, you will commission as AD. Until recently that was the only way to go. They now allow some to go reserve. Of on the cadets at my sons detachment commissioned and will go reserve
 
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