AFROTC scholarship lost

[acesmom]

anyone out there with knowledge/experience I would appreciate your input. DS just lost his type 2 ROTC scholarship today for failure on PFA. He is devastated beyond words. He went faithfully to PT and thought that would be enough and he would be okay.

so from what he's told me his scholarship is for sure gone. However, he says that HQ now reviews his files and situation and can not only dis-enroll him from ROTC entirely, but can also ban him from future officer programs/consideration.

I understand the loss of the scholarship as hard as it is. The regs clearly state they must pass it by 12/31 of freshman fall term. He knew that and didn't adequatley prepare. The other stuff though, disenrollment from the program and possibly never being able to be an officer seem incredibly harsh. This is an 18 yr old freshman who made a mistake in his preparation. He didn't get a DUI, fail his classes, have conduct unbecoming a future officer, etc.

anyone been through this or know what his options are? I spoke with his commander who was a bit vague. Said HQ could come back and say he is eliglbe for future officer programs but commanders was unsure if that included possibly being able to do ROTC in the future or if it just met he could go to another branch of service and try to be an officer. HQ answer on his fate takes 4-6 weeks.

I just can't believe the AF would feel an 18 yr old kid making an innocent error in judgment on his fitness prep would ban him for life from officership in the AF. That's beyond harsh. Yes, I know it's the military...I was in the Army for 9 years.

bottom line..anyone have any experience with this and if he has a chance of ever being in AF ROTC again or ever being and AF officer. He's watching his life's dream disintegrate and is devastated.

 

[EDelahanty]

How far off is he? There are 12 days left in 2011 to work at it.

 

[patentesq]

acesmom, Pima is likely the best person to advise here. This story upsets me greatly and confirms my belief that the AF seems much less tolerant of mis-steps than any of the other services right now. Perhaps you can push the issue and request the administration of a PT test on 12/31, which will, if denied, preserve your AF Regs argument for appeal. If the PT test on 12/31 is granted and your son passes, then tell him he dodged a major bullet. You might also consider whether there is a silver lining here and that your son's destiny is actually in another branch of service. I say this because even if he is successful in overcoming this problem, your son and the AF cadre may not be on the same team after all.

Scholarship Recipients: Learn from this. We are in an era of "no slack" right now.

 

[Pima]

Unfortunately, yes they can ban him from even being in ROTC or OCS.

It is a repeat of the 90's. The dollars are just not there and there are too many officers in the system for what they need of predict for future personnel needs. Can he commission in an ANG? I don't know, but ANG/Reserves are unique, many are full time officers and progress up the ranks like AD.

Look at the AFA for class of 16 they will only be taking 1050 compared to 1350 2 yrs ago. AFROTC is the filler for AFA. AFA knocked the class down to 1150 for 15. It is their way of saying we need to slow this pipeline down.

The commander would have been vague on purpose because your DS is 18, which means he legally is an adult and cannot speak to you at all regarding his status.

I am sorry for you and him. This is not what you want to hear right now, I wish I could say it will all work out. I hope it does.

The only thing I can think to say is has he talked to his cadet mentor for guidance? Has he spoken to his FCC? Can he get them to support him with the command? Was it only the PFT, or was it a combination of factors, such as Lead Lab grades, and his academic gpa?

Traditionally at the end of every semester they sit down with the cadet and do a review. They will rack and stack them if you will say. Where did he rack and stack?

He made a mistake by believing the PFT didn't matter, he is young, and we all get it. Have hope and faith.

 

[bruno]

They are not going to "Ban you for life from every possible commissioning source" for failing a PT test- that's hyperbole. But it's not unlikely that he has burned his bridges as far as getting/retaining his ROTC scholarship, and he has undoubtedly dropped way down amongst his peers/ competitors for getting selected next year for SFT. OCS is right now a fairly problematic route to commissioning- but I am pretty certain that they are not going to flat out say "Go Away forever" with no chance of another route .

Do your son a favor and review exactly what he was told, and who told him that.And- if he didn't ask specific questions and recieve answers that make sense (and I have certainly witnessed countless 18-22 year old questions that were vague, missed the central point and which generated vague and unspecific, unhelpful responses, which later - with some directive questioning became a lot more useful. So if he doesn't have details- using your 9 years of Military experience, help him formulate specific questions about next steps and possible options. You know more about the service and it's mind set than he does and you know what passes the common sense test. So help him react rapidly and purposefully and don't do a Chicken Little routine. Just focus on finding out exactly who and what specifically he was told and what he can do about it. (AND THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO if you are aggressive). It would have made his life a heck of a lot easier if he had actually worked at PT, but that's water under the bridge now. Neither you nor anyone else can give him much advice without him getting detailed information. So focus on that.