Any insight would be appreciated

jmb

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My DS was told by his RC at the USMA that he was disqualified due to the CFA. Although he completed all elements, he was told the video's showed weakness. Of course he Is extremely disappointed. His plan is to go to community college and re apply next year. He was accepted into the Corp of Cadets at another college, but is reluctant to go due to cost. We didn't apply for the ROTC scholarship. He said he didn't want to take the route of ROTC because he wanted to become an officer and work in Spec Ops and was told that ROTC isn't a good route for that option. I told him to look into the Minuteman scholarship as well. Can anyone with experience in this area offer any insight. I am new to this process and would appreciate any and all opinions.
 
Well first all, I can understand the disappointment. Secondly, I would advise being cautious about any scholarship that would guarantee reserve/national guard service if he is interested in active duty. The minuteman scholarship is an option, but I believe that takes active duty off the table, I might be wrong but I would be cautious.

I think you will find on this board that many of our kiddos ended up with plan B, C etc, but are still on their way to become officers in the military. My advice would be to help him find those B, and C plans. He can enroll in ROTC in the fall and still apply for USMA, if anything I think that would show his commitment to the end goal of becoming an officer. He might learn new things about the ROTC path that makes him feel more comfortable. And even with USMA Spec Ops is not guaranteed, but both paths lead to being an officer. He should look into if the community college has a relationship with a local ROTC program at another school. Another option is choose an affordable college with ROTC and join, he might end up with a campus based scholarship, and if he gets accepted to USMA he would have two good options to choose from. With mentioning the corp of cadets I am assuming he has been focused on either USMA or a SMC, but again, with the end goalie being an officer in mind and affordability being a concern then civilian colleges shouldnt be automatically ruled out, visiting a few ROTC units and talking to their ROO's about the ROTC option could help give him a clearer picture. This goal he has chosen for himself does not always happen in a straight path, so keep asking questions and feel free to private message me or actually any of the posters whose posts seem like they have been there and can help you. I know that many of the regular posters help was invaluable to me and my DD when we were trying to navigate all this a year ago. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
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One more thing, at most schools he does not need to apply to ROTC he simply lets them know he is coming in the fall, register for MS classes, and then show up and pass the PFT.
 
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JMB, Happy to see that you have posted this here. You will get the answers you need.
Also, anyone who says that ROTC is NOT the pathway to spec ops does NOT know what they are talking about. Be sure to pass that on to your kid.
 
One more thing, at most schools he does not need to apply to ROTC he simply lets them know he is coming in the fall, register for MS classes, and then show up and pass the PFT.
Actually whether or not he needs to apply depends on the school, at the very least. It's generally a formality but the process does allow for necessary paperwork to be completed.

There is never a guarantee of getting the billet you want via any route, whether it be the academy or a ROTC program. I can't speak to Army, but I do know several NROTC grads, just from my son's unit, who became SEALS. I would assume it's also possible to join Spec Ops in Army as a ROTC grad as well. He should have applied to ROTC and if possible, at this point, he should try to do a ROTC program if that's affordable. JMPO.
 
The advice you were given about Special Forces is incorrect. The Army does not take any officers into Special Forces until they are a Captain. You can get there regardless of your commissioning source. He has time to decide but doing well in ROTC will allow him to go active duty and pick a combat arms branch. If he is successful as a Lieutenant, he can apply to Special Forces around the four year mark.
 
We didn't apply for the ROTC scholarship. He said he didn't want to take the route of ROTC because he wanted to become an officer and work in Spec Ops and was told that ROTC isn't a good route for that option.

Whoever told your son this was 100% wrong. The mission of both the USMA and ROTC is to commission officers into the Army, ROTC commissions over twice the number of Army officers to Active Duty each year then the USMA. Once the cadet commissions it does not matter where they received their commission when it comes to advancement or opportunities to join any of the Special Operation Units. My son went to a small state school ROTC, right now there are three from his class, including him, that are in training for various Spec Ops. ROTC cadets branch into the same branches as USMA cadets, they all go to the same BOLC training and to be honest, the trainers could care less where they got their commission.

As far as the next path to take, going to a school he can afford that has an AROTC battalion would be the best choice. As others have mentioned he can enroll in ROTC and still apply again for the USMA while in school, he may even be able to get a ROTC Nomination. He may also be offered a scholarship from the battalion if he does well in school and ROTC, many cadets have started ROTC with the plan of re-applying to the USMA only to decide to remain in ROTC and commission. A lot can change in one year but being in a 4 year college and a ROTC program will give him more options and be a better help in his second application process.

EDIT: Cross posted with USMA1994

Did I see correctly that your son still has an application in for the USCGA? From an old Coastie I wish him the best of luck. I have to say that is a real 180 degree turn from wanting Army Special Ops.
 
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I know I already said this but the advice you are getting is so good and spot on, I want to circle back around to visiting ROTC units this spring before school gets out. At an in state public college might be an easy one to get to and make sure to have a meeting with the ROTC department and talk to the ROO. Also if you can visit on a day he can see a lab, talk to cadets. I know my daughter got an earful from recruiters on her high school campus about what path to take which would of helped their mission but not been best for her. So not sure where he got his info from but he has some assumptions based on bad intel and getting that straightened out will help him have more opportunities to his end goal!
 
We didn't apply for the ROTC scholarship. He said he didn't want to take the route of ROTC because he wanted to become an officer and work in Spec Ops and was told that ROTC isn't a good route for that option.

Whoever told your son this was 100% wrong. The mission of both the USMA and ROTC is to commission officers into the Army, ROTC commissions over twice the number of Army officers to Active Duty each year then the USMA. Once the cadet commissions it does not matter where they received their commission when it comes to advancement or opportunities to join any of the Special Operation Units. My son went to a small state school ROTC, right now there are three from his class, including him, that are in training for various Spec Ops. ROTC cadets branch into the same branches as USMA cadets, they all go to the same BOLC training and to be honest, the trainers could care less where they got their commission.

As far as the next path to take, going to a school he can afford that has an AROTC battalion would be the best choice. As others have mentioned he can enroll in ROTC and still apply again for the USMA while in school, he may even be able to get a ROTC Nomination. He may also be offered a scholarship from the battalion if he does well in school and ROTC, many cadets have started ROTC with the plan of re-applying to the USMA only to decide to remain in ROTC and commission. A lot can change in one year but being in a 4 year college and a ROTC program will give him more options and be a better help in his second application process.

EDIT: Cross posted with USMA1994

Did I see correctly that your son still has an application in for the USCGA? From an old Coastie I wish him the best of luck. I have to say that is a real 180 degree turn from wanting Army Special Ops.
yes, I suggested the USCGA to him as another option. I saw they are part of Homeland Security and thought that may interest him. This is all just so confusing and stressful for a mom. Thank you for the valuable information.
 
yes, I suggested the USCGA to him as another option. I saw they are part of Homeland Security and thought that may interest him. This is all just so confusing and stressful for a mom. Thank you for the valuable information.
Hang tough Mom! We got your back. Please do come here with any questions. Someone here should be able to point you in the right direction. That's why we hang out here.
 
We didn't apply for the ROTC scholarship. He said he didn't want to take the route of ROTC because he wanted to become an officer and work in Spec Ops and was told that ROTC isn't a good route for that option.

Whoever told your son this was 100% wrong. The mission of both the USMA and ROTC is to commission officers into the Army, ROTC commissions over twice the number of Army officers to Active Duty each year then the USMA. Once the cadet commissions it does not matter where they received their commission when it comes to advancement or opportunities to join any of the Special Operation Units. My son went to a small state school ROTC, right now there are three from his class, including him, that are in training for various Spec Ops. ROTC cadets branch into the same branches as USMA cadets, they all go to the same BOLC training and to be honest, the trainers could care less where they got their commission.

As far as the next path to take, going to a school he can afford that has an AROTC battalion would be the best choice. As others have mentioned he can enroll in ROTC and still apply again for the USMA while in school, he may even be able to get a ROTC Nomination. He may also be offered a scholarship from the battalion if he does well in school and ROTC, many cadets have started ROTC with the plan of re-applying to the USMA only to decide to remain in ROTC and commission. A lot can change in one year but being in a 4 year college and a ROTC program will give him more options and be a better help in his second application process.

EDIT: Cross posted with USMA1994

Did I see correctly that your son still has an application in for the USCGA? From an old Coastie I wish him the best of luck. I have to say that is a real 180 degree turn from wanting Army Special Ops.
yes, I suggested the USCGA to him as another option. I saw they are part of Homeland Security and thought that may interest him. This is all just so confusing and stressful for a mom. Thank you for the valuable information.
Amen sister! This is tough on a Mom and sometimes hard to communicate with a teenager when we don't know anything! Like Kinnem said, we got your back!
 
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