What are some benefits of going to SMC other than guaranteed commissioning and Corps of Cadets?
Its now been over 10 years since I started my freshman year at a SMC, so my experience has become a bit dated. But I feel like it also gives me a perspective to look back with 6+ years in the military, several PCSs, deployments, ups, downs, etc. My bottom line: its all about what you want out of the college experience.
From a purely professional sense as a military officer...coming from an SMC gives you absolutely nothing over a traditional ROTC program. I know that may upset some people who are overly invested in SMCs, but it's the simple truth. I've had the opportunity to serve with officers from service academies, SMCs, traditional ROTC programs, and OTS/OCS. I have seen outstanding officers come from all of these programs. I have also seen terrible officers come from all of these programs. Performance/competence always comes down to the individual.
My advice to any high school student these days is to consider what you want out of college...you only get to be 18-22 years old once. If you want a pseudo-military lifestyle in college, look at the service academies, VMI, the Citadel, Norwich, etc. If you want a traditional college lifestyle, look at traditional ROTC units. If you want a hybrid of the two, then look at Virginia Tech or Texas A&M. All of these options will lead to the same end goal: a commission in the military. In 6+ years of active duty, no one has ever cared about where I received my commission...which is a good thing IMO. You will be judged on your performance as a Lieutenant/Ensign, regardless of where you graduated. And frankly, that is how it should be.
Looking back, I can think of two distinct advantages that came from my attending a SMC. First, I developed very close friendships with my classmates...much more so than you can expect at a traditional ROTC unit. Going on 10+ years, these friendships are as close as ever. Second, I started my active duty career with a much better understanding of the other services than my USAFA/ROTC peers. I spent four years living with Army/Navy/USMC cadets and interacting with their ROTC units. This helped me understand the differences between the services in terms of roles, organization, culture, etc. As a junior officer, I had the opportunity to deploy in joint environments...and being able to "speak" Army, Navy, or USMC (even at a very basic level) helped a great deal in developing relationships.
Take it FWIW. I wish all of the young folks here on this forum the best in their future endeavors!
