Camraderie among service branches at universities?

Herman_Snerd

Herman_Snerd

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Hi all, my DS is considering universities that have one, two, or three service branches on site. May I ask if there is typically good fellowship between those from Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines option? Including some healthy competition/poking fun? Or, is it adversarial? Please share your experiences. Thanks, Hermie Sr.
 
Norwich University (an SMC) has all branches- Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine, even those pursuing a Coast Guard commission (although there's no ROTC for Coast Guard). Being a student from here, there is a lot of perspective gained in the Corps of Cadets from many students wanting career fields in these various military branches as well as students not wanting to go military and going straight into the civilian sector. I can confidently tell you that I could explain the different ROTC branches pretty well as far as training (Army advanced camp, Marine Corps OCS, Navy summer cruises, Air Force SFT), commissioning status (Army branching and components, Air Force rated vs non-rated officers, Navy Restricted Line vs Unrestricted Line, Marine Corps ground and air contracts). That's part of the beauty of going to an SMC like Norwich. You gain knowledge about different branches and different types of work people want to get into. I just learned this year that we have a couple of students contracted with the DOD and "commissioning" into the NSA for cyber security and mathematics. In result in knowing all of this information about different career fields, many students are able to switch to different branches or lifestyles and not "screw" themselves in going into something they don't want to go into, but are "obligated" too, because they don't know any of the other career fields otherwise.

As far as camaraderie between the ROTC branches here, we have an annual football game between Air Force, Army, and Navy (Marine Corps included in Navy). There are service protects that each branch assists each other in.

There is obviously some "poked" fun with each other, as Air Force Cadets call Marine midshipmen "crayon eaters", or the Marine midshipmen refer to the Air Force as "chair force."

This is just from my experience from this school I go too. Ultimately, your DS has to look into a school that he believes will be a right fit for him in knowing that is where he wants to be for the next 4 years.

I hope this helps.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
Hi all, my DS is considering universities that have one, two, or three service branches on site. May I ask if there is typically good fellowship between those from Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines option? Including some healthy competition/poking fun? Or, is it adversarial? Please share your experiences. Thanks, Hermie Sr.
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Generally speaking only ignorant clowns have the short-sightedness to run down sister services, and with 20+ years of joint operational doctrine, those are thankfully a dwindling group.

Outside of the light-hearted ribbing, the branches largely get along, especially at the college level where cadets from different branches will often run into each other in their civilian classes.

You son will do well to make friends and maintain contact with his sister service cadets. Officers are a shockingly small minority of the total military force and I can near-guarantee he will run into some of them in the future. That networking always pays off.
 
My son's college has all branches. They bump into each other all the time as they all share the same building. There is also healthy competition. There is an inter-service match day each semester with various competitive physical activities. Other colleges may vary.
 
DS has all three programs at his university. They are all located in the same building and get along just fine. Throughout the year, they compete in various sports, with the winning service taking home the Commander's Cup at the end of the year. In the spring, there is a Tri-Service Ball where all three programs get together for a formal event.
 
3/C MIDN here; we have breakfast with army at least twice a week. All great friends & always working together to promote ROTC on campus!
 
KuzNROTC said:
There is obviously some "poked" fun with each other....the Marine midshipmen refer to the Air Force as "chair force."
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Well, if the shoe fits. We have one AF officer in our family and this is how he is referred to by all of us....including his Army officer wife. He's a Cyber officer and guess what? He pretty much sits in a chair all day. Imagine that!
 
k2rider said:
KuzNROTC said:
There is obviously some "poked" fun with each other....the Marine midshipmen refer to the Air Force as "chair force."
Click to expand...

Well, if the shoe fits. We have one AF officer in our family and this is how he is referred to by all of us....including his Army officer wife. He's a Cyber officer and guess what? He pretty much sits in a chair all day. Imagine that!
Click to expand...
All the air power to him . Still serving our country no matter how you splice it.
 
KuzNROTC said:
All the air power to him . Still serving our country no matter how you splice it.
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And that's why my boy is pursuing one of the two government contracts for Cyber. They were told in Naval science class as well that it looks like some of the MCV class of '22 navy trained cadets will be offered direct commission to info warfare after graduation.

If serving is what you're after, the doorways an SMC can open for you if are open to new ideas --- amazing.
 
When I was in NROTC as a MO, the Navy and Marine Options were very well blended. For the most part, the other branches were civil but uninvolved with each other. However, there was always a military appreciation football game and hockey game, which we all attended together, and a Joint Service Ball each year.
 
DS is a senior at RPI, and for the last two years, he has roomed with six other ROTC students (2 NROTC and 4 AFROTC). From everything I have learned from him, there is the typical unit pride and competition, but ultimately, they realize that they're "all in this together" and truly get along with, and pull for one another.
 
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