Choosing Army Reserves after Citadel?

newmusic11

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If I have been in ROTC at the citadel, upon graduation with a good gpa, do I have a chance to commission in the reserves or guard instead of active duty? If so, how is that done?

Also, if you choose Reserves over active, do you have an 8 year commitment then?
 
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you would have to apply through a recruiter just like anyone else but being a Citadel grad would be a huge advantage, they might exempt you from attending OCS but the rules vary. Those with special skills like Doctors, Nurses and Lawyers are eligible for direct commissions but still have to attend OBC.
There is usually no minimum commitment for officers except when you are receiving some kind of stipend.
 
If I have been in ROTC at the citadel, upon graduation with a good gpa, do I have a chance to commission in the reserves or guard instead of active duty? If so, how is that done?

Also, if you choose Reserves over active, do you have an 8 year commitment then?
If you are an Army ROTC graduate who contracted but was not on scholarship (in other words you received a stipend and went to LDAC) you will have the opportunity to submit your request for either Active duty or a Reserve commission in the late fall of your First class year. The Army will guarantee you active duty if recommended by the PMS- but isn't going to force you to go AD if you wish otherwise. Yes- you have an 8 year commitment but that can include service in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) which requires very little of you other than keeping track of where you are and taking a physical periodically.
I don't believe that any of the other services have an option to commission straight into the Reserve components.
The issue with a commission into the USAR or the National Guard is that unlike the AD components that have a branch assignments officer - you have to find a unit that has a vacancy. Sometimes you may wind up with a pretty long haul from home to where you are drilling- for example I know someone drilling in a CA unit in Staten Island (NYC) and live outside Boston and when we lived in Texas- the CA unit in San Antonio had people coming from the Rio Grande Valley and from Arkansas and Oklahoma and the Commander lived in Virginia Beach and flew in for drill. So just because you see an armory or Reserve Center nearby doesn't necessarily follow that you will just walk into a unit next door. But the short answer to your question is yes it is certainly possible to go straight into the Reserve Components from the Citadel or any of the other SMCs and many do each year.
 
you would have to apply through a recruiter just like anyone else but being a Citadel grad would be a huge advantage, they might exempt you from attending OCS but the rules vary. Those with special skills like Doctors, Nurses and Lawyers are eligible for direct commissions but still have to attend OBC.
There is usually no minimum commitment for officers except when you are receiving some kind of stipend.

this may be a dumb question; but if i finish my education at citadel for the next 2-3 years, and upon graduation they have no slots open for active duty... would I be able/have a chance to apply to OCS or OBC due to missing out on a slot at the military school? If so, would I be at an advantage?
 
this may be a dumb question; but if i finish my education at citadel for the next 2-3 years, and upon graduation they have no slots open for active duty... would I be able/have a chance to apply to OCS or OBC due to missing out on a slot at the military school? If so, would I be at an advantage?
newmusic- you are mixing up some terms and concepts badly. OBC (Which the Army calls BOLC now) is the basic branch qualifying course for new officers- which both Reserve and Active Duty officers will all attend. OCS is a means to a commission- which you will already have unless you have changed your mind since you graduated and did not pursue a commission during your cadetship and now wish to do so.
If you are going to an SMC and wish to commission in the Army- as long as you were on contract (YOU DON"T HAVE TO BE ON AROTC SCHOLARSHIP) and complete your 4 years of Army ROTC to include your summer training (LDAC); then the Army will, if you desire and if you are recommended by the head of the ROTC department (the PMS), put you on Active Duty. If you choose to be a Reserve or National Guard officer, then you will get that. If several years down the road you wish to try and change from Reserve to AD -you can apply to do so, though it's not that common or easy to do so and given the likely draw downs that the Army is going to experience, probably will be very difficult in the future. If you wish to go AD but are accepted to go to Grad school prior to going on AD, then you would apply for an educational deferment which up until now the Army has been pretty liberal in granting.
 
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