Congrats to the New AROTC Commissionees!

leapyear

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I can't believe it has been almost 5 years since we first found this site, when DS was just submitting his various applications. He graduated Saturday with his degree in Mechanical Engineering, and later that evening commissioned as a 2LT. Since he requested and received Army Reserve he was essentially able to choose among the basic branches, so he ultimately selected Military Intelligence. I wanted to take a last opportunity to express our sincere thanks for all the information provided on these forums over the years; there really are very few other resources for much of this information. For those of you who are still in process, and those just starting out, hang in there. The pride of pinning those shoulder boards on your son or daughter on commissioning day makes it worth the wait. Best wishes and Merry Christmas to all of you!
 
Congratulations to you and more importantly your son. Great feeling isn't it!
 
Congratulations. We are right behind you, in that DS will graduate as an engineer in May. I too would like to thank all those advisers out there whether it was direct or indirect. I guess, I am no longer a "new college parent", as number two is in the breech for next year. I still have lots of questions, so thanks for the continued support.

DO the cadets need an ASU for the commissioning ceremony? Or do they use the one they used at ROTC?

I was going to buy him a "Interview suit" for Christmas, but looks like he has job offers already, so maybe an ASU is a better use of funds. Just was not sure when he would need it. Thank you and congratulations to you and your son.
 
Congratulations. We are right behind you, in that DS will graduate as an engineer in May. I too would like to thank all those advisers out there whether it was direct or indirect. I guess, I am no longer a "new college parent", as number two is in the breech for next year. I still have lots of questions, so thanks for the continued support.

DO the cadets need an ASU for the commissioning ceremony? Or do they use the one they used at ROTC?

I was going to buy him a "Interview suit" for Christmas, but looks like he has job offers already, so maybe an ASU is a better use of funds. Just was not sure when he would need it. Thank you and congratulations to you and your son.

Well the cadets in his unit had to buy new ASU's because the ones they had in ROTC were issued, and had to be turned back in. I'm not sure if all units do it that way. You can order them online, but my DS decided to drive to the uniform shop at the nearest Army base (3.5 hours away) so that they would be properly tailored and so he wouldn't miss anything. They will need to know their branch, because the sleeve braid includes the appropriate branch color. His complete ASU with tailoring ran around $600 on base (that did not include the visored dress hat, which was optional for them. His unit commissioned in the berets).
 
DO the cadets need an ASU for the commissioning ceremony? Or do they use the one they used at ROTC?

Yes, he will need a new ASU for commissioning. If he is not near a base with a PX/Uniform Shop, he can purchase his new ASUs online from Marlow White, they do a great job and the prices are comparable to on base. They have a Commissioning package for purchase. If he decides to go through Marlow White, make sure he orders early in case anything needs to be returned. The uniform will come un-tailored and the sleeve braid will need to be sewn on, as well as the shoulder board clips. The ROTC Battalion should know a local tailor where previous cadets have had their uniforms tailored that know all the regs. Make sure he finds out if he is required to turn in his dress shoes with his ROTC uniform so he can purchase new shoes if need be. Usually the commissioning class will decide together which cover they will use, the beret or the service cap (Bus drivers hat)

Ordering from Marlow White is easy, they have all the required boxes to check, if he needs to he can have the Cadre measure him, a lot of times battalions will have a day when they measure all the commissioning cadets. He would then just submit the measurements when he orders, they have a lot of tips on how to measure on their website, Marlowwhite.com

Congratulations to all the new commissioned LTs
 
Congratulations. We are right behind you, in that DS will graduate as an engineer in May. I too would like to thank all those advisers out there whether it was direct or indirect. I guess, I am no longer a "new college parent", as number two is in the breech for next year. I still have lots of questions, so thanks for the continued support.

DO the cadets need an ASU for the commissioning ceremony? Or do they use the one they used at ROTC?

I was going to buy him a "Interview suit" for Christmas, but looks like he has job offers already, so maybe an ASU is a better use of funds. Just was not sure when he would need it. Thank you and congratulations to you and your son.

To add onto JCleppe's post, I ordered my ASUs through Marlow White online and it's easy if you look at their commissioning packages. I looked at what measurements they needed, went to a shop to get those done, then ordered the package. When it came in, I took it back to the same shop and they tailored everything and sewed on all the braids. The package will come with instructions for the tailor on how things need to be sewn on, spacing, etc., which makes it easy. Key thing is to order early to make sure everything is done in time for the ceremony.

The reason they don't use the ASUs from ROTC is 1) obviously because the unit owns those, but 2) they are enlisted uniforms.
 
FYI...the uniform the cadets wear is the enlisted uniform, hence the reason for purchasing a uniform for commissioning
 
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