Contracting Ceremony

Great to see him enlist.

At our AFROTC detachment contracting was a special event; an hour of paperwork for those returning from field training followed by group oath and individual oaths for parental photos. It was worth going to, we found it moving. About 1/3 parents were there.
 
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It's usually a big deal at The Citadel as well, even for in school scholarships, they like to hold contracting ceremonies during lab when the BN is present and formed up. However, every now and then, as was for me, that can't be done due to scheduling. I was contracted in the BN's XO's office, with only a few other officers and NCO's to witness. Just depends.

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Sir Ernest Benn
 
markbrown6 said:
At our AFROTC detachment contracting was a special event; an hour of paperwork for those returning from field training followed by group oath and individual oaths for parental photos. It was worth going to, we found it moving. About 1/3 parents were there.
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My friend in Det 720 said pretty much the same.
 
DS signed his contract last Friday. In a couple of weeks his school has a parent's weekend. On Saturday they will drill, then have a Gold Bar ceremony, then they have a cadet review. After that they can check-out for the weekend.

He is attending a military junior college so maybe a little more pomp than a public college.
 
DS contracted yesterday :shake:. No ceremony, signed papers at noon ( while he was looking over the contract an officer walked by and said " are you actually reading that"? DS that was too funny.) and was sworn in in front of company after a movement exercise later in the day. I guess I will have to get my cake fix elsewhere. :wink:
 
are you actually reading that"?
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I actually think our DS probably never read his, just signed his life away out of trust!:rolleyes:
 
The HR officer went thru the contract as a group with DS and others. Made sure everyone understood and knew what they were committing to and their end of the deal. They received their patches in front of the rest of the battalion during lab before field exercises. Kinda makes those that didn't pass the APFT think "I need to work harder".
 
For High School Scholarship awardees (4 Yr. and 3 yr) I think the "Scholarship Cadet ROTC Contract" should be included in the Award packet so the family may read and understand it. I say this because that contract is nowhere to be found in the ROTC Online Application. Nor is a copy of the Contract found in any marketing materials. Prior to and during the applicaiton process, the only discussion of commitment is regarding the 4 yr. Active Duty+4 Yr. IRR, or 8 year Reserves/Guard. Nowhere is any discussion about what happens if the cadet fails to perform (academically, is medically DQ'd, etc.) and is separated, or changes their mind and withdraws.

Otherwise, how is a Cadet and their family (who will bear most of the impact of a separation after 1st day of MSII year) supposed to understand what exactly he/she was actually awarded? There is a risk that is not understood by, I would say, most Awardees and their families. This is not free money. It is a contract where the student gets X, and the Army gets Y, and there are numerous conditions. I personally think it is a great deal, a fantastic deal in fact, well worth the risks involved, but that is just me.

Since families will generally absorb the financial impact of the repayment obligation should the cadet separate after Day 1 of MSII year, they need to understand this financial risk before their cadet Contracts. At least this way they can decide if the risk is worth it, or if they would even be in a position to meet that repayment obligation (they might be in debt already to the max). I dare say it is a shock to most families if they get a call from their cadet telling them they are being separated involuntarily for performance, morals, or medical condition, and have to repay $X, or are considering separating voluntarily and will have to repay $x.

"What!!! We owe What! Nobody ever said anything to us about repayment. We thought it was like an athletic or academic scholarship. I wish we had known about that repayment possibility before we as a family supported and encouraged your decision to pursue ROTC".

Then the cadet explains to his family that he didn't know about the repayment obligation either until discussing his possible withdrawal from ROTC with an MSIV. He had signed the Scholarship Cadet ROTC Contract quickly, without any real discusison, and without reading all the details. And to make matters worse, he didn't keep a copy of it to study later.
 
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dunninla said:
For High School Scholarship awardees (4 Yr. and 3 yr) I think the "Scholarship Cadet ROTC Contract" should be included in the Award packet so the family may read and understand it. I say this because that contract is nowhere to be found in the ROTC Online Application. Nor is a copy of the Contract found in any marketing materials. Prior to and during the applicaiton process, the only discussion of commitment is regarding the 4 yr. Active Duty+4 Yr. IRR, or 8 year Reserves/Guard. Nowhere is any discussion about what happens if the cadet fails to perform (academically, is medically DQ'd, etc.) and is separated, or changes their mind and withdraws.
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I guess I assumed all Battalions did this.

A copy of the Contract was in the first batch of paper work the battalion emailed to my son, we were cc'd a copy as well to read over. They sent the paperwork along with the congratulations letter from the PMS when he selected the school.

The contract is easily found online when Googled.

I do agree that the Scholarship marketing material should lay out what happens if a cadet leaves the program, and should explain the one year grace period.
 
DS signed papers about 2 weeks ago after passing APFT. Passed easily after 2nd try. They didn't count 40% of his SU because of form. Proper form is important as he learned and they told him they pass few on the first try at his Battalion (DS said that it is better to just fall back than control down stroke on the SU). Ceremony was held in the pouring rain unfortunately. They had a tent for parents and family members. The Lt. Colonel gave a nice speech and gave each of the new contracted cadets a gold coin with the Golden Griffins Battalion insignia on it (Canisius College with University of Buffalo students). They gave the farthers a coin as well and the mothers a coffee mug with goodies inside. Felt as proud as my DS. A milestone moment after all his years of hard work in High School. Now he is on to the next milestone where the hill is steeper.
 
That is totally awesome!! Sounds like a wonderful ceremony despite the rain. DS contracted with just a signature on the line. I guess they feel commissioning is most important.
 
At start of freshman year, DS and all other 4/C (1st year of NROTC) gave Oath of Office in front of all midshipman and parents. There was a ceremony with a bit of drilling and a couple of speeches with lunch afterward. We really enjoyed it. However, for the REAL committment, signing on the dotted line at the start of 3/C year, it sounds like he just went to battalion headquarters and signed. We had read through the contract when he received all of his paperwork last year, so knew what he was agreeing to. I will have to ask him more specifics, like was this a group signing, did anyone discuss the details, did they give you a copy...:rolleyes:

DS also told me there was NOT a ceremony for this years 4th class. Perhaps due to budget cuts? NSO was completely different this year as well due to budget and "orders from above".
 
DS took oath in front of other cadets and parents this weekend at a "Battalion" Day. There was a DNC competition and sports competitions between the 3 colleges that form the ROTC battalion. All then gathered for the awards for the day. Cadets who successfully completed LDAC, CULP, and Airborne and Air assault schools were called up to be officially recognized. Then they called up DS for his oath. We had no idea this was going to occur and are so proud of him. I was able to get a few pictures -great background with the school, and American flag. He stayed after the end of festivities to sign his contract. What a great end of the day for us.
 
That's wonderful..:shake::shake::shake: I wish our school would do something special like that.. Congrats to your son
 
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