Disenrolled from ROTC for undesired character, can I still commission? What are my options?

A bit of an update for those interested in my situation or those that have found themselves in something similar:

After contacting multiple programs and getting a lot of "no", I was finally able to schedule an interview with a PMS at a different ROTC battalion. From the start I was honest and disclosed everything with each program I contacted.

So for anyone who has found themselves disenrolled: Keep trying and be honest. For those that were supportive, told me to square myself away, and not to give up, big thanks. I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
It is possible to join another ROTC BN, just that you would need a waiver in order to do so. Most are not willing to give a waiver to someone who has been disenrolled due to misconduct. The biggest thing is to take accountability for your actions, learn from your past experience, and make positive changes in your behavior to show that you are no longer that former person. The common theme I got from your original post is that you have a problem relating to and trusting others, as well as placing blame for your problems on others. If you continue that trend, you should not be a leader. You will be ineffective and unable to build cohesive teams. You need to find out the root cause of your mistrust and inability to relate to others, and work on resolving that issue. It looks like you are trying to be accountable and have done some introspection, so I wish you luck on your journey. If you are unable to join another ROTC BN, another option is to go on active duty and earn a slot for OCS.
 
I wanted to piggyback off @MohawkArmyROTC post a bit. When I read your post, two things came to mind. First, you should do some serious self-evaluation and probably enlist some professional advice to decide if you have a budding alcohol use problem. It seems many of your conflicts and problems have occurred around alcohol use. You spoke about drinking alone, blacking out and other cadets talking about your drinking. I don't know you and I'm not saying you do have a problem, but it's worth some reflection and evaluation. How much do you drink? How often do you drink? Why do you drink? Do you generally drink to get drunk? etc. The second thought in part relates to the first, but is more a matter of priorities. You spoke about struggling with grades, but it sounds like you spend a significant amount of time drinking and on your meme account. This time could be better used working on your grades.
 
I figured I'd post an update here since its been over a year. When I first wrote this post I really just wanted to get right back into the swing of things and enter another commissioning program, as you might've guessed that did not happen. I spent the semester following my disenrollment even more miserable than before, drinking often, and straight up didn't go to a single class for the last 3 months of the semester. I ended up flunking out of school. I fought the academic-disenrollment citing depression and mental health as my defense and I have the opportunity to come back after a semester elsewhere and meeting academic requirements. I wasn't able to pursue the ROTC opportunity at a different battalion because I got kicked from school.

After the semester was over, I chucked the bottle away and deployed with the guard overseas. Had a lot of time to sit and ponder on this.... I had the opportunity to tackle a business opportunity with a friend of mine remotely while deployed, scaled the business, and now I'm starting my next entrepreneurial endeavor that I hope will be VC backed soon.

So where am I at? To sum it up, I will be leaving the army national guard, I don't think it was conducive to my leadership development. I'm going to continue to launch my current startup and hopefully lead the team and company to success.
- I have the intention of going back to school part time but it won't be anytime within the next year, since my hands are completely full with work.
- I'm now probably within the top 10% of earners in my peer group, I should be happy... success blah blah.... Honestly, I'm not, I like what I'm doing, but something is still missing. I still want the chance to lead soldiers and serve as an officer. I feel that I have the ability to contribute more to the nation, organization, unit, and soldiers if serving as an officer. While enlisted I've always felt that my talent was wasted and unfulfilled, it absolutely was (my own fault).

Lessons learned:

-I need to learn how to talk with people and interact on a personal level outside of just professional-work related jumbo (and work on this too). I think besides the drinking my inability to form successful interpersonal relationships was the biggest factor in my disenrollment.

-Social media is a no go when drunk

-Its extremely difficult to play enlisted and cadet at the same time, don't do it. Too many influences on behavior that are contradicting.

-Be a leader

-Seek help


Thanks all for your support, hopefully 2 years from now you guys are reading an update that says I finished school and I'm on my way to BOLC.
 
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Thanks for the circle back! This was a great revisit. Sometimes growth is slow….and hard….but always seek it.

Answer if you are comfortable, but I’m curious what role alcohol plays in your journey now.

Money doesn’t by happiness. Biggest life lesson ever.
 
justdoit19 said:
Thanks for the circle back! This was a great revisit. Sometimes growth is slow….and hard….but always seek it.

Answer if you are comfortable, but I’m curious what role alcohol plays in your journey now.

Money doesn’t by happiness. Biggest life lesson ever.
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Good question, I'm happy to answer since I'm sure with the amount of personal details I've put in this thread it doesn't matter.

So alcohol is still around in my life especially since I can legally drink now. I often have a drink to calm my nerves before a zoom meeting or call with a new connection or prospective partner. It helps calm my anxiety. When I'm doing in person work or meetups, I try to go for lunch so I can sneak in a drink as well for the same reason (nerves).

I don't get sloppy drunk or anywhere near it but a drink to calm myself helps. When I am not in a position where I have an excuse/cover to drink, then I suck it up and let my heart pound of my chest.

Outside of work, when im alone and decide to reminisce on my recent ex-girlfirend... yeah I'll have a few and enter the abyss. At a maximum I'm not having more than 6 drinks a week usually. And yes.... money absolutely does not buy happiness.
 
A1Janitor said:
Easy for me to say as someone who doesn’t drink often … the reliance on alcohol to calm your nerves before meetings isn’t a good thing. I would do whatever it takes to end drinking altogether.
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You're absolutely right, I am starting to look at other options. Medication definitely isn't an option, I don't want to jump through that hoop going back to commission. Alcoholism does have a presence in the family history. IDK man, I'll figure it out eventually I hope. Definitely not happy about my anxiety and how I cope with it.

And yes... Its easier than raising your right hand and signing a paper that says "drugs and alcohol are bad. never do" in elementary school....
 
I’m cheering for you! Being brutally honest with the person you see in the mirror is a big step forward.

I always tell anyone, when they are struggling, that’s someday, all of this will be a story of the journey to where you end up. A blip on your life radar.

My grandma always told me ‘this, too, shall pass’. And if you do the work, put in the effort, and work towards a positive goal, you will get there. And surround yourself with the people that you want to emulate.
 
I am not going to diagnose you. However, as someone who has been in the medical realm for 10+ years, I get the feeling that moderation with alcohol should be thrown out of your life as a compromise. I would just cut it out altogether. I see a lot of the same red flags in you that were also evident in many patients I have treated. Your underlying anxious/depressive tendencies should be addressed in a thoughtful manner.

Given your life situation, I still think NG OCS would benefit you the most, more so than active, especially if your start-up is successful.

Good luck
 
justdoit19 said:
I’m cheering for you! Being brutally honest with the person you see in the mirror is a big step forward.

I always tell anyone, when they are struggling, that’s someday, all of this will be a story of the journey to where you end up. A blip on your life radar.

My grandma always told me ‘this, too, shall pass’. And if you do the work, put in the effort, and work towards a positive goal, you will get there. And surround yourself with the people that you want to emulate.
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Thank you
 
Aglahad said:
I am not going to diagnose you. However, as someone who has been in the medical realm for 10+ years, I get the feeling that moderation with alcohol should be thrown out of your life as a compromise. I would just cut it out altogether. I see a lot of the same red flags in you that were also evident in many patients I have treated. Your underlying anxious/depressive tendencies should be addressed in a thoughtful manner.

Given your life situation, I still think NG OCS would benefit you the most, more so than active, especially if your start-up is successful.

Good luck
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Thanks for taking time to reply and thank you for your wishes. I am not delusional to think this is a good fix for anxiety. I'll have to figure out something healthy that works, thanks for your words.
 
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