That is what this forum is truly about.
It is about standing behind each other when the good is great, and the bad is horrific. It is about saying NOBODY on this forum will ever walk the same path in ROTC, but yet we were on the same road.
Thank you for your appreciation, but I do it because I was where you were 4 yrs ago and this site was the place to educate me on the system for ROTC today, even though Bullet was an AFROTC grad, AD for 20 yrs., it wasn't the same ROTC system that existed when he was a cadet.
Next yr., you will be the person posting explaining the intricate system, and that it is not black and white. You will be the poster that will say, my kid got a scholarship, but not on the 1st shot.
You will be the one to "GET IT"...fate has a way of getting in the way of our own dreams.
He'll do fine in anything he does, because he has you. You are not a helo parent, you are not tieing your worth as a parent to his success (scholarship), you are just looking up at the sky and hoping someone can give you guidance where the shoe will drop.
There is nothing wrong with that. That should be admired. As we put it to our DS 2 (SR in HS), we cut one of the apron strings, we only hold on now to the other to guide you. When he ticks us off by messing up... we tell him we won't be there next yr with him in the dorms.
The hardest part for SA/ROTC parents when they enter is that they didn't cut that string in HS. They take control of this process. For ROTC, at least for our DS, once in, they are 18 and they shut the parents out! Period. Dot.
If you use this yr to contact their contacts on their behalf you are hurting them for many reasons. So before you think you are helping them by contacting because they are in high school, please think.
1. Are you the one that is constantly reminding them of getting paperwork done because of a timeline issue?
~~~If so, why? A candidate that wants to serve, truly serve, will not need your reminder.
2. Are you the one calling ROTC contacts for clarification?
~~~ I understand schools do not allow cell phones, and that your child may go straight to work after school, thus they can't call during their duty hours.
~However, they can email them for clarification, or text from their cell.
~Honestly, it is not looked upon favorably that the only contact between ROTC HQ is only with the parent, and never the candidate. It sends warning signs; is the candidates applying or the parent.
3. If you are the person talking to the contacts, they have no experience and that hurts them as an ROTC cadet/mid.
~~~ They don't know how to address issues because you did it for them and relayed the info.
4. Talk...talk...talk
~~~Kids are not deaf, dumb or naive. They get that college is a lot of money, and that this scholarship can help their family financially.
~DS applied AFA, came from left field, but we supported it. He got his AFROTC scholarship and acceptance to his school in the Scholars program with additional merit, but the AFA board had yet to close. He had 3 college acceptances in hand, 2 had yet to release results. We talked to him and asked why the AFA?
He stated because it was free and the best chance to get UPT.
We said, if money wasn't an issue, and you could get UPT would you go AFA?
NO was his answer.
We called the ball, explained to him that school and ROTC are more than a scholarship, success in the program is because you will fight to stay. That YOU WANT to be there.
He went to his number 1, with scholarship, and has a UPT slot, will graduate in 12 Dean's list.
Talk, be honest. You know your kid, we don't, nor do your friends that start the bragging BS of MY KID. It is just now about removing yourself and seeing the signs. Flipping hard to do, trust me, I know, but glad for that one Sat. night where we stopped thinking about us and how proud we were for him getting scholarships and noms; and started to hear him.
His success in AFROTC and getting UPT has nothing to do with the scholarship. It has nothing to do with us. It has everything to do with the fact we got out of his way.
For AFROTC cadets they will tell you a scholarship as a non-tech major and UPT is a feat. Had we not stopped and listened to him, he would have gone AFA, and hated every second of it! He probably would not be commissioned in 12.
Long post I know, but I wish somebody yrs ago would have given me that advice.
