January 4, 2011 AROTC Board

Nice to see so many more new people! It's nice to have company in the asylum!

Well it looks like my "inside info" that the results would be released this week was, well, wrong! I don't even think the insiders really know.

So we continue to wait...........................................................................
 
Thank you!!!

:thumb:Yes, we are in the same boat too! My son has been accepted to Virginia Tech, VMI, Norwich and The Citadel. He is not worried at all. He is playing Varsity Basketball, doing his 3 AP classes, and carries on just the same. I am the crazy Mom checking, and checking. He too, believes, "What will be, will be" He has done his part, now it is up to Cadet Command to decide if he gets a scholarship or not. He is heavily involved in Student Council, Youth and Gov't, Sports, and has a 3.6 unweighted GPA. We are meeting with an agency next week to talk about loan options, as we do not have the money to fund college for him, nor do we think it is in his best interest anyway. We can help $, but my husband is a 2nd grade teacher, and I am at home with my other 2 children!:) so money is tight! Good luck to all and hope we hear soon! ALL GOOD NEWS !
 
February 18th

GOOD MORNING!!

Great to see so many new posters...

TrpKmom - don't sweat the info, not the first of the last time it will happen. I do agree, however, that I don't think even the ROOs are being kept in the know.

dmlhal15 - did the SAHM thing myself, DS has no college fund either so while his merit scholarships are helping, and a I do thank God he has earned them, I just wish he could pick a school and get on with it.

hopefulmom - so you get to teach your DS calculus, I have't been able to help with Math homework since middle school....:wink: I'm sure getting to see your son at school is interesting. A good friend's DH is math chair at their children's highschool, he thinks all parents should get to hang out without their kiddos knowing and observe them at school. Yeah, that would be interesting!

Captionbee & NMS*17 - welcome too. One of you asked about SMP, we are holding that as a plan D or E...the 2 ROOs we've talked to encourage National Guard(we're in Ohio, so check your state I know they're all different) over Reserves. They point to better money and more flexibility with summer programs as the strong points. DS would do basic, this summer or next, and probably not the AIT training(they are totally NOT deployable w/o AIT training, sounds good to me:smile:)

Anyway, hope I didn't leave anyone out....have a good morning everyone, I'll pop in and out again today -- doing taxes in another window.....:eek:
 
Key vote happening now -- [URL="http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/18/budget.cuts/index.html?hpt=T2"]http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/18/budget.cuts/index.html?hpt=T2[/URL] The key sentence in this article is: "The White House has vowed to veto the budget if it contains the deep cuts House Republican are pushing." So even if this vote in the House succeeds, this fight ain't over yet and we may have a big show-down come March 4.

Welcome new folks! Thanks for the encouraging words!!

All: This thread is now the most-viewed thread of ALL TIME!!!!
 
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NMS*17 said:
Is anyone familiar with SMP?
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NMS*17: Check out this link for your SMP Question: http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/smp-another-option/

However, anyone relying on state-related programs (like National Guard, etc.), be prepared to see that these programs will likely be hit MUCH, MUCH harder with budget cuts than the other federal programs. We're all watching the federal battle right now, but the states are in a world of hurt incredibly much worse than the feds. Don't shoot the messenger.
 
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What does a government shutdown entail for the scholarships, as well as how the government functions?
 
patentesq said:
NMS*17: Check out this link for your SMP Question: http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/smp-another-option/


However, anyone relying on state-related programs (like National Guard, etc.), be prepared to see that these programs will likely be hit MUCH, MUCH harder with budget cuts than the other federal programs. We're all watching the federal battle right now, but the states are in a world of hurt incredibly much worse than the feds. Don't shoot the messenger.
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Thanks for the CNN link and the heads up about state funding potentially hamstringing Guards across the country. Everything is up in air from any government funding source - all posters need to keep an eye on their state budgets as well(military/guard is not the only change that may affect your family). No matter your politics - no one likes change to impact their loved ones negatively:smile:
 
sg1fan93 said:
What does a government shutdown entail for the scholarships, as well as how the government functions?
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A government shutdown means no spending period. No scholarships . . . period! Not from the Army, Navy, or Air Force. No pay for government workers. Contracts cancelled. No nothing (except very essential services, of which the awarding of new scholarships is NOT one).

This is why the stakes are so incredibly high right now. I do have to say, however, that this is a LOT like poker. The players in Washington use drama like this to get what they want at the end of the day. Hang on to your hats.
 
sg1fan93 said:
What does a government shutdown entail for the scholarships, as well as how the government functions?
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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM HAS BEEN REVEALED....I don't even have enough knowledge to guess this answer except to say it won't be a good thing for scholarship announcements being released.

Patentesq, Pima...please feel free to jump in, I don't remember the 1995 situation(as mentioned I was knee deep in babies in 1995).

glad to see Patentesq beat me.
 
patentesq said:
A government shutdown means no spending period. No scholarships . . . period! Not from the Army, Navy, or Air Force. No pay for government workers. Contracts cancelled. No nothing (except very essential services, of which the awarding of new scholarships is NOT one).

This is why the stakes are so incredibly high right now. I do have to say, however, that this is a LOT like poker. The players in Washington use drama like this to get what they want at the end of the day. Hang on to your hats.
Click to expand...

Any thoughts as what this will do to the current ROTC scholarship cadets?
 
cjs said:
Any thoughts as what this will do to the current ROTC scholarship cadets?
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Cadets won't get their monthly stipends from CC (although amounts owed will likely accrue). It will also stall tuition payments to colleges to the extent that those checks have not already been cut (but colleges will likely allow continued enrollment, because they know they'll get paid eventually).

Folks, this drama is far from over. We still have another two weeks of this. It will be up and down until a compromise is struck in the wee hours of March 4. No need to overreact right now. If we don't have resolution by March 4, however, that's the time to overreact.

Certainly, all this does not bode well for a CC announcement by March 1.
 
patentesq said:
Cadets won't get their monthly stipends from CC (although amounts owed will likely accrue). It will also stall tuition payments to colleges to the extent that those checks have not already been cut (but colleges will likely allow continued enrollment, because they know they'll get paid eventually).

Folks, this drama is far from over. We still have another two weeks of this. It will be up and down until a compromise is struck in the wee hours of March 4. No need to overreact right now. If we don't have resolution by March 4, however, that's the time to overreact.

Certainly, all this does not bode well for a CC announcement by March 1.
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Wow, I had hoped I was thinking this thru wrong...you've confirmed everything I thought of so far...at least for the CC/Army side of this mess. And, yes, CNN will become my new "job". DS says AP Government class is becoming a little more interesting:smile: Shall we all agree to meet here midnight March 4th??
 
Ohio2015Parent said:
Patentesq, Pima...please feel free to jump in, I don't remember the 1995 situation(as mentioned I was knee deep in babies in 1995).
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Ohio, the only thing I can say about this statement is:

1. We have a much bigger debt problem than we had in 1995. The time has come to pay the piper. However, if a shut-down does occur, the Army won't pull its troops from the middle of a firefight in the hills of Afghanistan, that's for sure. ("for sure" is a very tough thing for a lawyer to say!!).

2. Five to ten years from now, when the next budget show-down like this happens, this thread on SAF will be VERY useful as a reference point for parents looking for guidance on how things were handled "way back in 2011". We are witnessing history in the making right now, and SAF is contributing to the recording of that history!! And CC is learning of events as fast as we are learning them here on SAF. There really are no historical lessons that we can look to for guidance, unfortunately.
 
patentesq said:
Ohio, the only thing I can say about this statement is:

1. We have a much bigger debt problem than we had in 1995. The time has come to pay the piper. However, if a shut-down does occur, the Army won't pull its troops from the middle of a firefight in the hills of Afghanistan, that's for sure. ("for sure" is a very tough thing for a lawyer to say!!).

2. Five to ten years from now, when the next budget show-down like this happens, this thread on SAF will be VERY useful as a reference point for parents looking for guidance on how things were handled "way back in 2011". We are witnessing history in the making right now, and SAF is contributing to the recording of that history!! And CC is learning of events as fast as we are learning them here on SAF. There really are no historical lessons that we can look to for guidance, unfortunately.
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I googled 1995 government shut down last night and found a few educated articles comparing 1995 to now, they all agree with your more debt now than 1995 and that the current economic downturn(I haven't seen recovery yet on my street...)will be complicated greatly by a potential shut down. This looks like two cars playing chicken to me - simplistic, but I think it fits.

Yes, it is like recording history in a way. SAF will be so full of insane boards (all branches) and wild parents/candidates that our thread will be in archives:wink:
 
Shut down??

Been reading for awhile and have not posted in quite some time. I have been rooting for the Jan Board candidates since Jan 4 - you guys have all been incredibly patient.
Please do not think this insensitive, but you are all so well informed I thought I would ask your thoughts on this...
DS received 4 year AROTC scholarship from the Oct Board. It is to his first choice school and very excited; however, it is also a school we would have NO WAY of financing without the scholarship. How likely is it that those not yet enrolled in college (current cadets), but have been awarded a scholarship, never see the scholarship? Do you think ROTC on campuses might become extinct?
Is it panic time? We've kept one of his acceptances open to our state school, wonder if we need to be rethinking his future school mascot??
Thank you -
 
agp312 said:
DS received 4 year AROTC scholarship from the Oct Board. It is to his first choice school and very excited; however, it is also a school we would have NO WAY of financing without the scholarship. How likely is it that those not yet enrolled in college (current cadets), but have been awarded a scholarship, never see the scholarship? Do you think ROTC on campuses might become extinct?
Is it panic time? We've kept one of his acceptances open to our state school, wonder if we need to be rethinking his future school mascot??
Thank you -
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Honestly, I think you are on safe ground. It is definitely not panic time for you or your DS who has thankfully already received a scholarship starting in the fall of 2011. Congratulations!!!! No one thinks your post is insensitive -- I expect most of my fellow posters are equally excited about your DS's scholarship, but won't post a bunch of "congrats!" because that will clutter up this thread. Thanks for posting!

From what I can tell, Congress is not really taking aim at the military budget. The fight is really over other programs that are very expensive, like Medicare, etc. The Republicans have publicly stated that they DO NOT want to cut the military budget (actually, they have criticized the military for not having an even HIGHER budget!!).

The problem is, though, that the Dems and Repubs may both be forced to give up a little on both, depending on how their compromise works out.

While I do not have a crystal ball, I would bet that there will not be any change to those already granted a scholarship. The rest of us waiting for the Jan. 4 board results, however, is another matter. :confused:

As for ROTC becoming extinct, that ain't happening either. That said, some units will be under some pressure if their enrollment is down (such that it costs more to run the unit than to keep it). In this regard, ROTC units can become similar to the base closure decisions of a few years ago. Some bases closed, but they didn't close all of them. ROTC plays a vital and important role in our system.

That's just my humble view.
 
Congrats everyone, we all have made this the #1 thread on SAF ever! However, I wish it never had the chance to come close :biggrin:
 
agp312 said:
Been reading for awhile and have not posted in quite some time. I have been rooting for the Jan Board candidates since Jan 4 - you guys have all been incredibly patient.
Please do not think this insensitive, but you are all so well informed I thought I would ask your thoughts on this...
DS received 4 year AROTC scholarship from the Oct Board. It is to his first choice school and very excited; however, it is also a school we would have NO WAY of financing without the scholarship. How likely is it that those not yet enrolled in college (current cadets), but have been awarded a scholarship, never see the scholarship? Do you think ROTC on campuses might become extinct?
Is it panic time? We've kept one of his acceptances open to our state school, wonder if we need to be rethinking his future school mascot??
Thank you -
Click to expand...

Thanks for hanging out with us! Congrats on you DS scholarship and to the right school too:biggrin: I agree with Patentesq, but just because I'm a little less optomistic, I'd still keep that state school open until May 1 -- 1.) I don't trust anything government might do right now 2.)GOD FORBID your DS have some injury etc...and cannot get back thru DodMERB...I'd hold onto the possibility as long as it isn't costing you anything. JMHO...
 
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