Larger vs smaller ROTC battalion

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Charles2007

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My daughter received an AROTC scholarship this morning and we are awaiting the decision of the AFROTC 3rd board. The AROTC scholarship is good for her top 3 college choices. The colleges themselves are roughly the same size in terms of students. But the ROTC battalions are markedly different in size. Her top choice has a much smaller battalion compared to the other 2 with many of the cadets being crosstown students. I’m interested in people’s thoughts about choosing a school based on battalion size (leaving finances aside for now) versus making a final decision just based on which college she likes most. Thanks.
 
The best advice that I consistently see on this board is to pick the school, not the battalion. The school choice will have more impact on day-to-day satisfaction than the battalion. I’ve yet to see input that one size is better than the other.

DS considered two schools with large battalions. They were certainly impressive, with bigger facilities and bigger leadership cadres. He opted for a school that he liked better, with a relatively small battalion. He hasn’t been disappointed. The facilities are good, the leadership cadre is solid, there’s great esprit des corps among the cadets. They get the same training and preparation, and cadets have gone on to successful careers.

In their quarterly field training exercises at a nearby Army installation, they usually do it jointly with another smallish battalion that’s about 100 miles away. They've also done an FTX with three other battalions — all bigger, all within about 100 miles of each other. So they have ways of making things feel bigger.
 
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I don't know what you consider large or small. DS did NROTC with about 100 participants. Some were MECEP and STA enlisted folks. I think it was the perfect size for him. Plenty of leadership opportunities, but large enough to have platoon and company level competitions. I smaller unit might have even more leadership opportunities since, in some sense, the same amount of work needs to be completed.

That being said I fully endorse the "pick the school and not the battalion" mantra. If you're not happy at the school you won't be happy in ROTC. If you're not thriving at the scholl, you won't be thriving in ROTC.
 
  • Positive - larger unit provided progressive opportunities to lead for those interested in doing so - right from the first semester.
  • One negative of a large unit is that there were a couple hundred people who do nothing but the minimum and fly under the radar for years- never volunteer, never lead, never mentor - seeking no billet/ roles. New CO noticed this too, called a full-stop meeting and made sweeping change - noting sorry but we're pulling many of you who've had at least 3 semesters of leader experience already, to ensure everyone has some leader experience so we send better officers as a whole to their first assignments. He noted this would take care of the unit for the class of 2023 and beyond. I get it, and yet maybe a smaller unit would have avoided creating this gap by necessity.
 
I agree with picking the school that is best for you and where you will succeed. My son did that and is at the host school of a battalion that incorporates several other schools. His group is about 50 from his school and maybe 100 total (guesses on my part). They are all very close with each other and very visible to the cadre, which he sees as an advantage but could be a disadvantage to others. He has also had many opportunities for color guard, AA school, ranger challenge, leadership, upcoming summer internship, etc that he may or may not have had in a larger battalion. However, it also seems that the same cadets who are highest on the OML are getting most of the opportunities, so that could be a negative for some.
 
I would visit and interview the department and let them show you what it is like. My son visited several and it was a very different experience and had nothing to do with the size of the battalion, but everything to do with the school and how the school sees AROTC.
 
Smaller units may also incorporate ROTC cadets from other branches for PT and campus events. At my son's school they even attend the same commissioning ceremony.
 
I have to echo what @MidCakePa stated. Pick the school, not the BN. Your daughter's number 1 priority should be her academic degree. A lot of ROTC BNs like to brag that they are the best, but that is irrelevant, if your daughter hates the school, or not in a degree program that she desires. She is more likely to be successful if she is at the best school for her. Once in the Army, no one cares how you commissioned, nor what ROTC program you attended. How impressed do you think Soldiers will be when you tell them that you were the Cadet BN CDR of a 200 cadet program that was the best in the NE? Nobody cares. What they care about is what are you doing for the Army and your Soldiers today? Just ask Gunny Highway how impressed he was when his LT bragged that he "was the CDR of his ROTC detachment."
 
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