No Air Force from USMMA this Year

What is a kid who wants to go into the AF doing at KP? There's a much better school for that purpose located in Colorado Springs, CO.

Much better schools for that purpose. Almost every single school in the country with an AFROTC program. Going to KP and commissioning AF is going to NROTC and commissioning in the AF.
 
Taking an Air Force commission while allowed, feels extremely selfish to me. Like sure, I'll take that free education, but go to work in the maritime industry or even one of the sea services, F that. Please don't come at me with, they spread word of the Academy to the Air Force. It's just not an effective use of DOT dollars or USMMA slots imo.
 
Taking an Air Force commission while allowed, feels extremely selfish to me. Like sure, I'll take that free education, but go to work in the maritime industry or even one of the sea services, F that. Please don't come at me with, they spread word of the Academy to the Air Force. It's just not an effective use of DOT dollars or USMMA slots imo.

Why don't you share these comments with KP grad Mark Kelly who is an astronaut. You need to think big here. Maritime requires strong navigation skills and capabilities to pilot a big piece of machinery like a ship..... both are great skills for aviators. Also at this time there is a shortage of aviators so I'd argue the greater need for the country is pilots.
 
Why don't you share these comments with KP grad Mark Kelly who is an astronaut. You need to think big here. Maritime requires strong navigation skills and capabilities to pilot a big piece of machinery like a ship..... both are great skills for aviators. Also at this time there is a shortage of aviators so I'd argue the greater need for the country is pilots.
Mark Kelly served in the Navy, a sea service.
 
Taking an Air Force commission while allowed, feels extremely selfish to me. Like sure, I'll take that free education, but go to work in the maritime industry or even one of the sea services, F that. Please don't come at me with, they spread word of the Academy to the Air Force. It's just not an effective use of DOT dollars or USMMA slots imo.

The air force comes in now and offers a stipend starting junior year to all contracted cadets while everybody else gets nothing, this makes it a little more attractive to people. They have two selection cycles, junior and senior year. The guy at the Manhattan College AFROTC unit has been increasingly involved at KP over the past few years. Its getting more and more seamless to go in the AF, and it needs to stop.
 
If the Navy wanted to could it block a USMMA graduate from accepting a commission in another service? Put another way, do USMMA midshipmen technically require a release from the USNR before they accept a commission in another service?
 
If the Navy wanted to could it block a USMMA graduate from accepting a commission in another service? Put another way, do USMMA midshipmen technically require a release from the USNR before they accept a commission in another service?

No, your service obligation is with MARAD, who doesn't actually specify which branch you must commission into. Though it is all kind of designed around the SSO program.

The actual mission of the school includes 'national security'

Right. The intent here is by using your skills as a mariner. Not flying jets.

You need to think big here. Maritime requires strong navigation skills and capabilities to pilot a big piece of machinery like a ship..... both are great skills for aviators.

This is the literal opposite of thinking big. This is talking about nuts and bolts and technical skills. The Navy can train anyone to fly a jet, it doesn't really matter what your undergraduate education looks like.

Thinking big would be acknowledging the bigger overarching needs for sealift over the horizon when the next big war comes, which you need merchant mariners for. A pilot with an expired 3rd mate ticket isn't going to be useful for much, especially if we don't have the sealift capacity to support them. We can make pilots, we have the infrastructure in place to pump them out reasonably quickly, but the same can't be said for 3rds and Third Mates.
 
As I am not an alum (DD is) I will not give an opinion on whether going active duty rather than sailing is moral, right or wrong. Though the powers that be have made AD an option, I can understand the feelings of those who disagree. I only wish I was this passionate about my alma mater, one of the multitudes of money grabbing, predatory institutions. I am, however, as an outsider, arrogant enough to believe I have a worthwhile observation: per Google the AF awards 4000 scholarships and commissions 1800 2Lts a year through AFROTC. Add to this,of course, are the USAFA and OCS 2Lts. The Marines no longer send KPers to OCS but bring them in with the same status as USNA grads. On SAF, a USNA grad commented on the competence and discipline of the KPers at Leatherneck. Only a very small percent of Americans have even heard of KP. A very, very small per cent of this group know anything about KP. But the questioned is begged: why do those who really know have such an interest in the relatively small number who enter their services each year from KP. They must like what they're getting.
 
As I am not an alum (DD is) I will not give an opinion on whether going active duty rather than sailing is moral, right or wrong. Though the powers that be have made AD an option, I can understand the feelings of those who disagree. I only wish I was this passionate about my alma mater, one of the multitudes of money grabbing, predatory institutions. I am, however, as an outsider, arrogant enough to believe I have a worthwhile observation: per Google the AF awards 4000 scholarships and commissions 1800 2Lts a year through AFROTC. Add to this,of course, are the USAFA and OCS 2Lts. The Marines no longer send KPers to OCS but bring them in with the same status as USNA grads. On SAF, a USNA grad commented on the competence and discipline of the KPers at Leatherneck. Only a very small percent of Americans have even heard of KP. A very, very small per cent of this group know anything about KP. But the questioned is begged: why do those who really know have such an interest in the relatively small number who enter their services each year from KP. They must like what they're getting.
For my education, I'd like to know where you found your numbers. The reason I say this...let's look at the numbers. Yes, on the AFROTC website is says @4000 scholarship awards per year out of @25k applicants. The 1,800 commissioned per year...the reason I'd like to know where that comes from is that there are just over 1,100 colleges/universities with AFROTC. That would mean just over one graduate per year. That 'sounds' too small but, I don't know, hence my question. The last time I commissioned an ROTC cadet, there were 15 commissioning into the AF from that detachment alone. FYI...I've heard a number "similar to that" in the past but have never been able to get an answer, even querying AFROTC HQ!

So...if you have a good source, would you share it? I'd appreciate it!

Thank you!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
@flieger83 According to the AF website, AFROTC commissioned 1,800 Lt's in 2018, so I assume the numbers are similar in regards to this past year.

.

Honestly the 1,100 schools offering AFROTC seems to be some selective marketing. I would imagine that there are essentially 1,100 schools where it is possible to participate in AFROTC, but many of those schools probably don't commission a Lt each year. Keep in mind there's also only about 150 actual detachments, which would make the 1,800 figure much more reasonable.
 
@flieger83 According to the AF website, AFROTC commissioned 1,800 Lt's in 2018, so I assume the numbers are similar in regards to this past year.

.

Honestly the 1,100 schools offering AFROTC seems to be some selective marketing. I would imagine that there are essentially 1,100 schools where it is possible to participate in AFROTC, but many of those schools probably don't commission a Lt each year. Keep in mind there's also only about 150 actual detachments, which would make the 1,800 figure much more reasonable.
The reason I asked..."we've" been told that there were @5k new officers commissioned last year: @1k from USAFA, @1k from OTS, the rest from AFROTC.

But...unless I can find a solid source...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
As I noted, my numbers come from a very quick Google question. I have no idea about their accuracy. But please focus on my main point: the services seem to be extremely interested in a very few KPers when so many come from other sources. Why the effort?
 
As I noted, my numbers come from a very quick Google question. I have no idea about their accuracy. But please focus on my main point: the services seem to be extremely interested in a very few KPers when so many come from other sources. Why the effort?

The guy at the Manhattan College AFROTC unit has been increasingly involved at KP over the past few years. Its getting more and more seamless to go in the AF, and it needs to stop.

I suspect Mr 2020 gave you your answer. This gentleman's performance assessment in his current assignment is likely, at least in some part, tied to his ability to recruit Officers into the Air Force. He had the bright idea to reach out to a huge pool of possible candidate nearby at USMMA. Sounds like an engaged guy who will likely succeed wherever he is assigned. The same would be true for the USMC reps on campus. It's motivated people with a defined objective fishing in a barrel to meet their individual target numbers.
 
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