Scholarship payback

[-Bull-]

I want to thank everyone for your supportive comments and yes, it has been and still is incredibly difficult to try and understand this, especially the timing. Since everything was so clearly laid out for the past four years, he did not even pursue any job interviews or internships over his college career. He only did Army summer programs; one abroad, one in the states and of course LDAC. If he had been diagnosed after he commissioned, I assume he would have been considered a veteran and given a medical discharge with VA benefits, etc.... If he had been diagnosed earlier in his college years he could have had years to plan accordingly. As it stands, he seems to be in this strange and unclear middle ground, with a major life changing medical issue, finishing up school with no concrete plans or even options as of right now. I know he was given incredible training in ROTC and the leadership skills and friendships he made can never be taken away. At least, I just hope he is not strapped with tens of thousands of dollars in school debt on top of all that and from most of your posts, it seems like he will not. Regardless, we move on to whatever future lies ahead and we have to believe that when all the dust settles, there will be a good future for him.

He should look into the Army PaYs program. I know it's probably hard to look past the Army right now, but this program can help him with the job search. The PaYs programm is offered to cadets and guarantees up to 2 job interviews with major national companies. I looked into before I found out I was active duty in the chance I needed a civilian career, and there are some good opportunities. Most jobs I found were for managerial track careers. If you can't find more info on this and would like some for your son, I can get you in the right direction.

 

[sheriff3]

Your DS's medical condition is not ideal but certainly manageable. A very good friend of mine is 55 and has this condition. To date he has run 2 full Ironman Triathlons and countless 1/2 marathons and sprint triathlons. My point is with his obvious drive,training and intelligence your DS's newly found medical issues should not be an insurmountable obstacle for him and I predict his future will be as bright as he thought it would be but now on a different path. Maybe one of the 3 letter gov't agencies?? Best of luck to your family.

 

[Wenlu]

I want to thank everyone for your supportive comments and yes, it has been and still is incredibly difficult to try and understand this, especially the timing. Since everything was so clearly laid out for the past four years, he did not even pursue any job interviews or internships over his college career. He only did Army summer programs; one abroad, one in the states and of course LDAC. If he had been diagnosed after he commissioned, I assume he would have been considered a veteran and given a medical discharge with VA benefits, etc.... If he had been diagnosed earlier in his college years he could have had years to plan accordingly. As it stands, he seems to be in this strange and unclear middle ground, with a major life changing medical issue, finishing up school with no concrete plans or even options as of right now. I know he was given incredible training in ROTC and the leadership skills and friendships he made can never be taken away. At least, I just hope he is not strapped with tens of thousands of dollars in school debt on top of all that and from most of your posts, it seems like he will not. Regardless, we move on to whatever future lies ahead and we have to believe that when all the dust settles, there will be a good future for him.

Hello, I’m not sure if this will reach you b/c it is now 2020, but if you read this, I would be very appreciative if you would share what your son is up to today.
My son, has just been diagnosed with a disqualifying disease. He too is in Army ROTC (a Junior) with hopes of being an infantry soldier. He is crushed And I know he will succeed in plan B but at the moment he is having a hard time. I think hearing your sons story and success (I assume) in a different career will help him see the other opportunities he has. Thank you!

 

[Impulsive]

Two VERY unfortunate situations. ALL ROTC programs are "reserve" type programs. The ONLY instance that VA benefits come into play is they get injured while on training. Academy students are AD from day one, if they get hurt (even at home) they can get that "medical separation" and possible VA benefits.