Service academy military commitment?

[adt98]

Hello,

I was reading articles about how some football players at the academy must serve 2 years before trying to play in the NFL. However I thought the required years of service to attend a service academy such as West Point was a mandatory 5 years of active duty? Just curious about contracts and the process.

 

[NavyHoops]

It is 5 years minimum. The commitment can be longer for certain things like aviation, med school, grad school, duty station picks (some services do this, not all). And this vary among services too. Aviation commitment can vary between each The DoD recently passed a policy that allows some football players with NFL caliber talent to serve 2 years then move to football in. Not sure on the new fine print, but the are probably stipulations about making rosters and reserve commitments. This policy has been all over the map the last decade or so and I think this was the DoDs way of setting a standard.

 

[AF6872]

DD has to serve seven since she did some extra school after graduation. SIL has to do a lot since he is USMC flight.

 

[raimius]

The standard is 5 active + 3 inactive reserve. That said, some people can get waivers to take a time gap, reduce the active time, etc. Some training and education programs require more time (USAF has a 10yr commitment upon UPT graduation, for example.)

 

[conrack]

exceptions have been made for some athletes like David Robinson which I personally find objectionable. The taxpayers aren't funding a half million dollar education so folks can prep for a professional career and claims that its "a good PR thing" are specious.