The Citadel + National Guard

baseball343

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Hey guys,

So I have been accepted to the Citadel and I plan to attend there this August. I'm not on an ROTC scholarship but I have heard that you can join the National Guard as a way to get more money for college and still be able to commission as active duty in the army. Can someone explain how this process works? And what would it be like being a part of the National Guard while being a student at the Citadel.

Thanks
 
Hi Bob,

Congratulations on your acceptance and your desire to serve!

You may be referring to the SMP program.... http://www.nationalguard.com/simultaneous-membership-program

I believe SMP will lock a cadet into getting commissioned in the guard.

I believe the answer to the original question is the state educational benefit. Some state give state tuition rate to out of state residents that are member of the National guard, some state schools give tuition waiver to national guard memebers. You will also qualify for federal educational benefit.
 
Hey guys,

So I have been accepted to the Citadel and I plan to attend there this August. I'm not on an ROTC scholarship but...."


Bob12550 - below is directly from The Citadel Army ROTC website - you might also call the Army ROTC or Air Force ROTC offices and ask about being in the Air or Army National Guard or Reserve while enrolled in college. You would likely need to go through the enlistment process and boot camp during your summer prior to enrollment, but this may be an option to qualify for any college benefits these services offer enlisted.

From the Army ROTC webpage at The Citadel.edu:
The Simultaneous Membership Program allows you the opportunity to be a full-time college student working toward an academic degree while participating in both the Army National Guard or Army Reserve as well as the Army ROTC program. An Officer Cadet in the SMP will be paid at the grade of Sergeant (E-5) and earn more than $250 a month for drill pay during the school year while training one weekend a month with the National Guard or Army Reserve. Cadets also earn the Army ROTC contracting stipend. There are three categories of cadets who are eligible for the SMP Program:

1. GRFD or DEDNG scholarship cadets (SMP membership is mandatory in this case)

2. Army ROTC non-scholarship contracted cadets

3. Students who are enlisted in the ARNG/USAR prior to contracting with Army ROTC

Students must meet the same requirements for non-scholarship cadets, must be enlisted or eligible for enlistment in the National Guard or Army Reserve, be at least an academic sophomore (@30 credit hours, depending on major), be enrolled in MLTY 201 or above, and provide the SMP agreement to The Army ROTC Department at The Citadel.
 
I believe SMP will lock a cadet into getting commissioned in the guard.

You are closer to it than I am, so you could be spot on. But going by the ANG site linked above.... "Best of all, upon graduation you'll receive your commission as a second lieutenant, and serve in either the National Guard or the Active Army."

Most of the college websites that discuss SMP with ROTC also mention serving ANG or AD. But to your point, perhaps it's a different process you have to go through for AD and not a guarantee. That could be important to know for sure if that's what the poster has his heart set on. As they always say... talk to the recruiter.
 
Thank you guys for all your help. Im visiting the Citadel at the end of February so I'm sure there will be someone there that I can ask about specifics. I guess my main concern, like you guys pointed out, is that I do not want to be in the national guard after graduation, but instead in the active duty army.
 
You can commission Active. I might do SMP starting this summer at VMI.
Depends on what benefits you take. If OP is not on a ROTC scholarship and does SMP and takes the GRFD scholarship then active duty is off the table. If he just does SMP for the drill money then I believe you are correct in that he can still try for active duty.

OP keep in mind that active duty is never guaranteed except from a service academy.
 
You can commission Active. I might do SMP starting this summer at VMI.

It's not as cut and dry as you think it might be.

As posted above, the GRFD Scholarship will require you to serve in the Guard/Reserve.

You also need to be careful when accepting any Guard/State Tuition Assistance. Some State/Guard are now putting requirements that require the service obligation be done in the Guard/Reserve if you accept any State/Guard TA. Be very careful what you sign or accept. Realize as well that the rules can change at any time. You may start out being able to go AD but end up having to go Guard.

One other thing to remember, as SMP you are not contracted for at least your first year, and sometimes it can take until the end of your sophomore year to get a contract. If you attend BCT and AIT and become MOS qualified you are deployable until you sign the ROTC contract.

SMP does not guarantee a contract with ROTC, if you are in a large and competitive battalion which has more cadets then contracts available, you will be competing with all other non scholarship and SMP cadets for those contracts. If the time comes and there are not enough contracts to go around for your year group, and you are not offered a contract, they may offer you only a Guard contract or possibly none at all. If you are not offered a contract you are still obligated to fulfill your Guard obligation.

Make sure you understand all that is involved with SMP, also make sure you will be willing to be away from school one weekend a month. Time management will be very important, your grade are very important.

Overall, read all the fine print, Do Not Assume anything, and ask a lot of questions. Don't just let a local recruiter talk you into joining the Guard by telling you everything is going to be peachy. Make sure you have a few discussions with a ROTC Recruiting Officer (ROO) before you make any decisions or sign any papers.

Oh, and just so you know....They do not call it Combat Arms anymore.
 
Jcleppe thank you so much for your insight. The reason I was drawn toward the national guard was because I was told their scholarships are less competitive that the 3-year ROTC scholarship. From what you have said, it seems like it would be better to pursue a 3-year ROTC scholarship than to join the guard as I may be required to stay in the guard after graduation. Let me know if I have misunderstood anything
 
I actually don't think you can do SMP until you have 30 college hours completed.

I would add that the GRFD scholarships are easier to obtain (they do have minimum requirements though) only because there are not as many people competing for them and they lock you into the Guard, which most states are short on junior officers so they would be happy to take you.
 
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Jcleppe thank you so much for your insight. The reason I was drawn toward the national guard was because I was told their scholarships are less competitive that the 3-year ROTC scholarship. From what you have said, it seems like it would be better to pursue a 3-year ROTC scholarship than to join the guard as I may be required to stay in the guard after graduation. Let me know if I have misunderstood anything

Yes the scholarships are a bit less competitive, the only scholarship available through the Guard is the GRFD, if you take the GRFD then you would not be eligible for Active Duty.
 
I actually don't think you can do SMP until you have 30 college hours completed.

SMP does not start for a cadet in the Guard until at the earliest the start of their sophomore year. I would assume they would have 30 credits by then, if not they would have to wait until the next semester to contract.
 
Yes the scholarships are a bit less competitive, the only scholarship available through the Guard is the GRFD, if you take the GRFD then you would not be eligible for Active Duty.

Thank you for clearing that up. Now that I know that, it is not a scholarship I am going to peruse since I want to go active duty after the citadel. My best bet to get tuition covered is probably going to be to kick ass freshmen year so I have a good chance at a 3-year ROTC scholarship. Can I still do the SMP program just for the drill pay with no commitment to the national guard? Also, assuming I score at least a 3 on all my AP tests this year, I will be entering college with exactly 30 credit hours. Could I start the SMP program freshmen year since I have the required credits or will I still have to wait until Sophomore year?
 
Congratulations on being accepted at The Citadel. Jcleppe about hit it all. Guard SMP is becoming tricky for some States. DS is SMP and I guess lucked out this year because he could go AD. You first go to the RSP unit ,with College and HS kids etc until you complete basic and AIT. You attend the RSP unit where you sign. This can add travel problems because as a knob you can not have a car. It will be your responsibility to get a way to RSP drill. Maybe you can get a hardship waiver and meet with the local RSP unit, I am not sure. Or sign with a unit closer to school yet close enough to home if you live in SC. I made a trip once a month to get DS to drill. No problem after Knob year you can have a car.
After Basic and AIT you leave your RSP unit and go to the closest unit with your MOS. For DS this was Charleston so it worked out. DS contracted after Sophomore year. At that time you have to fnd a unit to take a Cadets in training and travel if needed to drill. DS has to report to a leadership meeting the evening before drill. So with drill on Sat he had to leave school on Fridays. His unit was on some kind of extended drill for a while that added a day so he was having to leave on Thursdays. Also at times you have weekend FTX with your ROTC unit after contracting. It is a hectic schedule and a lot of time away from school and studies.

Look for a post scoutmaster. His son was SMP and to my understanding took nothing except his Guard drill check. After two years he found out AD was off the table. I think this was in Bama. So as said above read the fine print and ask the right questions!

After all is said DS states he would do SMP again vs ROTC . His SCANG unit threw him in the thick of things and it has been a good experience for him. I am sure however this could and does vary from unit to unit
 
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Thank you everyone for your help in me trying to understand this process. Its going to be a tough choice ahead so i just want to get all the facts. Ill be doing visits over the next few months so I can ask all the questions I have. You guys have helped immensely, thank you!
 
Thank you for clearing that up. Now that I know that, it is not a scholarship I am going to peruse since I want to go active duty after the citadel. My best bet to get tuition covered is probably going to be to kick ass freshmen year so I have a good chance at a 3-year ROTC scholarship. Can I still do the SMP program just for the drill pay with no commitment to the national guard? Also, assuming I score at least a 3 on all my AP tests this year, I will be entering college with exactly 30 credit hours. Could I start the SMP program freshmen year since I have the required credits or will I still have to wait until Sophomore year?

You cannot have a scholarship and join the guard unless the scholarship is a GRFD and you do SMP. If you do as you mentioned, get to school, do well and receive a scholarship, then that is what you'll have, you won't be able to join the Guard and keep the scholarship.
 
If you have any more questions PM me. I am an SMP cadet at VMI so I know a bit about the whole National Guard while at an SMC thing.
 
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