Wanting Army ROTC but only AF is available...

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LostInOKC

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Nov 25, 2019
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Hi everyone! My son wants to join the army right out of HS, but our school district doesn't offer the Army JROTC program, only Air Force. Is that good enough? I've never served so i have zero experience with this. I'm hoping some of you other parents can shine a light on it for me. The Army ROTC program is down south of us a good bit so our only other option there would be to move into OKC proper or Guthrie. But if he can join AF ROTC and it basically is the same thing to the Army recruiter then we're good to go.

Thanks!
 
You certainly don't need to be in JROTC to enlist. However, if you complete 3 years of JROTC, you will usually get a meritorious promotion to E-3 once you successfully complete basic training. Any JROTC program will count. It does not have to be from the same branch. My son is in NJROTC and we have students that go into all the branches.
 
It is JROTC, there are many kids that do JROTC in one branch and go off after graduation to another branch. It really has no bearing regarding enlistment. The reason I say this is because once he enlists he will have to go to basic training and whatever specialty school after wards. They will train them in their way. There are many kids that never do JROTC and get appointments/scholarships to Academies and colleges.
My DS applied for both the AFA and AFROTC scholarship, along with 7 other kids from his school. The 7 other all were in AFJROTC. He was not. He also was the only student at his school that received all 3 MoC nominations and an AFROTC scholarship.
My point is I would not be moving for him to be in JROTC.
 
I will be blunt, I think the point of JRTOC is to get them into the military not to get them into a specific branch
 
As others above have said, JROTC of any branch does not obligate you to that specific branch or anything military in general. In fact many commissioned officers have NEVER participated in JROTC in high school.

In high school, my DS did one year of JROTC, made company commander and then dropped it because it conflicted too much with academics, other EC's, varsity sports and his PT job.
 
AROTC-dad said:
In high school, my DS did one year of JROTC, made company commander and then dropped it because it conflicted too much with academics, other EC's, varsity sports and his PT job.
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I agree that if a cadet is fully committed to JROTC is will eat up virtually ALL of his or her time and will definitely be a conflict with other ES's and sports. I am concerned that my DS is devoting too much time to NJROTC and have discussed this with him. However, he loves it and this is what he wants to do. But there are all levels of participation in JROTC. If you take it just as a class and don't participate in the after school JROTC team activities (Drill, athletic, academic, orienteering, etc.) you will still have time for other EC's and varsity sports.
 
I just want to say thank your for supporting your kiddo. My DD is also first to serve (Unless you count reserves in the Canadian Navy, even her Grandfather says it doesn’t count haha), And she will commission 2LT in the Army in May. So for the most part, even extended family has no experience with it and while we support her, there are some family members that think we (her parents) are crazy for not “stopping her”! The truth is I want her to be successful and this is the path she has chosen and I am very proud of her for wanting to serve, so heck yeah she has our support. Anyway, good luck to your son as he navigates his options and congrats to you for being supportive!
 
+1 to @AROTC-dad. My DS never did any JROTC, but still earned a 4yr NROTC scholarship. They are looking for scholar, athlete, leaders. There's many ways to get there.
 
My high school only offers Air Force ROTC as well. I was never interested in joining. As ProudDad17 stated above, the Army is looking for scholar, athlete and leaders. Therefore, if your son is interested in becoming an Army officer (going to college), I would suggest your son works hard on his GPA, joins a sports team, and maybe join a school club and take a leadership role there.
 
Thanks guys! The pride in this forum really shows. Awesome responses! It looks like it's Air Force ROTC for us then maybe off to Valley Forge Military Academy (?) As i read it, it's the quickest route to the officer's program.
 
Valley Forge Military Academy and other junior colleges like it are a quicker commissioning source than a four year college. In most cases though, he would then serve as a National Guard or Reserves Officer. It is possible to then transfer to a four year school, but that does not guarantee active duty, if he wants active duty and be an officer then a four year school ROTC program or the academies are a good option.
 
Dckc88 said:
Valley Forge Military Academy and other junior colleges like it are a quicker commissioning source than a four year college. In most cases though, he would then serve as a National Guard or Reserves Officer. It is possible to then transfer to a four year school, but that does not guarantee active duty, if he wants active duty and be an officer then a four year school ROTC program or the academies are a good option.
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He definitely wants active duty. I didn't get that he'd have to be in reserves for VFMA. It looks like they offer scholarships too according to the rotc website. He'll be disappointed that he has to go to college though. His grades are good, but he hates school and was looking forward to getting "out there" at 18.
 
LostInOKC said:
He definitely wants active duty. I didn't get that he'd have to be in reserves for VFMA. It looks like they offer scholarships too according to the rotc website. He'll be disappointed that he has to go to college though. His grades are good, but he hates school and was looking forward to getting "out there" at 18.
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Does he want to be an officer or does he want to enlist? If he wants to enlist, then he can do so after high school with no issues, assuming he is otherwise medically qualified and does not have any legal issues. If he wants to be an officer, a bachelor's degree is required. You may want to show him enlisted versus officer pay scales and have him explore the job responsibilities of enlisted personnel and officers. The desire to get "out there" right out of high school can be strong, but hopefully he can look at the bigger picture and be sure he will be happy with his decision long term. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enlisting. College isn't for everyone, or maybe just not right now. The military will give him valuable life skills. But if he wants to be an officer, it seems the surest path is college right out of high school.
 
LostInOKC said:
He'll be disappointed that he has to go to college though. His grades are good, but he hates school and was looking forward to getting "out there" at 18.
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I see lot of kids who don't like academics and are ready to get out there. My DS might be one of those. I would rather see them go to college. However, nothing says you cannot enlist, serve your time and go to college a few years down the road. One of the outstanding NJROTC students from our high school enlisted, made E-4 in a year and a half and is now taking the test for E-5. She is in intelligence in Hawaii on an Admiral's staff and they love her. Her DM told me that her superiors are offering to support her to apply to the USNA. But she met a guy and wants to get married. She does not want to make the additional 9 year commitment to the Navy. So, that's what happens. Life sometimes catches up with you if you don't take your chance to go to college when you have the chance. But others do go to college after enlistment and do commission. There are many roads one can follow. Just counsel your child on all the options. Then, they must make their own decision.
 
@LostInOKC

I think you really need to sit down with him now.
Our cousin went to Valley Forge (self prep) that really is more for trying to get into an SA.
I agree with others, if he is going to go ROTC in college, than he needs to look at the bigger picture. That means the most aggressive academic schedule he can handle with sports and ECs, to show a well rounded candidate
 
Pima said:
@LostInOKC

I think you really need to sit down with him now.
Our cousin went to Valley Forge (self prep) that really is more for trying to get into an SA.
I agree with others, if he is going to go ROTC in college, than he needs to look at the bigger picture. That means the most aggressive academic schedule he can handle with sports and ECs, to show a well rounded candidate
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What's an SA?
 
Be very careful about JMCs (Junior Military Academies) like VFMA. They will tell you it’s a quicker way, but you still can’t be what I would call a fully vetted officer until you earn your four year degree, so that commission you earn at a JMC has some strings, and is not really the quicker path it seems to be. And active duty is very rarely the outcome. Please make sure you fully understand the option and I encourage you to talk to some 4 year Army ROTC programs before you make any decisions.
 
Well he does not like school at all. Sitting still and twiddling his thumbs for hours isn't his thing, but I was unaware he would have to go to a 4 year college to become an officer. My understanding was that he could join a JROTC program, enlist, work his butt off, then be promoted. But like i said before, i know nothing.
 
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