As most of you know, she's enrolled in college and has become very, very happy in the ROTC program at school.

The Guard has tons of programs which offer aspiring college students financial aid opportunities in exchange for a time commitment.

Our very own Crazy001 (aka Tom) is an Army recruiter. I called him a few weeks ago and he schooled me on the various programs that my daughter Sarah can use to serve the guard, get school money and still commission in the active duty Army as an officer in 2016.

I'm so damned proud that she's stepping up and handling her business, nice to see young people take charge.

She will have to drill monthly, go to basic training and a specialty school as time permits between spring and fall semesters and figure all this out. Fortunately she is surrounded by some very good people who will help guide her in a smart way.

 

Tim,


Please convey to Sarah, my most sincere Thanks and Gratitude, for volunteering to serve this GREAT nation!!!

I know you're proud.

I'm proud of her, too!!!!

 

Tim,

Congratulations to Sarah.. Good to see a young person who knows what they want and are not afraid to go after it..

She has a bright future ahead of her

 

Tim,
is the commission a guarantee? We have some friends whose son went to VT in a similar program. He went through the first semester before he found out that not all of the ROTC students get picked up by the Army, and if he didn't, he'd (his parents, actually) would be responsible for the tuition and related costs for THE ENTIRE FOUR YEARS!!!

I thought it was just him experiencing cold feet and missing his friends back in their small town, but the parents assured us that this was, in fact, true.

Now, as for Sarah becoming an officer, WAY TO GO!!! I'd be proud to salute her. And, even if the Guard doesn't cover all the expenses, it'll offset your portion, so win-win.

Terrific news!

 

Congrats...Sounds like a responsible young adult, Don't come across too many of those anymore!

 

Thanks everyone!

Stu, there are no guarantees on the commission however, the good folks at VMI have told her that she's as good of a candidate as they've seen. She's likely not going to ask the Army for an ROTC scholarship as the Army only gives out 5 in the state of Va to females.

This could possibly be where your friend had issues. Was he denied tuition assistance or a commission all together? Did he meet all the minimum physical standards and academic requirements?

 

She can always go Active duty if she likes (some folks go back and forth over the years) or complete her initial commitment and switch services if the opportunities there are better or they offer what she wants.

There are many DIFFERENT ways to serve, so she should be alert to advance her career from the beginning.

 

Thank you for that post. We've discussed her options if a commission option is taken off the table, going active duty enlisted would be her choice.

A commission will be highly contingent on her academics and level of physical fitness which isn't an issue at all. I would be heart broken for her if she were passed over and wasn't allowed to commission after a rigorous 4 year ROTC career and four years of college. But, as I explained to her, not all is lost as there are still OCS possibilities once on active duty.

 

Force structure will CHANGE over the next four years, so she should read as much professional info as possible. In recent years, the AF flushed excess maintenance officers and offered the Blue to Green program where they could train then switch to the Army.

Manning goes back and forth and in different directions! What the other person is doing is almost irrelevant if your own career is different.

Always pick programs with predictably long life. (I should have gone for C-130s, that program has already outlived most of the people who designed and built the early ones!)

Advancement in Guard units can be slow, fast, or a "surprise" if the right folks retire to open a slot. One of my buds is a classic crusty politically incorrect fighter Crew Chief, but when he got out of the Active force to get closer to home he ended up making MSgt because the slot was open and is first in line for Senior due to unit structure.

If I were doing college/NG right now, that's timed to skip most of the unpleasant drawdown in A-stan AND some of the force reset/restructuring. I'd be tracking what my Guard unit does and is likely to do, and where my current specialty fits in.

Guard units can offer cross-training to fill open slots from within, so watch for opportunities.

There are many ways to commission. If Romney wins he wants to dump absurd amounts of money on new ships for the Navy. You know how that rolls.

 

So, Tim, how much of the ship had to be rebuilt due to stomach acid eating through the steel decks?

Jason

 

Tim,

Congratulations to your daughter and on her decision to follow in your footsteps of proudly serving her country. You have a lot to be proud of.