Some questions bout ROTC

[kungfumaster]

hey, i have some basic questions about ROTC which I would really appreciate answered. Ok, first off, i heard that after you complete the program, you have to serve active duty for 3 years or so. Is there any way to get around this, because I want to go to law school after I get my bachelors. I wouldnt mind serving after that, or perhaps part time or something. Also, i am really not sure where to go. Ive always wanted to be able to command a ship, but at the same time becoming a captain in the navy takes a long time, and Im not sure if it is even possible for a reservist. Ive also been considering marine reserves or army reserves. Can somebody possibly list the pros and cons of each or at least tell me what they would go for and why? Thanks. Also, I wanted to know, if say, I got to the rank of Major in the marines. Could I apply to switch service branches, to the navy? If that is possible, how exactly would that work?

[Bronco1986]

You have to serve 8 years(4 active, 4 reserve or IRR, you might be able to do all 8 reserve, not sure) if you contract with the ROTC program. most people contract in their MS-III year(junior) once they get to the advanced program. some contract earlier if they are scholarship or SMP(Simultaneous membership program). i believe if you dont contract you dont have to serve. however, if you want to go to law school, i believe you still can go to law school after undergrad and then serve most likely in the JAG Corps after.

What i recommend you do is contact your ROTC program of choice and talk to someone there, they can tell you all the details. also if you want to go Navy, you need to find a school that offers NROTC, NROTC contains Marines aswell if you want to go that option. There is also Army ROTC. its your choice. my best advice is to meet with someone at the ROTC program your most interested in.

someone please correct me if i said something incorrect.

Bronco is right. If you go for an advance degree you have to get a waiver. Basically it says you will go into the service after more schooling.

It is usually 8 years. However there are some cases where you might have to serve 10 years (pilots) and sometimes less. A few years ago they let many ROTC graduates be released because they had too many officers and were over staffed (I found that out through my brother-in-law(AF 1Lt.)).

Like Bronco said though. Talk to service you want to branch with (AF, Army, Navy, CG).

[kungfumaster]

will do. What im worried about tho is that i dont want to go to JAG, i figure ill have enough of being a lawyer for the rest of my life, for the period of time that I am in the military I would rather be in infantry, armor, become a pilot, etc...

[Bronco1986]

well, could you got to law school after serving? after undergrad do your time in the service, then after you get out, then go to law school.

I'm not positive but I believe you would have to pay for your post-graduate work. The exception would be if you were to be promoted to Ltc. (they usually will send you back to school for a masters degree).

When you go through ROTC I believe you waive your rights to the G.I. bill. Someone correct me if I am wrong though. I know this is the case if you went to school and then had them pay back your tuition for you through the repayment program.

You could always pay for your undergraduate degree, go enlisted and then go green-to-gold and become an officer. After that you could come out and use the G.I. bill to get your masters degree. I believe you won't necessarily be committed for 8 years if you go green-to-gold either. But you might want to check with a recruiter.

[kungfumaster]

could u tell me what exactly is green to gold plz? I am sort of cautious about recruiters cuz a lot of them are desperate with enlistment rates dropping, i dont fully trust them...

[Godholio]

Originally Posted by Splat

When you go through ROTC I believe you waive your rights to the G.I. bill. Someone correct me if I am wrong though. I know this is the case if you went to school and then had them pay back your tuition for you through the repayment program.

Not necessarily. It has to do with your contract, and how much your school cost. Usually it works out so that you dont get the GIB, but not always. I work with a 2d Lt who still had the GIB option after ROTC, because there was some kind of leftover funds...I think how it worked is that he was authorized a certain $$$ amount for college, and for whatever reason it didnt cost that much. In any case, he was below some kind of preset limit, so he still qualifies.

I dunno. I just know its not across the board.

[crewcutkid]

I believe green to gold is OCS.
-Jim

[Scary]

Green to Gold is NOT an OCS program. Green to Gold is designed to take enlisted soliders out of their original contract and put them in an ROTC scholarship contract. Part of the deal is if you don't complete your degree on time, you leave school, go back on active duty for 4 years to repay your scholarship and are demoted back to E-1.

In the Army anyway, as far as getting your law school paid for, this is the deal from what I've come to understand. When you go through accessions your senior year, you can apply for an Educational Delay. You will be branched into one of the standard Army branches but will be tagged as "Ed Delay Law." You must be accepted to a law school and have decent LSAT scores. You will commission at the end of the year as a 2LT. You will go to law school and I'm pretty sure you recieve active duty 2LT pay. You won't get funding beyond this. When you complete law school, you'll transition to 1LT. Once you complete JAG school you'll be a CPT. If you think that you will go Ed Delay Law and not go JAG, you're wrong. The Army doesn't pay people for a certain skill and then let them not use it. Now, if you want to serve 4 (on scholarship: 3 non-scholarship) then go to law school (on your own dime) and re-enter the service, you could be a lawyer and not JAG. I haven't heard of someone going through 1/2 their career in a branch to go to law school and rebranch. Frankly I think it's retarded to spend so much time in a branch then try to change gears completely, but that's me.

Not that you may be thinking this, but if you are commissioned, the Army isn't going to let you go early due to "extra 2LTs." My year group assessed about 700 short of the goal.


E.S.

[crewcutkid]

Oops...
-C/Cpl. Black