How old do you have to be to start ROTC?

Question

How old do you have to be to start ROTC?

Answer 1

you must be in high school in iowa i think it is that way every where else i'm not sure

Answer 2

You must be 14 years old.

Answer 3

There are "junior ROTC programs in high schools.  You won't become an officer (until later, if you work up to it) if you enter the military after high school.  However,I have heard it does give you an advantage over people who just join the Army or Navy straight out of high school.

Officer training begins with college ROTC.  It's a good program and you can get to be an officer in the Army or Navy while getting your college degree.

Answer 4

JROTC is for high school students, and looks good if you want to be in real ROTC in college, but does not provide you with any benefits or guaranteed job.  My husband I were both in ROTC in college.  I received a full 4 year scholarship, and he was in a different program because he was prior-enlisted.  I was 17 when I started college, turning 18 shortly thereafter.  You can be a member of ROTC for ANY service (except Coast Guard), meaning Navy, Marines, Army, and Air Force.  You can also choose to switch which service you want to be commissioned in at a later time if you feel a different service is a better fit, but the package has to be approved.

Anyone can be a member of ROTC, even if you do not receive the scholarship out of high school.  That way is called College Program (CP).  If you enter ROTC through CP, you will be competing with others on the CP for a scholarship each year you are in school.

This is the website for Navy/Marine ROTC:  https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/  This site will show you all colleges that have an ROTC program, and what the requirements and deadlines are.  You can also google Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard ROTC if you are interested in those services instead!

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!