Need Info on the ROTC?

Question

Hey all, i'm a sophomore in college and am interested in the military.. however namely the air guard... could I apply this to rotc? I don't quite understand how it works. I understand that if you join during college you become a lieutenant when you graduate... is it too late for me, did I have to join freshman year? etc, just stuff like that. Thanks.

Answer 1

Its never to late to join ROTC, you can apply for an ROTC scholarship any time during your college career, however the amount of years you need to pay back remains the same whether you have a 4,3,2 year scholarship. You'd just jump into whichever year class your in (ex. 2nd years are MS-2) and continue on with your class until you graduate and commission as a 2nd LT.

In terms of the guard, you don't need to go directly to the guard. Many of my friends who are in the army national guard are still in the ROTC program with me, the only difference is that in guard you have to do your guard unit's drill on top of ROTC, which really isnt that big of a deal. I would recommend you talk to the ROTC program in your school, specifically the Recruiting office and tell them your plan of action. They'll take it from there, they should hook you up with a scholarship (if you qualify for one..) and hook you up with a unit around the area.

-oh also because your joining as an MS-2 (second year) your gonna have to go to a training camp over the summer to get you caught up with the rest of your class, at least thats the deal in the army, I would think the other branches are pretty similar in the ROTC dept.

Answer 2

Thank you for your interest in serving your country.

The Guard has its own commissioning program.  Check with your state's TAG office.  ROTC regardless of service has both 2 and 4 year programs.  The primary difference being the length of summer camp ("basic").  You don't incur a service commitment unless the last two years.  That active duty service commitment varies according to your AFSC:  10 years for pilot, 4 years for non-flying jobs to give a couple examples.  Again the Guard has their own setup-contact a Guard recruiter or as mentioned above the TAG office for your state.