Posted on Oct 26, 2018
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I've tried googling this question but I wasn't able to find a direct answer. I'm aware that SMP cadets go to basic training, but do they go to AIT as well? I'm just trying to get a feel of how long I'll be gone.

Bare with me please, I know very little about the BT process. For the longest I was convinced I was just going to go ROTC and commission, no alternate turns, but SMP has recently caught my eye.
Edited >1 y ago
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Sgt Field Radio Operator
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(Join to see) Excellent responses have already been provided. If you enter "SMP" in the search bar above, hit enter, and then click on "Answers", you will find plenty of previous Posts that address the SMP program. Good luck.
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MAJ Keith FitzPatrick, CPIM, CSCP
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Not sure how it works now, but SMPs were non-scholarship senior ROTC (MS III & IV). Typically that means they were prior service or they joined the Guard and at completed basic training. AIT was not required and probably wouldn’t be authorized unless you had time to attend OSUT.
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COL Dana Hampton
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Sr ROTC Cadets who enter the a NG or Reserve SMP program and have not yet contracted as MSIII or MSIVs Cadets, typically will go to BT and not AIT since the SMP program is not MOS producing. You will probably attend Basic on a delayed entry program in the summer between semesters in college. After you complete BT, you should be eligible to contract into the MSIII year (unless you’ve completed MSI and MSII already). You would attend Sr ROTC Advanced Leadership Training the following summer prior to starting your MSIV year of college.

In your MSIV year, you will apply to officer branches on your “dream” sheet. Once the Army Branches you, and you are commissioned a 2LT, then you will attend your Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) in that specific branch which can be 3-4-5+ months long depending on the branch.

Hope that help. Reach back if you have additional questions!

Good luck!
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>1 y
Are there any alternatives for those that do receive a scholarship?

So if I qualify for SMP and get accepted during my first year of college, I would get commissioned my junior year instead of my senior year?
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COL Dana Hampton
COL Dana Hampton
>1 y
I’m not sure what you mean about qualifying for SMP. Typically you’d speak with a Reserve or NG recruiter about enlisting as an SMP Cadet if you are not already in a Guard or Reserve unit. They will help you locate a unit and you’d interview with the local unit commander. If they accept you as an SMP Cadet, the recruiter can get you enlisted and a BT ship date.

Once you’re enlisted, and before your ship, you would drill in a Recruit Sustainment Program to help you prepare for BT.

After graduating from BT, you would drill with your assigned unit at your enlisted grade until you contract with the Sr ROTC Program as an MSIII. Then you will drill with your unit as a Cadet and wear Cadet 2LT rank while drilling (regardless your rank in the ROTC Cadet Battalion.

Yes, you can commission before graduation. It’s rare, but it happens. Typically, you’ll be assigned to the ROTC Cadet battalion and assist with recruiting or other duties the PMS may assign.

Hope that helps answer your question.
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