How exactly does the ROTC pipeline work? Will being prior service help me any?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 16:22:20 -0400

ROTC to 15A:

Right now I’m looking at getting out of the active army and going to school and getting my commission through ROTC. Being a forward observer and working first hand with a lot of aviatiors I have really fallen in love with the idea. Any recommendations, what exactly is the pipeline, will being prior service help me any? Everything helps!

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Oct 28 at 2017 7:15 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:15:24 -0400

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Academy_Preparatory_School

Imdidmt knowmtour age or level of interest, just didn't know if you knew of this....

United States Military Academy Preparatory School - Wikipedia

The United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS), sometimes referred to as West Point Prep, is a preparatory school for the United States Military Academy (USMA). Located in West Point, New York, its official mission is "to provide academic, military and physical instruction in a moral-ethical military environment to prepare and motivate candidates for success at the United States Military Academy."[1]

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Oct 28 at 2017 7:17 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:17:06 -0400

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_colleges

I very seriously kick myself I never submitted for Tue one in NY when I could have, I assure you....

List of maritime colleges - Wikipedia

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Oct 28 at 2017 7:18 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:18:27 -0400

http://www.citadel.edu/root/

Try here....

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina - The Citadel - Charleston, SC

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 26, the college will host various festivities in celebration of this year's Homecoming. Learn more

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Oct 28 at 2017 7:19 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:19:51 -0400

http://www.vmi.edu/

My best friend while in went here....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Oct 28 at 2017 7:33 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:33:59 -0400

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformed_Services_University_of_the_Health_Sciences

You may not wamt this, just look anyway, trust me....

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences - Wikipedia

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as medical professionals, nurses, and physicians.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Oct 28 at 2017 8:32 PM

LTC Kevin B. — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 20:32:59 -0400

You need to find a university with 1) an academic discipline that interests you and 2) an Army ROTC department (or has a formal relationship with another university that does have ROTC). Before getting out, you can start the process by reaching out to the ROTC departments to gauge their level of interest in you. As long as you have a clean service record and are healthy, most ROTC units will be interested. From there, you'll need to get accepted to the school and then ETS so that you can attend. You'll then eventually sign a contract through ROTC, and subsequently compete to come back onto AD as an officer. During your final year in ROTC, you'll compete for your branch and for active duty. To be competitive for Aviation, I'd recommend a quantitative academic discipline, and I'd recommend that you make really good grades. You'll need to have no vision problems.

Response by COL David Turk made Oct 28 at 2017 10:31 PM

COL David Turk — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 22:31:14 -0400

That's what I did, although that was not my initial plan.
Being a vet does help, since you'll have practical experience while most of your classmates will not. Helped me standout in summer camp.
I'm going to go against the grain here and say, pick the college that offers what you want in a degree. Then check on the ROTC programs.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2017 4:31 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 04:31:58 -0400

SPC Private RallyPoint Member, LTC Kevin B. has the best advice on here so far. He's pretty much spot on. I'd tell you that it doesn't matter where you go to school, but you'll want to be at a major university with the ROTC program on site. The universities that "have a relationship" with an ROTC program just isn't the same. I know plenty of people that went to those and they are great, but it's just not the same. Aeronautical Engineering (AE) will help. Other brainy degrees will help you stand out, but other than AE, nothing really compares. The biggest thing about focusing on a single branch is you might not get it. You will be evaluated on your overall grades, your place on the OML (Order of Merit List, which is created by the LTC/COL in charge of the program), and physical/tactical skill (which has its own systems). If you are not in the top 10% of your class, it is likely you will not get your first choice of branch...especially if you are chasing Aviation. If you are near the bottom of your class, you may not even be selected for active duty and could end up in the reserves. It's merit based. Do well and you will get what you want. Don't do well, and you are left with the dregs of the selection process.

Response by CPT Philip Bailey made Oct 29 at 2017 10:49 AM

CPT Philip Bailey — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 10:49:55 -0400

The most important thing to do is find schools with the area of study you are seeking. Then find the ones with an ROTC program. Generally, you can do this by region. You do have an advantage over average cadet militarily, but you may be disadvantaged because you are probably out the habit of studying every day.
Advice: Visit the school and the ROTC unit. Talk with the military instructors what do I have to do to become a pilot. Talk to several. Then develop a plan. Determine the standards you must meet to achieve your goal. Work hard to meet the standards.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2017 4:29 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 16:29:22 -0400

You're degree discipline won't matter as much as getting good grades and doing well academically. I commissioned into AV with a degree in Architecture. My wife is also an AV officer and got her degree in Advertising/Journalism.

ROTC rates everyone regardless of prior service on what they did while they were in college/ROTC. Your grades, participation, awards, volunteer hours, extra-curriculars, sports, anything you did while in ROTC is quantified down into a score that ranks you on a nationwide order of merit list (OML) against every other ROTC cadet commissioning in that fiscal year. The number one cadet gets first pick and so on down the line, so if you're halfway down and they're out of AV slots, then you're out of luck.

Being prior service is definitely an advantage in that you will be given more opportunities to mentor and help the cadets who are straight from high school with no prior service/experience (like I was) but not in terms of actual raw score for the OML. If you want an active duty spot as an Aviation officer, do well in school, do well in ROTC, and get yourself as high on that OML as possible. Rule of thumb: If you finish top 10% you will most likely get your first choice of branch.

On the other hand, should you go National Guard/Reserve, you need to contact the individual states or Army Reserve around your junior/senior year and schedule a board with them where they look at your records, prior aviation experience, SIFT score, PT score, GPA, things of that nature to decide whether to accept you into aviation. OML has very little to do with it. But once you're in, it's the same career track as active duty. I myself went the National Guard route because 1. I wanted a civilian career and 2. I didn't want to chance myself with the OML. I graduated when the Army was downsizing, and AV slots were few and far between.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2017 6:31 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 18:31:55 -0400

I had a similar story. I was a prior service Combat Engineer that commissioned, and became an Aviation Officer. Your decision will boil down to if you want to fly continuously or be an officer. Realistically, it is difficult to do both. I've been blessed to never leave an Aviation Brigade since flight school (except CCC of course and now CGSC), but many of my peers have not had that luck, and have done other jobs such as recruiting command, ROTC, or higher level staff.

Another point is continuing to fly becomes increasingly difficult as your rank moves upwards. If you want to be an officer first, then I would look at the USMA Prep School (if you meet the qualifications of age and single, test scores) and ROTC. USMA Prep is an awesome opportunity, and they do not fill out the prior service slots annually. USMA also typically gets some additional slots for aviation, but like everyone else, it is OML / Merit based. ROTC, as I understand it, gets the top slice their branch of choice, then another slice further down the OML in order to spread the talent pool around. Then again, that could have changed in the last few years.

Aviation rarely gets slots for OCS, and I have only heard of two people now getting it. One of them, already had his CFII (Civilian Instructor Pilot), Masters Degree, and was a PT stud. And with those qualifications, I was still surprised that he was able to get AV.

If your first goal is to fly, then be an officer, then I would highly suggest WOCS to become a Warrant Officer. They have longevity at the company level, and continuously fly, as opposed to the commissioned officers that move around and do staff time. If your goal is to be an Officer, then USMA followed by ROTC would be my courses of action. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me. I'm on the global, and pretty easy to find.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Oct 29 at 2017 8:43 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 20:43:55 -0400

These are all spot on- Find a school that you want, that has both a strong ROTC and a good study field. Then talk to the ROTC recruiter at that school. Make good grades in a good field, being prior enlisted, most of the Mickey Mouse you have already seen. But a lot of ROTC is Military classes which you will need and can relate to. The better your grades and your standing ROTC will decide on being commissioned and in what Branch, also if is Active, Reserve or NG.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Oct 30 at 2017 10:33 AM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 10:33:21 -0400

I will point out that as prior service, you can skip the first two years of ROTC and join in your Junior Year. I would also suggest that you look at Simultaneous Membership with a Guard or Reserve unit. It will get you some experience and the extra money for weekend drills never hurts.