What are the differences for an 18-year-old who enlists Reserves, does ROTC, or is accepted in a military academy?

2021-02-21T18:54:26-05:00

I am not sure about when ROTC and or the Academy becomes a federal obligation contractually.

I believe nearly all 18 year olds who do a reserve enlistment are going to college with a reserve GI bill with the goal to educate and commission similar outcomes of a ROTC or Academy Graduate.

A reserve enlistment is obligation federal contract sending you to bootcamp and then maintaining a deployment readiness statues for the entirety of the obligation, and you fail anywhere on that line, you can have a negative discharge, just like an active duty, with the same affects on your life
You could be assigned directly to a operational unit right after bootcamp, basically you are part time active duty right from the jump, getting ready for and going operational and on deployment and sent home back and forth from civilian life and active duty status to the point it all blurs

There is no ROTC or Academy type, education leadership or counseling assigned to you for college or how to manage this back and forth duty status you now have.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2021 7:11 PM

2021-02-21T19:11:20-05:00

I'm not sure where you were going with your question. You can be in the Army Reserve or National Guard and ROTC at the same time. Any Reserve Component will release you to join an officer producing program such as ROTC (non SMP) or the Academy.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2021 8:01 PM

2021-02-21T20:01:30-05:00

Looking back can only state that ROTC = one of the of better life decisions that I made. Go Scarlet Knight Battalion. And —-> Rutgers!

https://www.armyrotc.rutgers.edu/home

home

Response by LTC Eugene Chu made Feb 21 at 2021 8:43 PM

2021-02-21T20:43:25-05:00

SMP that LTC Private RallyPoint Member mentioned stands for Simultaneous Membership Program. While Army allows ROTC cadets to also drill in the Reserve or Guard while in school, I am unsure if other services allow such an arrangement

Response by Wayne Soares made Feb 21 at 2021 8:53 PM

2021-02-21T20:53:35-05:00

Thanks for the question Aaron

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2021 9:17 PM

2021-02-21T21:17:58-05:00

There really isn't much of a difference. I have ten years in the Reserves. I went to a National Guard Accelerated OCS before I came back to the Regular Army. In my ten years in the Guard I have deployed twice. It is just what we sign up for. I went to Iraq for about a year and then came back home due to being in the National Guard at the time. My second tour in the Guard was Jordan. Sometimes the military isn't for everyone.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Feb 22 at 2021 2:33 AM

2021-02-22T02:33:44-05:00

ROTC incurs a contractual obligation when you become a contracted cadet. Happens the first day if your scholarship if a scholarship recipient or your start of junior year as a non scholarship cadet.

For Service academies it starts when you arrive at the Academy.

Both of those contracts are to complete training. Once you commission, you incur an Active Duty Service obligation. Mine was 6 years

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Feb 22 at 2021 10:34 AM

2021-02-22T10:34:00-05:00

To answer Part of the questions. Every service member has an 8 year Military Service Obligation. That does not have to be done Active Duty. Military Academy commissioned officers incur a 5 year Active Duty Service Obligation, ROTC 4 years, and OCS officers 3 years. Oh, Doctors out of the Uniformed Health Services University have 7 years.

Response by SFC Melvin Brandenburg made Feb 24 at 2021 11:24 AM

2021-02-24T11:24:41-05:00

I'd either go military academy or go guard and simultaneous membership program because educational benefits in the guard are better because guard membership gets you either 75 or 100 percent tuition reduction. That's before any GI Bill or fed tuition assistance.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Feb 24 at 2021 12:58 PM

2021-02-24T12:58:50-05:00

Academy Grads get promoted faster, become members of the ring knocker society.