Which should I choose, Army ROTC or Air Force ROTC?

2018-03-21T14:38:48-04:00

I am currently a college student at a community college and just finished my freshman year. I’ve been accepted to Rutgers University with a 3.2 GPA in college and am a criminal Justice major. My Pt is good and can almost max out both by myself. Wondering if it’s better for me to go AFROTC and compete for an EA spot. I would want to eventually become a security forces officer if I went this route. If I join the AROTC then I want to know my chances of getting active duty. Would want infantry, artillary, armor, or mp.. both ROTC programs would be for a 3 year for myself. Which should I choose so I can become a future officer. Thank you

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 2:52 PM

2018-03-21T14:52:23-04:00

Totally depends on what path you want to take in your career. Have you visited any programs?

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 3:00 PM

2018-03-21T15:00:11-04:00

Army be about two touchdowns. Common’ what do you what to be when you grow up? The only thing you can control is how hard you work. Neither program is going to guarantee you a branch when you walk in the door. You want to be a cop guarding an airfield or do you want to be a man (person) closing with the enemy? In both cases you end up being an officer. In one you get treated like a human being and in the other you get treated a dog. Everybody loves a dog!

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 3:16 PM

2018-03-21T15:16:25-04:00

Andrew-I'm a Navy man myself, so bear that in mind when considering my advice.

The first question to answer is whether or not you can achieve your goal along this route, or will need to choose another. Frankly, I don't know if one can begin ROTC in their second year and complete the program through to commission in three years...perhaps so, perhaps not; I'd ask an ROTC liaison officer.

It sounds to me like your heart is pulling you towards combat arms. Consider that while the Air Force (and the Navy by the way) has several routes to what you're seeking (TACP, Air Liaison, etc), you may find more specific options in the Army with greater available positions.

Recruiters (even for officer programs) tend to focus on what you "can" do...more than what you will "probably" do. I don't fault them for it; their job is to "sell" the contract.

The reality is that from start to finish, you're going to be competing with everyone else who has the same desire. Let's use some round numbers. Let's assume somewhere around 5,000 new officers enter the Air Force the year you graduate. Now, let's be very conservative, and state that about 1,000 will come from the Academy, and 1,000 will come from OCS, so 3,000 will be your immediate peers. TACP has about 1,000 personnel currently, so another conservative estimate would be around two dozen junior officers in that community. That's about .6% or less...and I'm approximating. Factor in all the other potential careers in the Air Force involving combat arms other than flying, and the odds are greater, but again...the Army's size and wide range of options undoubtedly offers more options.

But even that's not the "whole story". Whether you go Air Force or Army (or Navy...still plugging that), you'll compete throughout your ROTC years for assignment. Obviously you'll need to excel at the skills those fields demand. You'll need to be physically exceptional, mentally and emotionally flexible, and have a deep-seated desire to attain your goals. Even then, there's an old saying, "The needs of the Service"...really good at math, excel at physics? You may get selected for an occupation very different from what you "want".

Let's assume you graduate, get your "bars", and select for an occupation you do want...then, you have to go EARN it (because no...you didn't at selection).

There's a very famous phrase stated in almost every form of military training ever devised, "Look to your right...now look to your left...both of those people won't be here in the end". It's campy, but the truth is that attrition is high for competitive selections. What happens if you "drop" from a competitive program? Well, if voluntarily, you could end up out of the service. If involuntary...perhaps you'll end up in a field you don't really "want". The key here is that there's "risks", just the same as rewards, and you should "choose wisely" where to invest yourself.

Finally, if you want to do the "cool" things, there's usually a whole bunch of time and "stuff" in-between. No one graduates and goes into Special Operations; they will start somewhere else, excel there, move on to the next level, and so on, until they get their shot. There will be training, training and more training...all important, and all an opportunity to get closer to your dreams, or have to re-calculate.

Take the time to get to know everything about the options you're interested in, make lists, charts, whatever it takes...then spend a lot of time asking yourself not just what appeals to you, but what you have a burning desire to accomplish; trust me, you'll need that too ;)

Best Wishes and Good Luck

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2018 3:20 PM

2018-03-21T15:20:00-04:00

This obviously depends on you. Do you want to win your country's wars by placing your boots on a piece of ground and daring an adversary to knock you off of it? Do you want to bring hell, fire, and destruction on anyone who tries? If so, the Army is for you.

Or do you want to be a wuss? I kid, I kid. But seriously, the Air Force has a very different role than the Army. Which do you think you'd enjoy the most?

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Mar 21 at 2018 5:55 PM

2018-03-21T17:55:02-04:00

If you want to be a cop or investigator I think any Service will do. If you want to serve in combat, then you can Go Army or you could be an AF pilot. AF Security Forces are important, but the guys in the fighters are the front line troops. You should consider the Coast Guard. They do law enforcement and life saving missions.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 5:56 PM

2018-03-21T17:56:43-04:00

https://www.military.com/military-fitness/coast-guard-special-training/u-s-coast-guard-deployable-specialized-forces

I thought I'd show you some other options you might possibly not have considered.....

Coast Guard Specialized Forces Overview

These six units, under a single command, create an organized quick reaction force that can be deployed to handle natural disasters, environmental catastrophes, terrorism and other threats to the United States and the world.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:00 PM

2018-03-21T18:00:18-04:00

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/these-are-the-coast-guards-special-operations-forces

Here's another....

These are the Coast Guard's special operations forces

After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, it was pretty clear everybody in the government had to get into the anti-terrorism game. From the formation of the Department of Homeland Security out ofa host of separate law enforcement and policeagencies, to a more robust role for Joint Special Operations Command in the hunt for terrorist leaders, the American government mobilized to make sure another al Qaeda attack would never happen again on U.S....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:02 PM

2018-03-21T18:02:03-04:00

https://www.navy.com/careers/special-operations/swcc.html#ft-key-responsibilities

I also thought this might ne of interest....

404 Not Found

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:04 PM

2018-03-21T18:04:49-04:00

https://www.thebalance.com/united-states-marine-corps-platoon-leaders-course-3332801

Most, I've found, generally dont hear much about this, I'm not saying youdnwant it, I just merely thought you might care to know of it, I'm not sure if it'd be offered near Rutgers, however, I'm quite certain you could see if any school nearby has it, in case you wanted to look at it....

US Marine Corps Platoon Leader Course: What You Need to Know

The Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course (PLC) is an alternative for NROTC or OCS for college students who wish to become commissioned officers.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:06 PM

2018-03-21T18:06:14-04:00

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_Law_Enforcement_Academy

This is the USCG Law Enforcement Academy Wikipedia site....

Maritime Law Enforcement Academy - Wikipedia

The Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) is a United States Coast Guard school located at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, South Carolina. It was created from the relocation and merger of the former Law Enforcement School at Yorktown, Virginia, and the former Boarding Team Member School at Petaluma, California.[1]

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:09 PM

2018-03-21T18:09:22-04:00

https://youtu.be/1snF6PF0UTA

I thought this might interest you, ifmyour vision is adequate, would you think about going USCG as pilot or nav/WSO? You might try for one of the HITRON units like those depicted here, plus, you could co-train possibly for law enforcement, USCG gives all their personnel law enforcement to no small extent, it's up to you, of course, just a thought....

US Coast Guard Hitron Law Enforcement Homeland Security

See how USCG Law Enforcement and Narcotics does their job in Hitron to keep he United States save from drugs. Property of: Military Channel Uploaded by CPO-S...

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 6:10 PM

2018-03-21T18:10:58-04:00

https://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities/programs/college-student-pre-commissioning-initiative

I just thought this might give you some slight perspective you !ight not otherwise customarily see....

College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (Scholarship Program)

CSPI provides college sophomores and juniors with valuable leadership, management, law enforcement, navigation and marine science skills and training.CSPI provides college sophomores and juniors with valuable leadership, management, law enforcement, navigation and marine science skills and training.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 21 at 2018 7:13 PM

2018-03-21T19:13:42-04:00

Another thought...I'm not trying to dissuade you, far from it, I grasp your enthusiasm, truly, I'd merely point out that, from the moment you'd go on active as commissioned, you'd ne expected virtually immediately to get a masters, trust me, you won't be told that however, been there, done that (BTDT), trust !e, that's a de facto given, one of those things you only learn by sheer knockabout...if you can get a masters in from justice or forensics at Rutgers, minimum, possolby PhD, I would, iesp if you take sufficiently few credits a semester to keep a GPA in the 3.5-3.6 range, to try to get a grad level assistantship, either an admin grad asst (GA), research asst (RA), or teaching asst (TA). If Rutgers doesn't have grad from justice or forensics, ioo look to see, you can always go to CUNY John Jay, which, while not around the corner, isn't at the other end of the galaxy.

Here's why: once youre in, your ambitions need to take a back seat. Further, the more grad level you've got the less youre distracted by the need to get it once youre in. Further crupim justice is a natlmlead in to law, and going in as a JAG, plus from justice would make you ideal for a world of stuff in the svcs, whether USCG attached to Homeland, possibly, or going Rserve/Guard and then Federal civil servant, possibly NJ State trooper, since that's where Rutgers is, or possibly a local police unit, wherever you'd want. You could!also try for the FBI Academy, DEA, US Marshals Svc, a whole host and litany of Federal law enforcement. I'm trying to offer you a larger perspective than you might've considered till now, obviously, it's your call, however, you can do Pan ROTC as a grad student, which is also something to consider, possibly alsomUSMC PLC, purely a thought, I hope that was of use, I'd be eager to know your thoughts, if I can suggest Kore, just ask, OK?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2018 10:15 PM

2018-03-22T22:15:52-04:00

Honestly? I would choose Air Force. Quality of life may be better as well as benefits and pay-those you will need to research though. I love being in the Army and have utilized my benefits but may have gone with the Air Force given different circumstances when I enlisted. Look at all of your options though before making your final decision.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Mar 23 at 2018 11:30 PM

2018-03-23T23:30:12-04:00

Only you can make that choice. We are not you. I had the similar decision to make from HS. AFROTC vs AROTC scholarship. My goals drove me to Army. I think you would have more options as an MP officer than a Security Forces officer just due to reletaive size of the force. But I am biased and not you. It's up to you.

Response by CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana made Nov 19 at 2018 1:13 PM

2018-11-19T13:13:28-05:00

The prejudice; one or the other. We are in one downward spiral, because we are choosing between AROTC & AFROTC, which are similar and identical. I would select both in my Dream Sheet; one of the two could become my next assignment.

Response by MAJ Matthew Arnold made Nov 20 at 2019 11:29 AM

2019-11-20T11:29:15-05:00

It all boils down to which uniform do you like better. But seriously folks, the biggest difference is getting dirty, MPs get dirty, SPs don't. It's pretty much the same job. (Strictly coming form a point of reference of knowing little or nothing about MPs and SPs, except for the fact that the little buttheads like to give officers tickets.)