So here's what I know:
Stonewall completed ROTC during college and then was commissioned as an Officer. Since he already knew he was going into the ANG when he took his oath he pledged allegiance to the President of the USA and the Governor of his state. Then he went on to OBC. After OBC he was placed with his unit in the ANG.
Here's what I don't really know, so set me straight, please:
Just because a Cadet finishes ROTC, that does not mean they have to be commissioned as an Officer, right? Once commissioned, is OBC required? Is there a point to completing ROTC, but not going to OBC? If you go through ROTC are you automatically in the Reserves and/or deployable, but then you can decide to go a step farther and go active-duty or ANG? And finally, I was under the impression that the Reserves were made up of former active-duty soldiers, is that not the case?
Can anyone teach me? :)
6 comments:
It is my understanding that if someone finishes ROTC (especially if it's a scholarship) at the college level, they must be commissioned as an officer and must sign for minimum 6 years. I am not sure about anything regarding OBC.
Reserves are not made up of just former active duty soldiers. You can enter the reserves as the component. When I went through basic training we had all three components there: reserves, ng, and active duty. If you are thinking about the inactive reserve, then yes, that is made up of former active duty soldiers.
I think most officers serve a minimum of 6 years either as Active duty or Active Guard, but I could be wrong.
I'm not sure how it works in the Army...
Marine Corps and Navy, I know better. The Navy/USMC ROTC still have to to to Officer Candidate School and The Basic School. I don't think they're deployable after just ROTC, but I could be wrong. Maybe in extreme circumstances?
I know from working with ROTC at the University of MN and former active duty...if you are an ROTC grad, you owe the govt money for education and you will go off to Officer Candidate School/Basic (depends on service) and then on to whatever you chose, be it Reserves or Active. Yes, you can just join the Reserves without being AD first. After commissioning, you are deployable to do whatever the gov't determines they need :) There is also a minimum service committment that is determined by the program of study the Gov't financed, Nursing/Engineering, etc. Hope that helped clarify and not confuse!
If someone goes through ROTC and is not commissioned, they have to repay their scholarship. The point of ROTC is to produce officers. It does not matter if they are active duty, reserve, or national guard. Some of the guys I know were assigned to be active duty, and one guy was chosen to be NG. It depends on the person's abilities, what the Army needs at the time, etc. Some guys do ask to stay reserve.
NG and Reserve guys can be activated at any time to be deployed but aren't considered active the rest of the time - they have their civilian jobs unless activated, while an active duty guy is a full time soldier and does training and PT and stuff year round. Think of the difference between a volunteer fireman and a professional firefighter - one is part time and one does it daily, but they're both still heroes.
The big difference between NG and Reserve is that NG is a component of both the Army and the state. Reserve guys are pledged only to the Army. That is why NG also responds to natural disasters and riots within their state. Some Reserve guys are former active duty, and some just signed up to be Reserve.
OBC is the Officer Basic Course and is the required training for their specialized branch (infantry, armor, quartermaster, etc.). Similarly, the enlisted guys go to AIT (advanced individual training) to learn things specific to their branch.
The big exceptions I can think of are JAG, nursing corps, medical corps, dental corps, and chaplains. They complete their respective legal, nursing, MD, dentist, and minister training and are commissioned as Captains instead of Lieutenants. I'm not sure whether they all do an OBC, but they do have to have Army-specific training related to their field.
AgentDarkApple~
Thank you!
Just to further clarify...not everyone who goes through ROTC is scholarship. The point of ROTC is to make Officers. But, not all of them are scholarship (my hubby was not). Before they commission after graduation, they submit their list of wants. First they pick if they want Active Duty, Reserves or National Guard. Then they pick their branch. All of this is assigned by the needs of the Army. When my husband commissioned, 2 of the 18 went Active, the others were Reserve and NG, even though only 2 of those wanted that. The ones that wanted Active Duty volunteered with units that were deploying to go Active. Your contract does depend on if you were scholarship or not. Scholarship graduates owe 8 years, non scholarship owe 6 years. You are correct in saying that once they graduate they are in the Reserves. But if you chose active duty and were selected, your commissioning certificate will state that you are a Reservist assigned to Active Duty for the term of your contract. My hubby for example, had the army decided they didn't want him to be Active during his 6 year contract, he would go back to being a Reservist.
As for OBC, all LTs are required to attend before being assigned to a unit to learn their Specialty (even med corps). You wouldn't finish ROTC and not go to OBC, they usually happen one right after another.
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