Army ROTC vs. NROTC vs. AFROTC

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Since the members of the College Confidential community have been very generous with advice in the past, I thought I would post this problem that a friend and his son are trying to resolve. Here goes:</p>

<p>The son is a high school junior...a smart kid, but certainly not Ivy League or Service Academy material. Over the long term, the young man would like a career in the diplomatic corps or maybe the CIA...in short, anything involving international affairs.</p>

<p>The young man thinks that the best start on his career path would be to serve as an officer in one branch of the armed forces. Like I said, he is a bright kid but not service academy material. Most likely, he would be majoring in history or political science, with possible minors in English or French.</p>

<p>He is willing to participate in a Reserved Officer Training Corps program to earn his commission as a commissioned officer and maybe get a scholarship to help pay for college. What he cannot determine is which branch would give him the best opportunities in a career in international affairs. He is pretty good in history, English and foreign languages. His mathematics and science grades are okay, but not great. He is in the top quarter of his graduating at a Catholic high school.</p>

<p>From what he, his father and I have gleaned from our various attempts at research, Naval ROTC is the most science oriented of the three ROTC programs. Most NROTC programs are located a schools with engineering programs. It seems that NROTC programs are offered at the fewest number of schools.</p>

<p>The young man found a career description for a foreign/political affairs officer on the US Air Force web site. This is something that he is very interested in, but another friend, a former military officer, said those positions don't become available until mid-career. AFROTC appears to be offered at more colleges than NROTC but fewer than the number of colleges offering Army ROTC</p>

<p>The same friend thinks that Army ROTC would be the best route to go. He said that Army ROTC is more flexible concerning academics. He also said a career as an Army officer would give the young man excellent opportunities to travel, to develop language skills and would increase his chances in gettting a position in the diplomatic corps or the CIA.</p>

<p>So, people I am throwing the doors open to you. If any of you have any ideas for the young man, please feel free to advise him. Any and all advice would be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>he could always just go to college, find what best suits him, then go to OCS (Officer Canidate School), and by that point I think he'll know better which route is best.
And yes, NROTC and AFROTC are more popular at "science" schools, as most Army jobs do not require many science skills, but instead technical (doctor, computers, navigation) and grunt work
His best bet is to talk to his school JROTC commander, or attend a college fair (ROTC people are always there) or go to a local recruiting center</p>

3

<p>It depends a lot on what sort of things he'd like to do within the diplomatic corps or CIA. If he wants to be more of a swashbuckling field operations type, then the weapons, survival, and hand-to-hand combat training he would get in the Army or Marines would be helpful (NROTC grads can choose to go in the Navy or Marines). If he wants to be more of an office worker, then any of them would work. </p>

<p>All the branches have intelligence officers and cryptology officers who get good exposure to international affairs. There are also other jobs that are foreign affairs related. Some fields have more foreign language requirements and opportunities than other fields. When I was a Navy cryptology officer, it was fairly easy to get chosen for a year of foreign language training. The Intelligence officers didn't have as many opportunities--but that could all have changed by now.</p>

<p>Be aware that by far the most important thing is for the young man to get into the CIA or State Dept. to qualify for a very high security clearance, so staying away from crime, drugs, and foreign entanglements are very helpful. Beyond that, learning foreign languages is very helpful.</p>

<p>Also, be aware that your local military recruiters are often unfamiliar with the options for officer programs, so make sure you are talking to someone who does officer recruiting.</p>

4

<p>A combination of Army National Guard and ROTC is an option as well. The Guard has great programs that coordinate with ROTC programs. Something to look into.</p>

<p>Also, I would not be so quick to give up on Service Academies. All of the Academies have prep programs for promising students who would make good officers but don't quite have the grades or scores right now. Have him contact the Academies and they can fill him im on those programs. They can etiher send you to the service prep school like NAPS or USMAPS or the Alumni Foundations of all the Academies have scholarship programs where they will pay all or part of the tuition at Prep Schools like the New Mexico Military Institute. NMMI is the Kings Point prep school.</p>

<p>Finally, he might want to look into one of the state Maritime Academies. </p>

<p>IM me if you want more info.</p>

5

<p>Just a piece of the puzzle, AFROTC is pretty restrictive as to majors, and they allow little flexibility to change majors in school. NROTC is a little more flexible, and the AROTC is the most.</p>

6

<p>S is in NROTC at a "engineering" school but he is not majoring in engineering or a hard science. Most in his unit who started out in engineering have changed their major because the tough courseload was killing their gpa. GPA is a big factor when it comes to selection of where you will end up after graduation.<br>
Agree with what your friend told you about intell. positions not being available right away. I believe upon grad. from NROTC, for your first tour you either get assigned to flight school, subs or surface warfare. </p>

<p>AFROTC is more narrow in majors. They really want the science oriented guys. Don't know if it's the same everywhere but S says at his Univ., the AFROTC doesn't require as much physical training as the NROTC and AROTC. This could be a factor if your friends S is really into intense physical training or not. </p>

<p>I think the most important thing this student needs to determine is if he really wants to be a military officer or if he is just looking for a stepping stone into a future career. S says the Navy is offering fewer scholarships now than when he got his 2 years ago. It is not an easy path. S is a soph. His scholarship class at his Univ. started out with 27 midshipman and is now down to about 10 or 12. It requires true committment.</p>