<p>Not sure which forum to post this in, so I thought that I would give the SA Parents forum a try.</p>
<p>I am a rising HS senior interested in becoming an infantry or aviation officer the Army following college. I was hoping to do Army ROTC in college and then hopefully get assigned to infantry, aviation, or intelligence afterwards. My fourth choice would be military police.</p>
<p>How hard is it to get these assignments from ROTC? I know that I want to serve my country, but not if it means that I get stuck in a desk job for the requisite number of years before I am allowed to leave. How are assignments handed out to ROTC cadets? Based on GPA, academic standing, etc...?</p>
<p>Is it even worth competing for an ROTC scholarshop if these are the only assignements that I would be happy with? How hard are these slots to get?</p>
<p>Also, do the Air Force/Navy have careers similar to Army Infantry that involve the same types of duties and responsibilities? What are these, and how hard are they to get out of ROTC?</p>
<p>I know these are a lot of questions, but I would appreciate any input that you all can give me! My father (career Army officer) doesn't exactly approve of my ambitions (says that they are too dangerous) and isn't exactly flowing with useful information. So anything that any of you can give me would be great!</p>
<p>I know people who came up via ROTC and have never had a boring desk job. I'm thinking of one person in particular who is career Army and a full colonel. He has had several stints overseas (Korea, Bosnia, Germany, Iraq) and been responsible for developing training programs for soldiers. I'm sure there are others here with more hands-on information that will be able to help you.</p>
<p>Well, you have three very different choices. That can be a good thing. I know that AFROTC is very competative for aviation...well, it is the Air Force, so what do you expect! I think there is a good chance to get into one of those fields. I'm pretty sure that grades/class rank play a part in popular assignments. Recommendations from the officer in charge of your detachment (can't remember the exact title) are also important for the really competative possitions...IIRC.</p>
<p>You may want to ask why your father does not approve of those. He may provide some insight that you did not know. I'm not in your shoes, so that might not be the best choice.</p>
<p>Try to find some ROTC students or active duty officers in those possitons and ask them, or call an ROTC detachment directly.</p>
<p>the air force and navy both have careers that parallel infantry... but they're pretty impossible to get as an officer. I'm talking about navy seals and the air force's special tactics community (Combat Rescue Officer, Special Tactics Officer). If you want to be on the ground with a gun, go Army or Marine Corps.</p>
<p>Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps all have intelligence but from what I understand, theyre all a little different. USMC Intel deals more with talking to people on the ground and interogation. From what I hear, Air Force Intel is more of a desk job kind of thing.</p>
<p>The Navy has aviation but you should be comfortable with the idea that you may be flying helicopers (especially if you go marine corps aviation or army). It is pretty hard to get jets because the navy guys are obsessed with tom cruise.</p>
<p>The Air Force is probably your best bet if you want to fly fixed wing. If you try hard in college and work hard, you have a pretty good chance at getting a pilot slot through rotc. </p>
<p>If you absolutely don't want a desk job, you can do Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class and get guarenteed Ground (infantry, armor, intel). For some reason PLC Ground disappeared from the pages talking about PLC, but PLC law and air are still there... anybody know why?</p>
<p>I don't think its that hard to get infantry out of army rotc, as long as you do relatively well. Aviation is really tough to get out of ROTC. If you just want to fly helicopters you should consider Warrant Officer Flight Training (WOFT). Army Aviation Officers fly pretty rarely, especially after they hit O-3.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for your replies. The panic button was set off earlier today when I came across an old post in the USMA forum that stated that in a certain year all infantry slots were used up by those at USMA and none were left for ROTC cadets. I'm not sure if the remark was accurate or if I somehow misunderstood it, but it certainly encouraged me to get the ball rolling!</p>
<p>I filled out prelim apps to USMA and USNA today (had to wait for my new SAT scores). Am I getting into the game too late? Earlier was discouraged and wrote USMA off when I got waitlisted for SLS, but in the past few months developments have occured which I believe make me more competitive. </p>
<p>My heart is really set on Army infantry or aviation (I would be very happy with either of those assignments), so I hope that the person's comments about a lack of infantry slots for ROTC people were incorrect. Otherwise I will be one VERY disappointed person if I don't make it to USMA!</p>
<p>Thanks again to all of you for your input, however. That's a bunch of info that I didn't know before, and the suggestions certainly didn't hurt at all either! If you can think of anything else that would be helpful for me to know/do, please don't hesitate to let me know! Right know anything helps!</p>
<p>what district do you live in? I don't think SLS admissions are based off congressional district so you're in a whole different ball game now, depending on the other people in your district. I didn't decide to apply to usma till september. My MALO knew this, and I think its a big reason I got a crappy rank in my district (he was on the committee).</p>
<p>I'm North Carolina district 8. I also believe that I qualify to compete for a Presidential nomination (isn't one of the categories for Presidential available for children of career military?). NC-8 has to be hard, I imagine, since we have Fort Bragg in our district. </p>
<p>I'm glad to hear that there is still hope even though I didn't make SLS. More motivation for me to keep trying, I guess!</p>
<p>NC D-8? That is my district :) It amazed me that it wasn't more competitive in NC because of Fort Bragg. (I am in Fayetteville, right next door.) This year 8 people got into USMA, and 3 people got prep spots from NC. I'm not sure if all the prep spots are USMAPS (I know mine is though.) Looks like 2 got into USMA from Hope Mills/Fayetteville, while 3 got offered prep spots from Hope Mills/Fayetteville.</p>
<p>and don't forget to apply to vice-president.</p>
<p>So it isn't really as bad as I thought it would be around here to get in, or get a nomination atleast, getting in is just as bad O.o. By the way, I didn't go to SLS, but I wouldn't of got in if I tried to go anyways.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about applying, you can just PM me. I will be here untill 13JUL, then it is off to USMAPS time.</p>
<p>i was told by other ROTC kids that your college also plays a role in how likely you are to get a certain job, like they are "ranked", (and they also told me that our unit is ranked higher than the Academy when it comes to this, but i have nothing to prove that.) what schools are you considering for ROTC? and definitely look into NROTC as a Marine-Option mid, if you're interested in infantry! (although for the Marines, your MOS is determined at The Basic School, AFTER you're commissioned.)</p>
<p>boston, as far as afrotc, im pretty sure thats bullsht. it kinds annoys me how a 3.5 from nooby state university is just as good to the air force as a 3.5 from an Illinois engineering major. The ranking they may have been talking about could have been the commander ranking, which is an important part of getting a pilot slot, where many different factors including detachment participation and leadership factor into a ranking made by the commander, which counts for about half of what goes into deciding if you can go to undergraduate pilot training.</p>
<p>taffy - i know nothing about air force, i'm just going off of navy. in reference to "it kinds annoys me how a 3.5 from nooby state university is just as good to the air force as a 3.5 from an Illinois engineering major.": if what i heard about some sort of school "ranking" is true, then it would be for the reason you just mentioned. i've just been told that my unit is ranked high when it comes to service selection, because of the schools in the unit. anyone can correct me if i'm wrong though, i'm just going off of what i heard.</p>
<p>i dont know anything about nrotc, just afrotc (which i was speaking of) and some about army rotc.</p>
<p>i do believe that you are in a good detachment, cause i think har-vard has a crosstown agreement with MIT. I remember reading something about the navy wanting MIT nuclear engineers and were willing to give some fat bonus bank. I don't think that offer was open to anybody else, so it seems like NROTC does understand that different schools may produce different quality officers.</p>
<p>yeah you're right, we're based at MIT. maybe what you're referencing was what i was hearing about. i would hope that it's true that NROTC realizes the differences between schools (although it doesn't matter for me since i'll be going Marines). are you sure that Illinois isn't given any preference, or does being an engineering major help you out a lot?</p>
<p>one thing i noticed in doing a little research on your detachment was that MIT commissioned 3 people into the Air Force, and 2 went to work on the airborne laser, one as an engineer and one as a physicist. The 3rd went in as a developmental engineer. It seems to me like Airborne Laser would be a pretty hot and desirable field to get into, and if i was in charge of that program, I would definitely be petitioning to get the MIT physics and engineering majors to my side. </p>
<p>there is not difference between a 3.0 from illinois and a 3.0 from anywhere else in the pilot selection process. The pilot selection process is very formulaic and includes gpa, physical fitness test, hours flying, an officer test, field training ranking, and commander ranking. Those are all very heavily in the numbers, except for COMMANDER RANKING. this is where being an engineering major COULD give you an advantage, depending on the detachment. you commander ranks the cadets in the detachment really based on whatever. its usually things like gpa, involvement, leadership etc. so in this case the commander COULD recognize that engineering is harder and rank you higher for that.</p>
<p>Also, if you ever want to go to be a test pilot, you have to have an engineering or technical degree, so there is an advantage down the line in your career, if being a test pilot interests you.</p>