<p>This is much better. Kudos to the Commander who understands that kids arent easy.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update - I hope this works out well.
My brother joined the guard after he flunked out of his first Univeristy (smartest kid in the family with 1400+ SAT's). He joined the Guard then did Army ROTC and spent 14 years in the Reserves. Worked out well for him.</p>
<p>As an aside - money for grad school. I <em>think</em> the time spent AD earning this only kicks in after her commitment. Student might want to check on this - but indeed the new GI bill will cover grad school.<br>
Kudos all around to everyone involved in helping resolve the situation. I am sure sure the next 6 months or so will be well spent in growing up.
Dad can sleep tonight - ;)</p>
<p>Sounds like things are turning around.</p>
<p>One word of caution, in the Navy/USMC the "time served" clock does not begin ticking until after the officer gets their wings. For my spouse, that was about 18 months after he began his active duty career.</p>
<p>pugmadkate, I think it can vary depending on which way you branch. S1 is going EOD. He has been told that when he finishes EOD school (which takes more than a year) he will owe three years instead of four. I know the committment for aviation is longer. </p>
<p>Of course it may be a moot point since he is taking the aptitude test this month for DOD Language Sch. in Monterey. If he gets in and makes it through, that will tack another three years on to his AD requirement. He would to to Defense Language Institute first and then EOD sch. He could be out of college two years before he ever begins AD. </p>
<p>MOWC, Glad to hear your friend's kid has found a doable solution. Sounds like it will work out well for all. One question, if the kid's Army National Guard unit should be called to deploy, is the kid exempt because he is in college?</p>
<p>You are exempt while you are in college.</p>
<p>MOWC, This sounds like great news. I'm really impressed with this Commander who obviously has the best interests of this boy at heart.
Restores my faith....</p>
<p>Agree, how wonderful to have a Commander that is in touch with young men and how they develop. Sounds like a person who is perfect for the job.</p>
<p>Make sure that exemption is in writing. USMC Reserves can be called up mid-semester, and "I have a midterm next week" is not an acceptable excuse to be UA. Not sure if the Guard exempts its members as a matter of policy or on a per-contract basis, but I'd want to see that in black and white over an officer's signature.</p>
<p>If the full-time student exemption does turn out bogus, the school will still hold a spot open and credit the tuition already paid towards the first semester back from deployment. I serve with a Sgt who has completed 6 semesters of school in 7 years because of multiple visits to the sandbox.</p>
<p>It's legit for the Army. The National Guard has a College First program and the Army Reserves has a Education Career Stabilization program.</p>
<p>While it’s been 3 years since the last post on this thread, I’m really curious about how this all turned out. The reason is that I could swear that Momofwildchild was talking about my own kid. His story is not unlike the kid being discussed with a few exceptions.</p>
<p>This was actually a girl! I no longer work with the parent, but the girl did graduate and is now on active duty. It took her 5 years to get out, but she made it! All is well.</p>
<p>Guess I didn’t pick up the gender when skimming through this. I was kind of interested in what happens next. After what he went through, my son has lost his desire for the military altogether. I know he’s going to have to pay back the scholarship money and I was wondering what to expect - how long before they contact you, etc. My son wasn’t given an extension option at all. I understand with all the cutbacks in the service that they just don’t make any allowances - or at least very few. Since your friend’s daughter made it through, I guess you wouldn’t know but perhaps someone who reads this would.</p>
<p>Since this situation happened, I think things have gotten worse for NROTC students. From what I have heard, they are actively looking to kick kids out of the program, and get repaid (through cash, not service commitment). There are many lawsuits from students who had been working hard in the program, meeting the requirements…with some bogus reason given for their dismissal. I wonder if the Navy commanders have been told to get a number of people out, no matter how they do it. Really unfortunate to do to kids who were going to be committed officers, not just there for the scholarship.</p>
<p>It’s not only in ROTC. After my S commissioned (NROTC) and went to Panama City for Dive School. He heard of several guys (who had just commissioned) getting dropped. One got dropped from Flight School because he got a drinking ticket ( he was of legal drinking age) which seemed like a flimsy reason. He was not offered any other placement but they didn’t make him pay back his scholarship. Another got dropped from Nuc. school for no real reason. Just wasn’t top of the heap so they told him “have a good life”.
Since these guys had made it through college and commissioned, they didn’t have to pay anything back but their four years of hard work to become an officer was down the drain.</p>
<p>The Navy is def. looking to downsize as is the Air Force. That’s why I’m always concerned when people on CC sometimes advise kids facing difficulties to consider joining the military…" join ROTC and get your education paid for". It’s not that easy. Those scholarships are much more difficult to come by than they used to be back in the old days…very competitive and even then nothing is guaranteed.</p>
<p>PackMom - it’s not a flimsy reason at all. Alcohol related incidents have always been grounds for dismissal from the military - there is essentially a zero tolerance policy. Today, it isn’t even possible to enlist with any sort of alcohol or drug related charge, or a history of alcohol/drug abuse even in the absence of charges or convictions.</p>
<p>When the military is not in a draw-down phase such as they are now, it is sometimes possible to get a waiver for alcohol or drug-related offenses in order to enlist. No waivers are being given right now, and anyone on active duty that commits an offense is gone. Period. Service men and women are well aware of this and should not be surprised at their fates should they choose to ignore the law.</p>
<p>momofcrazykid- I deliberately didn’t say it was a female student. You didn’t miss anything.</p>
<p>Thanks, thought I missed something there. Packmom is right though about kids getting booted for just about anything. They’re using the PRB to stonewall these kids and for some of them it’s an extremely costly and life-altering experience. Right now, I wouldn’t advise anyone to go ROTC because the chances of commissioning are only about 1 in 5 - and even then you probably won’t get what you set out for. My son’s class had been pared down by 60% by last fall, they booted 15% over winter break and will now only commission a few of those left - maybe 10-15% - and this was a major university with a fairly sizeable class in the beginning. By this point as a senior, a lot of money has gone out to the college and the kid has so much invested psychologically that making a sudden change in what they planned to do with their life becomes earth-shattering. I know of one kid who will probably owe about $150,000. So, I’m not surprised about the lawsuits springing up.</p>
<p>S’s ROTC unit started out with 28 midshipman. Four years later about 12 commissioned.
Some failed out. Some were dropped. Some transferred. Some just decided it wasn’t for them and quit.</p>
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<p>That’s been a reason to get dropped from flight school for at least 20 years (from when my husband was a flight student to when he was the Senior Marine of flight school.) Students are kept on a very short leash and they know it. </p>
<p>I do feel sorry for some who get kicked out but not when alcohol is involved. They warn the flight students over and over and over again.</p>