<p>I know there are some people on this forum who have experience with the ROTC on campus, so I have a few questions. </p>
<p>What kind of things will I be doing besides the class and drill every week, does the brigade do any military training on the weekends or anything? </p>
<p>Can ROTC students study abroad?</p>
<p>What exactly goes on during the week long orientation?</p>
<p>Thanks alot</p>
<p>Dont know too much about the program but I did a little searching and found these previous threads for you. Hope it helps!</p>
<p>Thanks Chillin</p>
<p>My son is a Navy ROTC in his second year. From what I gather, the additional commitment during the school year isn't too burdensome. He has PT (physical training) every Monday morning pretty early--the only time they do the fitness stuff as a group. From what he says, though, if you aren't staying physically conditioned the rest of the week on your own, Mondays can be pretty dreadful. For those who are accustomed to working out and staying in shape anyway, it's more a matter of the getting up at 5:30 or so part that isn't all that fun.</p>
<p>I know he takes about 3 credit hours a semester between the drill stuff and military leadership/history classes.</p>
<p>Generally, his weekends are pretty free. There are some special events which take place on weekends, such as leadership conferences, drill events, retreats, etc., usually no more than once or twice a month at most. Some of the events are pretty cool, like the formal dinner dances or the ROTC basketball tournament, which draws teams from ROTC units at campuses all over the country.</p>
<p>In the summer, at least for the Navy--but I think the premise is the same for all of them--he goes on a 4-week training mission. Last summer, he did a first year training CORTRAMID training mission, spending a week at Camp Pendleton with marines, a week with a sub crew, a week with a surface craft, and a week with aviation. This summer, he'll go on another mission. One difficult part is that the military doesn't get all that specific about the dates of an assignment until pretty late in the game, so you'll want to have some flexibility.</p>
<p>As per what happens during O-week, they do seem to survive it to complete the rest of their college career, so that is a good thing. All I know is when we came up for the regular freshman orientation on a Thursday night, our son was walking around the campus with a group of guys he'd only known for five days, and yet it was as if they'd all been friends for life. He is still tight with these guys. I get the sense there were moments of O-week that weren't the most enjoyable thing he'd ever done, but it was a worthwhile experience in hindsight.</p>
<p>Can't say that, as a mom, I'm all that enamored with the idea of my son navigating a fighter jet--he hopes to go into aviation. And yet, he obviously believes what he is doing, is tight with his unit, and has matured immeasurably in that time. Thing I've noticed most is that he is genuinely healthy and happy--which matters to me most of all.</p>
<p>Hope this helps...</p>
<p>Oh, and yes, ROTC students can and do study abroad. Takes a little juggling, but it's doable.</p>
<p>That helped a TON...Thanks</p>