Should I join ROTC? Do I sound like I need to?

College Majors
1

The ROTC program at my university seems so tempting to join. I’m acquainted with a handful of people who are in the program, and all of them seem like really cool people. They’re not like most people in the majors I have tried so far (Eng. Tech; Earth Science), But more importantly, it SOUNDS like something that suits many of my interests.

There are certain characteristics and capabilities that I want to have, but it seems like I can’t find anyone to teach them to me. Things like how to get fit, how to be more self-disciplined (so I can stay fit and do better in every aspect of my life), how to defend myself and others, just to name a few.

In short, I want to be prepared for anything the world might throw at me after I leave college, and even during college. I don’t just want to have book smarts. I also want to be stronger, more athletic, a better leader (not that I’ve ever cared too much about leading anyone until recently), and so on. I also want to know how to maneuver through different terrains, how to fight, how to shoot, how to tend to others in need, soft skills and hard skills in general that will be useful in both civilian life, civilian jobs, and, if I have to take them, military and/or rescue jobs.

I’m also still interested in being good with my hands, and how to use, build, dismantle, and repair things. Especially vehicles, robots, and drones. I’ve seen quite a few ROTC people take engineering classes. There’s even two guys I know who are taking two engineering technology classes with me, and if I understand correctly, military guys have to deal a lot with vehicles and drones.

My goal as an engineer technologist, or better yet, a mechanical engineer, is to create, or help create, a new, more compact, more efficient vehicle, or some kind of suit or gear that allows for better movement and mobility. Whether it be in water, gliding through the air, or being able to run faster, jump higher.

At the least, I would get a good job working on vehicles or building, repairing, and flying drones. Not for combat purposes, though. Yet, I’m not sure where I would even begin to learn about vehicles and movement gear and advance armors or drones while in my current university. I think I might learn a bit about drones in robotics, but that’s it.

So, I want to learn about vehicles and robotics, but I need to experience examples of how the current ones work, first. Then I could think of ways they can be improved. I also want to be more physically capable, but not just out of personal interest. If college doesn’t work out, or if I can’t find an engineering job right away, I would want to take some job that involves rescuing people, and it seems like the military trains individuals for that, as well.

All that being said, I don’t want to devote myself to the US government. I love the idea of defending my family and friends, as well as innocent civilians, as well as what the United States stands for (or at least used to), but I just don’t have faith in the government, as well as any other system at play. Especially when it comes to anything even remotely related to war.

I guess I’m afraid that if I join ROTC, I’ll basically be selling my soul, and will be forced to fight for this country whether I want to or not, whether if I agree with the reasons I’m being made to fight or not, and won’t have the freedom to freely live my life the way I want to, but I don’t have the freedom to do that now, and I’m already am going to be heavily in debt and indebted to my school and this country by the time I graduate.

Plus, I hear that ROTC students get all kinds of benefits both in and out of college, get to travel to all kinds of places, and that not every military-related job is going to equate to me going onto the battlefield. I even hear that they get a lot of vacation time.

So, is it worth doing? From thinking about this long and hard, and after reading over my post, it sounds like it would be a good fit for me, even though I have to overcome some personal issues first, and get into better shape over the summer to be prepared for the ROTC bootcamp course.

2

http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/schools/northeastern-university/lifestyle.html

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR JOINING ROTC?

US Citizenship
Under 27 years old at the time of commissioning (30 years of age for cadetswith prior military experience)
Ability to pass a physical test
Medically qualified (contact our office for details on specificconditions)
Minimum 2.5 GPA (college) or 920 combined SAT scores (19 ACT)
No moral obligation or personal conviction that will prevent them fromsupporting and defending the Constitution of the United States, andconscientiously bearing arms.

IF I JOIN ROTC, AM I JOINING THE ARMY?

No, Military Science is an academic department on campus, and ROTC trainingis like another elective. ROTC cadets who are not contracted have no obligationto be in the military, and can leave the program at any time. Additionally,cadets do not attend Basic Training, and cannot be deployed. (Note: SMP cadetscan be mobilized for state-level emergencies only)

3

I enlisted right after high school in 2009, so I can’t comment on ROTC specifically but rather the military in general. Joining the military thinking you’ll “never” go into combat zone is a fallacy. Good news is ROTC has no service commitment for their freshman and sophomores, so you can test the waters before you sign up. So do it to see how you like it.

4

The last I checked, the only requirement I need to meet to do ROTC at my school is a fitness requirement. I have to be at a minimal level of fitness for them to take me in and actually expect me to make it through “bootcamp”, which is basically a military PE class at my school…

Honestly, I’m more distressed with the idea of walking through Memphis, TN at night without being able to carry a weapon, than going into a battlefield. I think I even remember a Navy ROTC officer telling me something like walking the streets of Memphis at night is almost as dangerous, and in some scenarios even more dangerous than, getting deployed to an active battlezone. Thinking about it, at least there I have a gun and am trained to fight back.

Do you have any combat experience? What was it like?

I still wonder if ROTC will teach me how to save people. Although I’ve never thought of myself as being the medic type, I like the idea of going into danger zones and war zones and saving people’s lives by giving them medical care or by carrying them to a hospital.

5

I remember the man telling me that he would prefer to see if I can at least run 4 laps around the field track without stopping.

6

OK, so first things first - the ROTC is an officer preparation program. It’s not a personal development program or something designed to enhance your college experience; the goal is for the military to prepare officers - their managers and leaders - for service. Everyone who completes ROTC is a contracted student - even if you are not on scholarship, if you do ROTC junior and senior years you are contracted to serve for at least 3 years of active duty in the military. So if you do NOT want to serve in the military, then ROTC is not for you. (If you are currently a freshman, you can try it out in your sophomore year without incurring a commitment.)

Although you will learn the things you want to learn in ROTC, you shouldn’t join ROTC because you want to learn them by themselves. There are plenty of ways to get fit, be more self-disciplined, and learn to defend yourself. You can take physical education classes; you can read materials and visit centers on campus that offer information about study skills; you can take a self-defense class. Those, by themselves, are not good reasons to go to ROTC. Your third paragraph sounds more like good reasons to be in ROTC - those sound like an interest in tasks in a military career.

However, if you don’t want to engineer vehicles or drones for combat, do not join the military. That’s what the military DOES, and if you become an engineer for them, you will be working on things that will be used in combat either directly or indirectly.

Then…don’t join ROTC. This sounds like a personal conviction that will morally compromise you bearing arms for the U.S. government. Make no mistake - when you are serving in the military, you are serving at the military’s whims. They can make you move where they want you to move, send you on assignments to places, and give you jobs on the basis of what they need, not what you want. That doesn’t mean you are selling your soul - my husband did it for four years (the AF, not ROTC) and loved it, and thinks about returning sometimes. But it is absolutely true that if you complete ROTC through senior year and contract with the military that you can be forced to fight for this country regardless of whether you want to or not. If you’re in the military in three years and we go to war with Russia (just as an example) - they can definitely deploy you to Siberia if they needed to. If you refuse to go, that’s a crime. Even in peace time they can deploy you wherever, and they don’t always give you a lot of notice. They can also change their minds about how long you have to stay.

Yes, ROTC students (and military) can get benefits in and out of college. There is travel - my NROTC friends did “summer cruises” in exotic locations, fully paid. My husband traveled all around the world as a military aircraft mechanic. And no, not every job requires combat or battlefield…in theory. My husband never saw actual combat. My cousin (Army pharm tech) was technically not in a combat position but saw combat in Afghanistan. It depends on what you do and what kind of assignment you get. I think anyone who joins needs to be comfortable with the idea that they MIGHT end up in combat. You’re in the military.

In theory you do get a lot of vacation - 30 days, which is twice as much as the two-week average that many professional jobs give. IN practice…whether you actually get to take those 30 days in between deployments and temporary duty assignments (TDYs) depends. There are also constraints on what 30 days you can take - your commanding officer might veto a specific day or time. Also, in theory you get federal holidays off. In practice the needs of the military take precedence. My husband has definitely worked on federal holidays that other personnel got off because he was essential personnel.

So, tl;dr:

If you want to serve in the military as a leader - and the other stuff (traveling the world, getting fit, learning discipline) are just perks - then go ahead and join ROTC.

If you are primarily interested in ROTC because you want to travel and do exercise…I would only join if you are currently a freshman and will be a sophomore next year, because you can try it out for a year without incurring an obligation.

If you object to potentially being in combat, or have moral objections to serving at the government’s pleasure in peace and war…then don’t join ROTC.

7

I would not say that you would be selling your soul, but yes, you will be expected to “fight for this country whether I want to or not, whether if I agree with the reasons I’m being made to fight or not.” You will swear an oath to that effect and can be criminally prosecuted for failing to fight if told to.

I advise against further exploration of the ROTC option. It clearly is not your calling.

8

Alright, then what might be my calling? I still want to work with vehicles and drones, and I still want to go out and rescue people or handle dangerous situations, as well as travel. I want to work a job that gives me a sense of reward for protecting and helping others, gives me the chance to earn respect, and is a job that most people would not be willing to take, and most importantly, does not lead to any moral conflict on my behalf – this means being a cop or a soldier is out of the question, I suppose.

There might be potential for moral conflict within some kind of rescue work, but nothing like being a soldier or a cop, I assume.

I have some interest in being a firefighter, but that would mean having to take up fire science classes at my school, which seems awfully narrow in it’s use, but I will investigate it further. Then there’s some EMT courses, which takes me more down the nursing path, which is a bit away from what I want to be.

Basically, I want to go into places like burning buildings, burning forests, war zones, high mountains, and/or deep seas to rescue people.

9

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130701-hotshot-granite-mountain-fire-firefighters-arizona-hotshots-19/

10

You can volunteer and/or work for the United Nations, I guess? Or travel to third world countries yourself, there would be a bunch of things to do to “save people” once you get there.

As for ROTC, I also didn’t have much faith in the government. I just think it is necessary for me to be around the people who volunteer to go to the war zones. Because, no matter what my personal belief or politics are, there are men and women who are sent to war. I just think I’d better be with them.