Prior Army/Marine (USMC) Service

[Guest Dwiff]

I'm just curious how many of you guys commissioning here shortly are prior service, and what you thought of ROTC. I've done 5 years Active Army and am going back into AFROTC (I did one year, way back when). When I hear of kids saying ROTC was basically gay or worthless I cannot help but be stoked to go back! hah I say kids, I'm only 23 but two years deployed kind of changes you perspectives.

[Guest Dwiff]

In ROTC do you wear any ribbons earned while on AD?

[Login Name]

Originally posted by Dwiff:

In ROTC do you wear any ribbons earned while on AD?

all the dudes at my school that were prior wore theirs and the ones that got deployed then came back wore theirs too.

smoke'em if you got'em...wear'em if you earned 'em i say. and if somebody says something, just look at them like they're a retard and walk away.

[Guest ivyprior]

I disagree with wearing them. I am 6 years prior and I thought about wearin' the whole rack, but decided against it for a few reasons. first of all, it's an unwritten rule in the AD air force that officers don't wear their ribbons unless it's required. second, you earned those ribbons as an enlisted troop and when you put on your cadet uniform, you are no longer an enlisted troop...you wear different rank, you're pursuing your goals that are on a totally different track, you're different. be proud of your accomplishments, i certainly am of mine (NSA analyst and korean linguist), but leave them in the shadowbox and press on to bigger and better things. not to mention, wearing a big rack in front of other cadets only works to further alienate you from the group. the big reason, however, is that officers usually don't wear big racks of ribbons.

[jazzdude]

Originally posted by Dwiff:

In ROTC do you wear any ribbons earned while on AD?

See AFROTCI 36-2020 paragraph 3.4 Basically, you can wear valor awards (for example, silver star, purple heart, airmen's medal, anything with a "V" device, etc.), and if you've qualified for the AF small arms marksmanship ribbon, you get the ROTC expert marksman ribbon. Everything else is a no-go.

[Guest pcampbell]

Dwiff, I was enlisted in the Air Force for 6 years before I did the ROTC thing. I've been commissioned for 2.5 years (ENJJPT, IFF, and A-10 FTU).

Most of the guys here are going to tell you ROTC is gay. Fine. I have yet been to any training course (civilian or military) that hasn't been faggish in one way or another. Some of the things you will do, you will question as to how it will pertain to the officer world, but I think a lot of it actually does help prepare you. If nothing else, it helps you learn how to think critically. A lot of it will depend on the detachment you are at. If you have idiot cadre members, you will probably hate it that much more. If you blow it off, many of your personal goals won't be met.

I took ROTC seriously. I knew what my goals were, and I knew that the ROTC Nazis were going to help me fulfill those goals. I took my leadership jobs seriously because I was hoping to learn something. I also took it seriously because as an enlisted member, I saw some pretty crappy officers. I wanted to help mold the dudes at my det into good officers to help the future enlisted force.

AFROTC has existed longer than any other Air Force commissioning source. Maybe the Air Force knows something we don't.

Edit: to comment on the ribbons issue. Don't do it. You'll get plenty of useless chest candy as a cadet. Why add to it with your Army decs?

[ 10. May 2006, 09:25: Message edited by: Razorback ]

[Guest lawstud]

I am prior service army. The army and the air force are two very different beast so I don't know if AFROTC is "gay" or if this is just how the Air Force is. I try to learn as much as I can from the experience and practice leading whenever I can. I thought basic(well the first part) and AIT(the last part) was gay but I still learned a few things.

[Riddller]

7.5 years prior service Marine. 3 years of AFROTC down, 6 months to go. My advice: You already know what to take serious and what not to. As for the ribbons, yeah, regs say they're a no-no. I didn't care, they're more of a pain-in-the-ass than anything. I didn't wear any until a few months ago when our "Cadet Col" took time out of her busy schedule to come down off her high horse and inform me that it was in the regs that I had to wear the cadet ones when in Service Dress. Whatever.

For the most part, my experience has been good. I've met a lot of cool people and had some good times. Some asked for my advice, and I gave it to them. Many didn't, and I didn't offer it. Nobody was really the better or worse for it either way, but you could tell the people who knew how to use their resources were going to go far.

I think the biggest skill I got from enlisted which is severly lacking in the cadet world is quick decision making. As the quote goes, most of the time a good decision now is better than a great decision later. I may not have always had the right answer, but I always had AN answer. And let's be serious here, how much can a bad decision really fvck things up in the cadet world?

My $.02

[Guest CrewCheif86]

I am currently enlisted in the Army and after my ETS I plan to go to Grad School and then apply to the OTS program. I was wondering if the board would frown upon me because I have come from a different branch or would that be looked at as an asset to my resume. I would very much appreciate if any of the experienced people on this forum would give me any insight on this matter. Thank you very much.

[budderbar]

I would think that your prior Army "E" service time would be looked at as an asset.

Why bother applying to OTS when you can do AFROTC. Find the AFROTC DET that services your Grad School and just sign up its almost easier than enlisting. And they might hook you up with some scholarship money.

That was my experience (I'm also prior E), I am now on my last semester of my Grad degree and can't wait to commission.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Guest CrewCheif86]

I am currently enlisted in the Army and after my ETS I plan to go to Grad School and then apply to the OTS program. I was wondering if the board would frown upon me because I have come from a different branch or would that be looked at as an asset to my resume. I would very much appreciate if any of the experienced people on this forum would give me any insight on this matter. Thank you very much.

I have considered the ROTC route and I still consider it an option. However, I am attracted to OTS because you can get a guaranteed flight contract and as I understand with ROTC you are at the whims of the Air Force. Am I not correct? What service were you enlisted in?

[budderbar]

I have considered the ROTC route and I still consider it an option. However, I am attracted to OTS because you can get a guaranteed flight contract and as I understand with ROTC you are at the whims of the Air Force. Am I not correct? What service were you enlisted in?

I think it's way easier to get a Pilot slot thru ROTC than OTS. If you look at OTS applicants they nearly all have near perfect AFOQT & PCSM scores and very high GPAs so in my opinion its harder to get selected. In ROTC I have seen people at my DET get picked up for pilot with a PSCM score of "27". But it all about the commanders ranking so if you pee in your commanders cheerios expect to get ranked low.

My opinion to you is if you look good on paper then shoot for OTS. If you don't look godly like on paper then go ROTC .

My experience has been a good one with ROTC but that is because my Det is really small less than 40 cadets total. So I get alot of one on one with the cadre.

I was prior enlisted E-5 in the Air Force.

Later

[Champ Kind]

I have considered the ROTC route and I still consider it an option. However, I am attracted to OTS because you can get a guaranteed flight contract and as I understand with ROTC you are at the whims of the Air Force. Am I not correct? What service were you enlisted in?

I wasn't aware that there was any "guaranteed flight contract" in the Air Force. My understanding was that the closest you could get to that was A) Be fully medically qualified and graduate from USAFA, B) Get hired with a Guard/Reserve unit.

[magnetfreezer]

I wasn't aware that there was any "guaranteed flight contract" in the Air Force. My understanding was that the closest you could get to that was A) Be fully medically qualified and graduate from USAFA, B) Get hired with a Guard/Reserve unit.

I believe OTS guys get their AFSCs before they leave (i.e, have to apply as a pilot, engineer, etc.)