|
Mercury Ballistic posted:Just thought I would toss it out I went to the forgotten academy, USMMA. I can answer some questions from my time there till I finished back in '02 Did you go to NAPS?
|
| # ? Jan 20, 2010 22:39 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2013 23:32 |
|
|
psydude posted:One of my best friends from high school went to VMI and as a result he's a completely different person. If you have the opportunity to do ROTC at a civilian college, do it. Going to a private military institute will offer you all of the depression and hardship of a real military academy without the prestige, quality of education, and training that comes with it. The tendency among military college cadets is to think that, because they've been sodomized for four years, that they're better off than regular ROTC cadets, and they tend to look down upon them because of it. This couldn't be farther from the truth; you will gain no comparative advantage over people who have done regular ROTC and will not enjoy your college experience, nor have access to the advantages that a civilian college offers (studying abroad, more diverse population, interaction with members of the opposite sex, etc). I go to Norwich. While you learn to hate the institution you also get closer with the people you go through all the bullshit with. Definitely not for everyone, but I have loved my 4 years. Through Norwich I had the opportunity to go to airborne and air assault, do a cultural immersion in Senegal and chill with their military, and do a semester at the Australian Defense Force academy. (so yes, you can study abroad. The Army Dept. of NU sent 23 MSIV cadets abroad last semester) And SMC's are guaranteed active duty (in the Army anyway) whereas civilian programs are forced to compete for it. For me those were perks, but it really comes down to what the individual wants out of their college experience. But to clarify your points, you can study abroad, while the population may be small, it will still be diverse (people from all over the country, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, Taiwan), and you can meet girls all (except the citadel I believe?) have civilians on campus.
|
| # ? Jan 21, 2010 16:43 |
|
|
Anyone here been through AFROTC Field Training at Maxwell?
|
| # ? Jan 21, 2010 22:49 |
|
|
I'm currently at ASBC at Maxwell. There are a ton of people here who went to Maxwell FT. What do you want to know?
|
| # ? Jan 21, 2010 23:16 |
|
|
SoapyNome posted:If there's one thing I've learned in JROTC, it's that just because you have a higher rank, doesn't mean you get more respect. Respect is earned. I think a lot of people have trouble realizing this. SoapyNome posted:
The main focus on SROTC is less on tradition and more on pounding TLPs, 5 paragraph opords, land nav, battle drills, etc into cadets' heads. I personally am the OIC of our school's color guard and I would like to see more D&C in our school but I would never suggest that we compromise time spent preparing cadets for LDAC on something like drill. commissargribb fucked around with this message at Jan 22, 2010 around 01:38 |
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 01:32 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Anyone here been through AFROTC Field Training at Maxwell? Yes, it was stupid. What do you want to know?
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 02:32 |
|
|
My school (University of Oklahoma) had one of our cadre (the 1SG) who was all gung-ho about re-establishing the Army ROTC Pershing Rifles Squad, but all the cadets were like  So it never was restarted. Our particular program emphasized Ranger challenge and common task training as the "big things." There wasn't a huge emphasis on D&C, or on PT really (other than making sure you passed). PT was 4 days a week and "required," but the penalty was that PT attendance accounted for 10% of your grade. So not a big deal. Each school is wildly different in their focus, and even OU is probably a different place now than when I commissioned (2004). Also, we didn't have much interaction with the AFROTC as they were whiny bitches, while we had more interaction with the Navy ROTC as they were in the same building as Army.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 05:53 |
|
|
I started the color guard at my school because I thought some additional D&C might improve the school's image of the ROTC program and get us more recruits. If nothing, it's an excuse weasel my way into free seats at sporting events. You would think more guys would be on board for the accessions points, but I haven't seen that yet. andromache posted:PT was 4 days a week and "required," but the penalty was that PT attendance accounted for 10% of your grade. So not a big deal. andromache posted:
Talk about a service that has a death-grip on useless training and traditions. Right before I got out, there was a ton of talk about warrior ethos and expanding capabilities to become a self sustainable force on the ground and I have not seen that reflected at all in training. [/derail]
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 08:24 |
|
|
AFStealth posted:Yes, it was stupid. What do you want to know? Any information (especially why it's stupid) you would be willing to share would be great. Also, is there really no contact allowed with the outside world (no meetings/phonecalls)?
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 15:24 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Any information (especially why it's stupid) you would be willing to share would be great. Also, is there really no contact allowed with the outside world (no meetings/phonecalls)? I went through as a 200 in 2008 and I went back as a CTA this past summer. There's a ton of poo poo I know about FT, so be more specific and I'd be happy to help. In terms of contact, you can write and receive letters.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 17:41 |
|
|
SoapyNome posted:Haha, maybe I gave the wrong impression. I actually want to go for aviation in the military. Whether that's pilot, NFO, engineer or something completely different. But Drill is a hobby of mine, so it was just a little question. It's not like I'm gonna join the military (or a specific school, for that matter) just because they have an AWESUM DRILL TEAMZ. Right now I'm leaning towards Embry Riddle Aeronautical with an NROTC scholarship. Both my roommate and I are 3/C Midshipmen at Embry-Riddle so I can answer any questions that you (or anyone else) has about the school or program.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 18:22 |
|
|
commissargribb posted:PT is 3 times a week for us. If you don't make an effort to show as much as possible (skip 2/3 of them), the CSM gives you an A- instead of a straight A. There are a lot of guys who don't bother to go half the time. Our PT is 3 days a week as well, but attendance is mandatory. If you miss more than two without a good reason, they'll stick you on remedial. Do this more than twice and you get kicked out. e: quote:="commissargribb"] Some people love using that as a reason for doing ranger challenge or other "extracurriculars". Anything ROTC related that takes up more of my time isn't worth the .5% boost on the OML; if I had to choose between that and something like studying or working, I'd definitely choose the latter, since GPA contributes so much more to it all and working pays me for the extra time I spend. psydude fucked around with this message at Jan 22, 2010 around 20:36 |
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 18:32 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Any information (especially why it's stupid) you would be willing to share would be great. Also, is there really no contact allowed with the outside world (no meetings/phonecalls)? That's way to broad of a question. It's stupid because it's nothing like you'd expect it to be. The in garrison portion is full of yelling, GLPs, marching, and briefings. The "deployment" portion gets you a lovely paintball gun that probably won't work for you. Though at least that part is a little more bearable.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 19:05 |
|
|
For Naval ROTC whether or not you have a drill team depends mostly on your AMOI, if they want one one is organized if not, its up in the air. If you want to be a Marine option its stressed more because drill is important at OCS. Speaking from the University of Kansas, I can say that it has a very good Aero Engineering program and there are girls. Lots of hot girls. From what I understand ERAU is very competetive to get into, at least a couple people here are people who didn't get selected/didn't get in for ERAU NROTC.
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 22:36 |
|
|
psydude posted:
I don't have that excuse since I'm going into the guard when I commission. I guess I just don't have much of a life. 
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 22:37 |
|
|
TheOtherGypsy posted:I went through as a 200 in 2008 and I went back as a CTA this past summer. There's a ton of poo poo I know about FT, so be more specific and I'd be happy to help. I watched some youtube videos of an AS200 that went last year and in a video I saw his cellphone sitting on his dresser during the video. So it's not a violation to have a phone but it's a violation to use a phone? It was at the end of FT, so maybe they gave them their stuff back and he was just packing up? Regarding more specific questions: How is it decided who is assigned to what positions within the cadet chain of command? What were the most common errors cadets made when you were a CTA? Do you have any suggestions on how to prepare? Did you run into any law students during your time there?
|
| # ? Jan 22, 2010 23:58 |
|
|
commissargribb posted:I don't have that excuse since I'm going into the guard when I commission. I guess I just don't have much of a life. Oh drat, if I were going ARNG/Reserves I wouldn't give a poo poo about ROTC or LDAC.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 02:47 |
|
|
Red Crown posted:From what I understand ERAU is very competetive to get into, at least a couple people here are people who didn't get selected/didn't get in for ERAU NROTC. I've actually already gotten into ERAU, the problem is getting the scholarship. I hear ERAU is extremely competitive because a lot of NROTC guys want to go there, so I'm kind of worried I won't get it. Also, quick question about the scholarship itself. If I'm awarded the scholarship, will they give me a list of school's I can choose to go to, or just one school? This was never really made clear to me. LessThanWilly posted:Both my roommate and I are 3/C Midshipmen at Embry-Riddle so I can answer any questions that you (or anyone else) has about the school or program. I actually went there for an NJROTC seminar, so I've seen the campus. But I don't know much about the classes, or even the location of campus. Is there a lot to do around there? Though I'm sure I'll spend a buttload of time studying, I'm sure It'd be nice to get out once in a blue moon.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 04:37 |
|
|
psydude posted:Oh drat, if I were going ARNG/Reserves I wouldn't give a poo poo about ROTC or LDAC. I really don't. I just about regularly tell the MS3s and 4s at host school to gently caress off.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 12:07 |
|
|
SoapyNome posted:I've actually already gotten into ERAU, the problem is getting the scholarship. I hear ERAU is extremely competitive because a lot of NROTC guys want to go there, so I'm kind of worried I won't get it. The school itself is really easy to get in to. If you have above 1000 on your SAT and can get a FAFSA/Scholarships/or your parents have money to pay for the school, they'll admit you (There is something like 80-90% admittance because they know a huge portion with leave the school between the first week and end of sophomore year). As far as the NROTC program being extremely competitive, that is true. In my class, we actually had one girl get the NROTC scholarship but not to ERAU. She decided to decline the scholarship in hopes of picking one up at our unit (she didn't and dropped out of NROTC after the first year). The real trick is just to get your application in asap so you can be seen at every NROTC board and thus hopefully get your scholarship early so you can get into the school you want. quote:Also, quick question about the scholarship itself. If I'm awarded the scholarship, will they give me a list of school's I can choose to go to, or just one school? This was never really made clear to me. Have you applied yet? Maybe the process has changed, but when I put my submitted my application in September of 2007, I was asked to list the top 5 schools in order of which I wanted to attend. I put ERAU, Penn State, and then just listed random schools after that. Hell, I made the huge mistake of not applying/looking anywhere else besides Riddle and wish all the time I had gone to PSU. quote:I actually went there for an NJROTC seminar, so I've seen the campus. But I don't know much about the classes, or even the location of campus. Is there a lot to do around there? Though I'm sure I'll spend a buttload of time studying, I'm sure It'd be nice to get out once in a blue moon. Were you there for the NJROTC field ROTC meet in October? Anyway, the school is about 4 miles from the beach but after the novelty wears off, unless you surf or something like that, you probably won't go there except for a couple times a semester (and of course, the NROTC beach run). There is nothing to do around here, especially if you are under 21. Daytona "apparently" used to be an awesome town before the city cracked down on things like drinking on the beach and all but eliminated Spring Break visitors. There are two dance clubs, a ton of bars, the beach, and the speedway (if you like NASCAR), otherwise you'll have to head to Orlando if you want to have real fun. The unit is great, the school and especially its location, not so much. LessThanWilly fucked around with this message at Jan 23, 2010 around 15:58 |
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 14:46 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:I watched some youtube videos of an AS200 that went last year and in a video I saw his cellphone sitting on his dresser during the video. So it's not a violation to have a phone but it's a violation to use a phone? It was at the end of FT, so maybe they gave them their stuff back and he was just packing up? 1. You'll get asked what your most and least desired position is. That'll factor into it, but it ultimately is whatever your FTO decides. 3. Pack your poo poo by drawer and bundle it with rubber bands. Makes it easy on TD-0. Other than that, remember you're being evaluated on your leadership abilities more than you're evaluated on how well you fold a sock. Also practice getting into and out of your ABU/BDUs quickly. That always helps. 4. A buddy of mine went to FT last year as a Law Student.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 15:57 |
|
|
AFStealth posted:1. You'll get asked what your most and least desired position is. That'll factor into it, but it ultimately is whatever your FTO decides. Thanks for #3, that's a good idea. As for your friend, did he do alright? I feel like I'm in a slightly awkward position because I did not attend AS100 and I'll only be in for the second half of AS200.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 16:55 |
|
|
LessThanWilly posted:Have you applied yet? Yes, and I'm pretty sure I was even put on the first review board. If not, definitely the second. LessThanWilly posted:Were you there for the NJROTC field ROTC meet in October? No, I haven't even heard of anything like that. I went to the NJROTC Summer Seminar at Embry Riddle, I don't know if Riddle announced it or anything, but we were there for a week over Summer. I want to say the dates were June 8-14 or so. LessThanWilly posted:There is nothing to do around here, especially if you are under 21. Daytona "apparently" used to be an awesome town before the city cracked down on things like drinking on the beach and all but eliminated Spring Break visitors. There are two dance clubs, a ton of bars, the beach, and the speedway (if you like NASCAR), otherwise you'll have to head to Orlando if you want to have real fun. Ouch, that kinda sucks. But I still want to go, personally. Luckily, I'm a fan of NASCAR so I'm sure that'll be cool. Thanks for the info!
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 17:03 |
|
|
For the NROTC scholarhip you get to list 5 schools ranging from most desired to least desired.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 17:04 |
|
|
I'd like to hear what different ROTC (specifically NROTC but others can post too) units around the country are like compared to ours. School: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach Campus) Branch: NROTC Size: Approx. 165+ Midshipmen PT: Navy Options PT 3 days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if you pass the inventory PRT with a "Good Low" at the beginning of every semester. If you get below that, you are put on FEP and are required to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well. PT begins at 5:45am and runs till 7:00am. Marine Options PT on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and begin a little earlier. Drill Lab: Our drill lab is run every Thursday from 3:45pm to 6:00pm and we wear our Khakis all day. Last year the entire lab was almost always death by PowerPoint on things such as drinking and driving or drugs with speakers from different communities coming by a couple times a semester. This year, our Battalion staff and MOI have changed things so we do more drilling and learn some practical skills such as getting CPR certified, swimming, and there are talks of a concealed carry course. Other: For money, our battalion works the Daytona 500 and the races proceeding it. This provides funding for pretty much the entire year, though we've started working another college's football games for extra cash. We hold two formal events a year, Dinning Out in the Fall and Dinning In in the Spring. We also hold a Color Parade (Award ceremony) in the Spring. Incoming 4th class in the battalion go through a 7 week indoctrination period in the Fall or two week long in the Spring that takes place mostly before and sometimes after classes.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 17:37 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Thanks for #3, that's a good idea. As for your friend, did he do alright? I feel like I'm in a slightly awkward position because I did not attend AS100 and I'll only be in for the second half of AS200. He was required to go through the extended FTU, but from what I've heard it's pretty easy. But he did just fine at FT. Not sure what he ranked, but he got through it without any issues. FT is easy to pass and that's all you need to do.
|
| # ? Jan 23, 2010 22:37 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:I watched some youtube videos of an AS200 that went last year and in a video I saw his cellphone sitting on his dresser during the video. So it's not a violation to have a phone but it's a violation to use a phone? It was at the end of FT, so maybe they gave them their stuff back and he was just packing up? Haha, that video was filmed at my encampment. Your cell phone will be stored away until the night before you leave. It's up to your FTU/CC, but we were allowed to charge them, but not use our phones until we left Maxwell on the bus. You'll be able to write and receive letters though. In the beginning, while in Garrison, the Cadet Group leadership positions rotate by squadron. For example, the first five days, the 2 FLT/CC's from Squadron 1 is responsible for choosing the Cadet Group Commnader, Sq 2 has the CV, Sq 3 has the PFO, and so on. Starting TD-6, the next 5 squadrons would be responsible for supplying the group leadership. For the leadership positions within the squadrons, it's totally random in the first rotation. For the second rotation, the FLT/CC's will put people in positions that they think they will succeed in. Towards the end, the FLT/CC's will put the weak cadets in important positions to either solidify their Bottom Third ranking or give them a chance to pull themselves into the Middle. Errors were abundant. Just be confident and take care of your flight. Don't make the same mistake twice or you will pay for it. Also, bounce back from any mistakes. Don't dwell in them because it'll hurt you. I saw several high-speed cadets make a big mistake and become depressed because they were afraid they had no chance of finishing well. In terms of preparation: -Read your FTM as soon as you get it. Read it at least 20 times before you go. -Memorize everything you are supposed to, and know where to find everything else. -Also be extremely comfortable with the Airman's Manual. -Be in the best shape of your life BEFORE you go. -First impressions make or break you, and your FTC/CC and CTA will only have your PFA and FTM/AM test scores to initially rank you....so ACE those. You'll be going to the Extended FTU. It's pretty casual and you'll have a great chance to get to know the majority of your encampment before TD-1. Let me know if you need anything else.
|
| # ? Jan 25, 2010 04:59 |
|
|
School: University of Southern Maine (Gorham Campus) Branch: AROTC Size: Approx. 35 Cadets PT: The majority of the cadets from feeder schools attend 3 times a week at the Gorham campus. Students of the University of New England (Saco, Maine) attend PT at that location. PT starts at 0600 and is generally an hour or an 90 minutes and focuses on the standard hodgepodge of muscular and cardiovascular training (in anticipation of the the APFT). Occasionally, we play basketball on fridays before labs. Classes/Labs: Class is one day a week on Wednesdays now at varying times depending on the class level of the students. Classes are in ACUs. Generally there are 4 or 5 leadership labs per semester. Courses pretty much follow the BOLC 1 text book preparing students for the Leadership Development Assessment Course (LDAC).
|
| # ? Jan 25, 2010 22:14 |
|
|
We had our first post-break APFT today, which resulted in about 3/4 of my company getting flagged for remedial.
psydude fucked around with this message at Jan 26, 2010 around 22:52 |
| # ? Jan 26, 2010 22:49 |
|
|
psydude posted:We had our first post-break APFT today, which resulted in about 3/4 of my company getting flagged for remedial. Ours is tomorrow. I expect the same results.
|
| # ? Jan 27, 2010 00:42 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Ours is tomorrow. I expect the same results. Correction. Today was just FTP cadets, and everyone passed.
|
| # ? Jan 27, 2010 13:06 |
|
|
psydude posted:We had our first post-break APFT today, which resulted in about 3/4 of my company getting flagged for remedial. I need remedial but I'm not flagged. I pretty much suck.
|
| # ? Jan 27, 2010 18:25 |
|
|
HiddenReplaced posted:Correction. Today was just FTP cadets, and everyone passed. Well, almost everyone passed, however we have certain standards above the passing score that need to be met in order to stay out of remedial PT.
|
| # ? Jan 27, 2010 19:38 |
|
|
If you guys think APFTs are fun in ROTC, just wait till you get into certain reserve or guard units.
|
| # ? Jan 27, 2010 23:15 |
|
|
psydude posted:Well, almost everyone passed, however we have certain standards above the passing score that need to be met in order to stay out of remedial PT. This is highspeed for ROTC. Though probably the way it should be. We have a hard enough time getting students to show to the regular PT nevermind additional remedial stuff.
|
| # ? Jan 28, 2010 02:55 |
|
|
commissargribb posted:This is highspeed for ROTC. Though probably the way it should be. We have a hard enough time getting students to show to the regular PT nevermind additional remedial stuff. The new PMS and NCOIC have mandatory three day a week PT and set the standard for MSIIIs at 80/80/80, but only because they want to make sure that people don't get hosed over on their LDAC PT test by butter bars who think they're hot poo poo. Even then, they aren't as hardcore about PT as our old PMS. The one that was here for my first two years only had PT twice a week and offered exemptions, but he equated PT to leadership and frowned upon anybody not maxing out the test. I'll give him credit, though, because he doubled the size of our program during his time and brought our program's ranking up to something like 5th in the nation. In spite of that, it's something that's never brought up; the cadre and the rest of us don't care about competing with other programs. psydude fucked around with this message at Jan 28, 2010 around 15:08 |
| # ? Jan 28, 2010 14:58 |
|
|
TheOtherGypsy posted:
Can you expand on this? I've heard conflicting reports of what it takes to get a flight slot out of AFROTC. Some people say its fairly easy if your commander likes you and others say you need to be like top 10% in the nation. What was your ranking, if you don't mind me asking. Do you know how many flight slots AFROTC had this cycle?
|
| # ? Jan 29, 2010 05:27 |
|
|
Jarlath posted:Can you expand on this? I've heard conflicting reports of what it takes to get a flight slot out of AFROTC. Some people say its fairly easy if your commander likes you and others say you need to be like top 10% in the nation. What was your ranking, if you don't mind me asking. Do you know how many flight slots AFROTC had this cycle? AFROTC pilot slots aren't that difficult to get. Your chances are based on the following scores 15% GPA 10% PFA 15% PCSM Score 10% Field Training Ranking 50% Commander's Ranking As you can see, if your commander does like you, there is a huge chance of getting a pilot slot. You definitely do not need to be in the top 10% of the nation, just have good scores. You have control of at least 3-4 of those categories above.
|
| # ? Jan 29, 2010 12:28 |
|
|
Jarlath posted:Can you expand on this? I've heard conflicting reports of what it takes to get a flight slot out of AFROTC. Some people say its fairly easy if your commander likes you and others say you need to be like top 10% in the nation. What was your ranking, if you don't mind me asking. Do you know how many flight slots AFROTC had this cycle? As mentioned above, Commander's Ranking is key. I was a distinguished graduate at FT, but my PFA score was okay, my GPA is terrible, and my PCSM was embarrassing. But I'm #1 or #2 in my class, so that more than makes up for my short-comings. Generally, at bigger schools, if you're GPA is near a 4.0 and you get 100's on your PFA, then some of your Cadre will know who you are. IMHO, and depending on your Commander, being a high speed cadet who has their poo poo together will get you farther than just having a good GPA and PFA scores. That being said.....get a good GPA and PFA score anyway. Last year, there were about 530 Pilot slots and another 70 alternates. I hear that there will be less and less each year with the creation of the RPV AFSC. It'll go back up as soon as the F-35 comes out in mass numbers.
|
| # ? Jan 29, 2010 15:07 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2013 23:32 |
|
|
Why would it go back up? We have more F-16s than we'll have F-35s, and the Viper pipeline is still in full swing. It's more likely to dip a bit (not like it has with the near-destruction of the F-15 pipeline though).
|
| # ? Jan 29, 2010 15:51 |
|
