Trinity or someone else familiar with the process if a student is majoring in OT and wants to branch 65A or 65D. I am familiar with the PA program in the Army, but do cadets compete for these type MOS like any other if in an ROTC program?
Not sure this us great advice, depending on what the student wants.bigtruckguy3500 said:
He shouldn't do rotc if he's sure he wants to go medical corps. He may get push back from his rotc detachment, or the education delay may not get approved.
The number of Ed Delays A&M ROTC produces is 1-2 per year. It is not enough to matter for Cadet Command mission -- even if A&M were not over-producing, and the program does. And no Cadet at A&M is prevented from requesting an Ed Delay. If someone tells you different, they are wrong.bigtruckguy3500 said:
While I've never experienced it personally, I have seen it directly affect people I know. My understanding is that the ROTC detachment is tasked with producing line officers. If they start sending people out for education delays for professional school, their numbers drop. If they're already hitting their numbers they may not care, if they're low, they might. Multple people I knew who did ROTC at different schools have said the same thing: If professional school is the the primary goal, do not do ROTC.
I also know multiple people who did ROTC/the Academy, served their time as line officers, and came back as physicians.
All ROTC programs are different, but this is pretty accurate for A&M -- except the highlighted paragraph about Nursing. A&M does not have a nursing mission, and students here compete to enter the nursing program beginning their Junior years -- so A&M ROTC does not accept Nursing contracts right off the bat.clarythedrill said:
If you are not a contracted Cadet, or a serious "seeking" Cadet, the Army ROTC department does not really give two hoots about you. If you want to be a PA or OT or something of that order, you would need to be contracted on a regular contract and taking the appropriate medical classes that support the medical degree. At the appropriate time, the Army ROTC department will help with the Education Delay process......we really don't mind if they get an Ed delay, Cadet Command produces enough to make mission, so delaying a very small fraction of Cadets is really no big deal.
What they may want to do is not contract or take ROTC courses until they are ready to start their Junior year, then become what is called a Lateral Entry Cadet, and go to Summer Basic Camp to make up for not taking the MS I and II courses. That way they can lay out for the ROTC program where they sit with regards to their medical classes and the ROO (Recruiting Operations Officer) can help them with a plan.
Now, if they want to compete for a scholarship, then they need to earn the scholly and then hope being granted an Ed delay at a later date. If the Ed delay is not granted, then they would branch whatever the Army needs them to be and off they go.
PS. Nurses contract as Army Nurses right off the bat, and do not compete for Nurse Corp at a later date. If their grades do not allow them to progress further into the Nursing program, determined by the Nursing program at the university, at the end of the Sophomore year, then they are switched to a line contract and will compete for branching with all other line contracted Cadets.
BLUF- asking for an Ed delay is not a big deal, we are happy to do so, so no need to worry about the ROTC department trying to screw them or force them into something they do not want.
Army, Navy/Marines, and Air Force outfits in the Corps are more alike than different, but this is NOT at all true about the ROTC/commissioning processes, so folks should be careful about generalizing between them.bigtruckguy3500 said:
So, I actually saw one case of this pushback at A&M, though it was not Army ROTC. In the end it worked out for the student, they just submitted their request for ed delay and it was approved. But the colonel in charge was legitimately upset with this student.
I never said they did. But plenty of Cadets DO see military service as a means to an end. They should be honest with themselves about their motives for entering the military.Quote:
Also, just because professional school is someone's primary goal doesn't mean they have to view military service as a means to an end. Some people want to be JAGs, or part of a shock trauma platoon, etc., and going the ROTC route takes a certain amount of control over your fate out of your hands. For some, they'll easily be able to do their 4/8/12/20 years and then apply to professional school. For others, by that point life will just be too far progressed for them to go back to school.