Commissioning Age Requirements
You may be able to take advantage of a program that allows you to participate in ROTC and enlist in the Army National Guard or Army Reserve at the same time, provided a vacancy exists in either a Guard or Reserve unit. It's called the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP), and it means that while you're still in college you can be gaining valuable experience and earning extra income. Under the SMP, you will be paid at the rate of at least a Sergeant (E-5) for your Guard or Reserve service, and you'll receive the ROTC Advanced Course allowance as well. You'll serve as an officer trainee in a Guard or Reserve unit and perform duties commensurate with the grade of second lieutenant. And once you are graduated and commissioned, you may continue your military service with your unit or apply for active duty in the U.S. Army.
Army ROTC is a program that provides college-trained officers for the active Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. This program offers military science courses at more than 300 host colleges and universities. It's offered at more than 500 other colleges that have cross-enrollment agreements with ROTC host schools.
Army ROTC is traditionally a four-year program which is divided into two parts: a Basic Course and an Advanced Course. The Basic Course is normally taken in your freshman and sophomore years. The Advanced Course is usually taken during your final two years of college and includes a five-week Advanced Camp that is normally attended in the summer between your junior and senior years.
The program is directed by the U.S. Army Cadet Command, located at Fort Monroe, Va. Cadet Command is responsible for the administration and operation of Army ROTC at the college and university level nationwide. Its mission is "to commission the future officer leadership of the U. S. Army."
Following graduation, ROTC cadets are required to serve in the active Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve. All scholarship students will be required to serve in the military for a period of eight years. This obligation may be fulfilled by serving two to four years on active duty, followed by four to six years' service as citizen soldiers in the Army National Guard (ARNG) or U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), or by serving eight years in the ARNG or USAR preceded by a period necessary to complete the active component resident officer basic course (OBC). Nonscholarship graduates may serve three years on active duty and five years as citizen soldiers, or they may select or be selected to fulfill their total military obligation as citizen soldiers. If Reserve Forces Duty is selected, graduates will serve a period of active duty necessary to complete the active component resident OBC, and spend the remainder of the eight-year obligation in the ARNG or USAR.
To be awarded an ROTC scholarship, you must be under 27 years of age on June 30th of the year you expect to graduate and receive your officer's commission. If you do not win an ROTC scholarship, you must be younger than 30 years of age at the time you are commissioned. Requests for a waiver of age may be considered on an individual basis.
SCHOLARSHIPS - FINANCIAL HELP DURING COLLEGE
You may be eligible to compete for an ROTC scholarship while you're in college. A prospective student can be awarded a scholarship worth more than $50,000.00 for four years. The award is based on several criteria. The scholarship pays for most tuition and on-campus educational fees which are required of all students, and provides a fixed amount for books, supplies, and equipment. It also provides an allowance of up to $1,500 for each year the scholarship is in effect. Even if you don't win a scholarship, you will still receive the allowance for each year of the Advanced Course, along with your uniforms and military science textbooks and materials. Plus, all cadets are paid for attending the five-week Advanced Camp.
Here is more information on the 4-Year Scholarship Program and a form to request an application. You can print a copy of the 2 and 3 Year On-campus Scholarship Application by following this link.
In the ROTC Advanced Course you will learn leadership development, organization and management, tactics, and ethics and professionalism, qualities essential to a future Army officer. Your instruction will go beyond the classroom to help you gain practical management and leadership experience.