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Originally Posted by andreas
(1) are mustang officers truly looked at as differently as I hear they are, and is their relationships with the Team that much different?
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From my experience, prior service officers have an advantage over their peers somewhere between 2LT and the first year as a Captain. After that, it pretty much levels out. I've seen really exceptional prior service officers, and pretty crappy ones.
When I was in the Q Course, two of our four prior service SF officers (previously in SF as enlisted) were kicked out of the course on recommendation of the SF NCO cadre. One exhibited poor judgement and the other had an integrity issue. There is no guarantee that a prior service SF officer will be any better nor any worse than one who arrived to a team as an officer from any other source. Lastly, an SF team already has 10 highly trained NCOs (and an experienced warrant officer). They are not looking for an 11th NCO - they need a competent officer who knows his job. They will judge you on that, not on your past.
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Originally Posted by andreas
(2) In the SF community, have you encountered many prior enlisted officers, and what is your analysis of them versus the fresh ones from service academies or ROTC?
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See my answer, above.
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Originally Posted by andreas
(3) Do you think the ROTC program is actually producing individuals that can jump into big time roles, or is the millennial mindset and the lax "all-inclusive" standards destining cadets to be perceived as soft compared to whatever it was like "back in the day.
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The "millennial mindset" - as you call it - is impacting the entire force. ROTC has its own challenges. An ROTC assignment is not seen as "career enhancing" for an officer and most quality officers avoid this type of duty at all costs. Thus, ROTC is not always getting the best role models either. When I was in SF, I remember part of me wanted to "give back" by applying for ROTC duty as an instructor, but having to choose between that and getting graduate school out of the way and right into group. I ended up commanding two SF companies because of that decision.
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Originally Posted by andreas
(4) If I do want to end up enlisting post college, would commissioning AFTER doing SF ODA time put me in a better position to remain in SF after commissioning, or is that all up to the needs of the Army?
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You'd still need to go to SFAS, complete the Q Course, and re-join SF if you make it. SFAS assesses officers via a different criteria and the Q Course trains you to master a different specialty than that of the enlisted personnel. There was a period of time when you would not have had to repeat SFAS, just the rest of the Q Course. I think this was up until around 2002 or 2003. Then, they decided that you'd have to re-assess as an officer via SFAS. It's been a while since then, so unless this has changed again, I think it is a do-over for you if an SF enlisted-turned-officer.
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Originally Posted by andreas
(5) Should I be worried about going the ROTC route in regards to my ability to perform and lead the best, or is this just a irrational fear that I conjured up myself?
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I'd say that it is an unfounded concern on your part, rather than an irrational fear.
You must simply follow your calling - officer or enlisted. That being said, I had quite a few fellas on my SFODA who went to college, got their degree, and stayed SF NCOs and went to post-graduate school during their career.