Declining comission

the squid · 05-31-2007, 15:09

Hello all, as was said in my first post, I'm currently AD navy with about two months left until my EAOS.

And as to my question, I have searched, and if I haven't searched hard enough then I apologize . . . but:

I'm planning on going back to college and keeping my nose in the books and bringing my GPA back up, once I do that, I will be eligible to sign an ROTC scholarship.

My question is, right now I've got mucho admiration and respect for the men that make up Army SF, and I would one day like to be among them:

So upon graduation, is turning down a comission and going 18x a possibility, given the fact that the Army would have at that point invested a great deal of money into a future Platoon Commander?

Either possibility, be it platoon commander or SF NCO would be a great privledge and responsibility, and I realize that I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I would like to take this into consideration before I obligate myself to an Army comission if what I would rather be is an SF NCO.

Any and all replies, be they criticism or otherwise, would be appreciated.

Thanks.

RTK · 05-31-2007, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by the squid

Hello all, as was said in my first post, I'm currently AD navy with about two months left until my EAOS.

And as to my question, I have searched, and if I haven't searched hard enough then I apologize . . . but:

I'm planning on going back to college and keeping my nose in the books and bringing my GPA back up, once I do that, I will be eligible to sign an ROTC scholarship.

My question is, right now I've got mucho admiration and respect for the men that make up Army SF, and I would one day like to be among them:

So upon graduation, is turning down a comission and going 18x a possibility, given the fact that the Army would have at that point invested a great deal of money into a future Platoon Commander?

Either possibility, be it platoon commander or SF NCO would be a great privledge and responsibility, and I realize that I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I would like to take this into consideration before I obligate myself to an Army comission if what I would rather be is an SF NCO.

Any and all replies, be they criticism or otherwise, would be appreciated.

Thanks.

TS, AM, Razor, COL Jack and Reaper, I know this isn't a thread I'd typically be involved in, but it's an Officer question, and I'm pretty sure it's in line with what both of you are thinking anyways.... If not, I'll delete.

Once you sign an ROTC scholorship you're under contract to become an Army Officer.

If I'm reading this right, your intention is to determine the feasibility to break the contract under the premise that the Army invested a lot of money in you so you're in the position to put the Army between a rock and a hard place. This would make the contract worthless in the first place.

Additionally, it would put into question the integrity of any individual who entered into that contract at the beginning. And if integrity is an issue, we don't need you as an officer in the Army. I'm pretty sure the QPs wouldn't want you either.

the squid · 05-31-2007, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTK

TS, AM, Razor, COL Jack and Reaper, I know this isn't a thread I'd typically be involved in, but it's an Officer question, and I'm pretty sure it's in line with what both of you are thinking anyways.... If not, I'll delete.

Once you sign an ROTC scholorship you're under contract to become an Army Officer.

If I'm reading this right, your intention is to determine the feasibility to break the contract under the premise that the Army invested a lot of money in you so you're in the position to put the Army between a rock and a hard place. This would make the contract worthless in the first place.

Additionally, it would put into question the integrity of any individual who entered into that contract at the beginning. And if integrity is an issue, we don't need you as an officer in the Army. I'm pretty sure the QPs wouldn't want you either.

I appreciate the input, sir.

The thought had occured to me that it wouldn't be the most honorable move to sign an ROTC contract with the intention of renigging on it to go 18X, even if that were a possibility.

And keeping in mind that honor and integrity extend to all facets of life, not just the situations which benefit us, I leave now with the idea that should I sign an ROTC contract, I sign it with the intention of making good on it.

Thanks for the correction.

lksteve · 05-31-2007, 17:23

[QUOTE=the squid]The thought had occured to me that it wouldn't be the most honorable move to sign an ROTC contract with the intention of renigging on it /QUOTE]didn't go to ROTC, went to OCS...my older son went to ROTC, however...

that said, your odds of getting commissioned are better than your odds of making it through SFQC...nothing personal, that's just the way it is...

life has plenty of forks in the road...do you want to be an officer or do you want to be an SF soldier...? nothing easy along either path...

BTW, this is not new ground...this has to be the bazillionth time this question has been asked...

the squid · 05-31-2007, 17:38

[QUOTE=lksteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by the squid

The thought had occured to me that it wouldn't be the most honorable move to sign an ROTC contract with the intention of renigging on it /QUOTE]didn't go to ROTC, went to OCS...my older son went to ROTC, however...

that said, your odds of getting commissioned are better than your odds of making it through SFQC...nothing personal, that's just the way it is...

life has plenty of forks in the road...do you want to be an officer or do you want to be an SF soldier...? nothing easy along either path...

BTW, this is not new ground...this has to be the bazillionth time this question has been asked...

Well sir, should I decide that being an SF soldier is something I want more than being an officer, I will do so fully willing to accept the consequences should I not make it through.

No disrespect to the officer corps intended, but should I decide to sign the ROTC contract, I want it to be because it is what I want, and not because it was the easier of the two paths. A platoon deserves their lieutenants full attention, and too much is at stake for a PC to spend his time wondering "what if."

Either way, sir, I appreciate your frankness, and your time, in spite of my redundancy.

lksteve · 05-31-2007, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by the squid

No disrespect to the officer corps intended, but should I decide to sign the ROTC contract, I want it to be because it is what I want...

understand...be prepared to have some of these decisions made for you...you may not get a chance to attend SFAS...you may get commissioned and find youself in a branch you didn't choose...the choice you have in front of you is which path to take...after that, it's up to you and the needs of the Army...

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 05-31-2007, 18:20

[QUOTE=the squid][QUOTE=lksteve]
than being an officerQUOTE]

Why would you want to be an officer?

blue02hd · 05-31-2007, 19:07

Squid,

I hate to point this out, but your 3 to 4 years in the Navy has done very little to prepare you for a combat arms unit in the Army. Your post has you sitting on the fence between an SF NCO and a "Platoon Commander", which I am here to tell you friend, are no where close on the map. It has been pointed out, that your odds are better at pinning on 2nd Lt bars than that long tab.

That being said, as a young Army Officer, the current state of affairs will have you leading seasoned NCO's ( or even worse, newly issued inexperienced troops) in combat shortly after Benning turns the fire hose off from which you will be drinking from. You will need to have stronger motivation than a simple fuzzy moment of reflection at the age of 65, as you put it: "I did that". Drop the "I" from your vocabulary, because it is not about you, it's about the men you are responsible for.

I am afraid you may have a hard time keeping your head above water, so you may want to concentrate on becoming the best combat soldier you possibly can before you worry about the honor and priviledge of leading anyone anywhere, and yes, that includes to the chow hall.

It has been, and always will be about your platoon.

And as it was said earlier, this was the easier path of the two for you to follow.

the squid · 05-31-2007, 19:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue02hd

Squid,

I hate to point this out, but your 3 to 4 years in the Navy has done very little to prepare you for a combat arms unit in the Army. Your post has you sitting on the fence between an SF NCO and a "Platoon Commander", which I am here to tell you friend, are no where close on the map. It has been pointed out, that your odds are better at pinning on 2nd Lt bars than that long tab.

That being said, as a young Army Officer, the current state of affairs will have you leading seasoned NCO's ( or even worse, newly issued inexperienced troops) in combat shortly after Benning turns the fire hose off from which you will be drinking from. You will need to have stronger motivation than a simple fuzzy moment of reflection at the age of 65, as you put it: "I did that". Drop the "I" from your vocabulary, because it is not about you, it's about the men you are responsible for.

I am afraid you may have a hard time keeping your head above water, so you may want to concentrate on becoming the best combat soldier you possibly can before you worry about the honor and priviledge of leading anyone anywhere, and yes, that includes to the chow hall.

It has been, and always will be about your platoon.

And as it was said earlier, this was the easier path of the two for you to follow.

Sir, thank you.

It was never my intention to convey that it was or ever will be about "me", and if that was the impression I gave off, well, then that's my mistake.

And at the risk of beating a dead horse, this will be my last post on this thread and I'm grateful for the reaming, as I will take this as an opportunity to better myself.

Over and out.