ROTC Culture how to Respond to it

[andreas]

To preface this, I have done my research in regards to the Mustang Officer vs the ROTC/USMA officer and have come up empty handed... If I have made a mistake and missed any posts that better encompass this than please point me in the right direction and dismiss my post. ALSO I do not mean to talk about myself too much but I am doing so in attempt to let the potential readers see the situation from my perspective.

I have always had my eyes set on the army as a career, ever since hearing stories from my grandfather about his time as a Green Beret in Vietnam. If you refer to my bio It will tell you everything about why I had to wait so long (don't want to write a whole book in this thread). Long story short, I ended up in ROTC trying to get in the Army by any means necessary.

Fast forward a year and a half from the detour I had to take with enlisting, I have made every logical, introspective leap and bound in attempt to quell my gut feeling that the enlisted route is my calling and what I was born to do (and recently have been a couple weeks away from getting my 2 year ROTC scholarship and contracting), telling myself better pay and a safer situation were good for the long run, even though down deep I have known that's not who I am. If it was, I wouldn't be trying to join the army. However a meeting this week blew the lid off of my entire situation.


I received negative counseling fro the first time this week, and was told that if I "was an enlisted man, this conversation would have meant a promotion." But since this was ROTC and I was trying to be a 2nd Lieutenant, I was "all fucked up". I have been (apparently incorrectly) viewing my success as (1) maintaining a positive incline in regards to PT (went from a 1530 2 mile to a 12 flat), (2) making sure I take care of my subordinates as a TL and an SL and making sure they know I would do anything for them, (3) outperforming and outmaneuvering anyone and everyone during field training exercises (platoon ops), and last but not least (4) keeping my head down and not caring what the other dramatic Cadets think of me personally... and I have been accomplishing all of those goals. All this was acknowledged and dismissed, stating that the lack of involvement among my peers and extracurricular activities in regards to the program were enough to warrant a serious sit down meeting.

On top of all of this, while I was walking out of the room, I was informed by a secretary that my Shoulder waiver (that I had been working toward for almost 3 years) had finally arrived and I don't have to worry about getting the workaround from big army anymore. All of this falling in my lap at the same time forced me to reevaluate what I was doing and the culture I was perpetuating.

-I am apart of a program where a squared away and tactically sound Cadet with great leadership among his direct peers can get negative counseling for acting "too enlisted", while at the same time (last weekend) another Cadet who rolled over during a simulated firefight the first night in the field, got into the fetal position and whimpered, is STILL sitting atop the OML in regards to points
-After reading the book Starship troopers this quarter, to me people being able to hop into a combat unit with no combat experience seems out of the ordinary and forced, which results in what I've heard from enlisted friends about the stigma attached with fresh LTs nowadays
-Someday I am going to be commissioned with these kids and grouped into the same stigmatized group, and ill tell you what I wouldn't want these people leading me into the weight room, let alone a react to contact

If I haven't said this already, this is an awesome program, it just seems the Cadre have their hands tied behind their back. If what they want is individuals who know how to win friendships, learn how to accumulate politic capital with their peers, and know nothing but the basic text book knowledge and not much else, they're right on track. No grit involved whatsoever. That's not me, I want to be a different breed of officer and I am worried that the ROTC route wont afford me the opportunity to trial by fire or any other tried and true methods of weeding people out.

Ultimately what I am here for is to hear what you professionals have to say about "Mustang Officers" (officers with prior enlisted time), and the decision I have to make this next month as to whether or not I want to drop ROTC and pursue that route, or go with the flow of ROTC. I want to be the best and lead among the best and as of right now, giving the ROTC scholarship a middle finger and enlisting after I get my degree with hopes of commissioning later on is looking like the only option I can morally let myself do. As an individual who wants to make sure I am the best Soldier first and foremost, I am seeking guidance before I make my final decision next month.

(1) are mustang officers truly looked at as differently as I hear they are, and is their relationships with the Team that much different?

(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?

(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.

(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?

(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

Sorry for the essay... any information will help