NROTC

[4thgen]

Dickwest,

I go to Miami University. NROTC is by far the easiest way to become a Marine Officer. The MOI's and AMOI's are there to provide as much help as possible. They are there to provide you the BASICS to becoming a Marine Officer. If you find NROTC to be difficult, then I believe that becoming a Marine is not what you want to be doing. I cannot wait for the day when I can finally be called a Marine.

What school do you go to?

 

[4thgen]

Phatfarmer,

Coming from a family of three generations of Marines(I will become the fourth generation), why would you want to be anything but the best? I suggest joining the Marines. I do not mean to drag down any other Armed Force, but in my opinion, the Marines are THE Elite when it comes to the job of War-Fighting, which is what the Armed Forces are meant to do.

V/R
MIDN 3/C Cleland

 

[USMC1371]

Marine officer and easy don't belong in the same sentence no matter what route you take. Sure NROTC may be more leniant than OCS, USNA, MECEP, whatever route you take, TBS is still going to be a wake-up call especially for the NROTC who may have not have had quite as difficult a time to get their butter bars. I just got selected for PLC and I am excited as hell. I enlisted in the Reserves just after high school and it has been the best thing I have ever done. I didn't know about PLC at the time and some guys at my unit told me about it so I jumped on the bandwagon. I am under a ground contract now, but as soon as i learn more about PRK waivers (I have less than perfect vision) and God willing my beloved Corps is still granting them then I am going to get a comp change over to SNA. There is no NROTC unit at my school (Univ. of TN, Knoxville) but I can tell you the AFROTC guys have it easy, they dont do ****. The Army ROTC guys at least get to go to the field every now and then but as far as drill, discipline, the basics of military life they are clueless. I think it is beneficial for one to join the Reserves to get a good background in the military before you decide if you wanna make a career out of it, plus almost all of the prior enlisted Marines get accepted to PLC because the Corps likes to promote from within, plus its great experience, good pay for a single college guy, great friends. Yes there is always the possibility of being called up but that is your duty and I was more than willing to, I wanted to go. Unfortunately my deployment was cancelled 3 days prior to shipping so I had to sit on the sidelines this time around.

PhatFarmer35: If you want to continue in college, are you sure doing the Ranger challenge is right for you? I don't know a lot about Ranger school but many people I have talked to seem to say its similar to Marine Boot Camp as far as difficulty goes but thats more gossip than anything so who knows. I would consider the Reserves, look into what kind of units are in your area, you might get to choose your MOS. If you did get activated, your college will not kick you out and they will more than likely repay your tuition, at least that is the way UT is. You can pick right back up where you left off when you get back. Good luck man.

Semper Fi

 

[USMC1371]

Question, how do you start your own forum?

Semper Fi

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thank you for all the replies.

4thgen:

I don't really belive in interservice rivalry so I really don't belive in labeling any branch of the military or any unit as the "best". Rangers are some of the most highly trained soldiers in the military and I'll try my best to become one. Like I said I was seriously considering enlisting in the Marine Corps but basicly I wanted to become a paratrooper more than a Marine. I have nothing but respect for the Marine Corps and I do have to admit that all their uniforms look better than any Army uniform.

USMC1371:

I plan on enlisting in the Army for 4 years on active duty with the Ranger Contract. I'm not sure if you thought I ment the Ranger Challenge, which I think has to do with AROTC. I really don't know anything about Ranger Challege. The Ranger Contract on the other hand is for people who want to become a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Most people enlist under 11x (unassigned infantry) but I want to enlist under 13F (Fire Support Specalist) which has to do with a lot of interesting things like calling in air strikes. A Ranger Contract with MOS 13F for me will include Basic Training, AIT (for 13F), Airborne School and RIP (Ranger Indtronation Program). If I pass all that I will be assigned to the 75RGT for further training, then after about a year in a Ranger Battalion I'll be sent to Ranger School and back to my battalion. Like I said, I really have no idea what Ranger Challenge is though. Sorry for ranting on. When you went into the Marine Corps Resvere, did you go to boot camp and your job training all in one summer? Or did you need to do boot camp one summer and job training the next? Also, if I was doing PLC, would it be a good idea to take NROTC classes?

Right below my post you are reading there is a bar that says "Topic", then below that there is another bar. You can start a new forum by pressing the buttom on the far left of that bar that says "New Topic" and has a purple folder next to it.

Thank you all again for replying.

 

[phrogdriver]

I don't buy the idea that NROTC is easier than the other officer pipelines. Perhaps my unit was a little more active than some others, but a lot of work over 4 years was worth as much, both in learning and effort as doing another 6 weeks of OCS. Yes, on the Navy side, you could slide through with as little effort as possible, but on the Marine side, you had to put the effort in.

I didn't just have to come to the party one summer, then get fat and grow my hair long for a year. We PTed like maniacs 3 mornings a week, plus the drills and classes. I'm sure it varies greatly from NROTC unit to unit, but then again, so do OCS platoons. I went to my buddy's PLC junior's squadbay after liberty call and it looked like anarchy, with the Sergeant Instructor smoking and joking with the candidates. That's not to say they all were that way, just to point out that we have a long way to go in terms of uniformity. You can't just say the NROTC is the easiest source.

 

[4thgen]

Gentlemen, I believe there are some misconceptions in what was said by me.

First off, I stated that NROTC was the easiest pipeline to becoming a Marine Officer and did not state that becoming a Marine, whether officer or enlisted, was easy by any means of the imagination. I also have little or no experience regarding this either, so by all means take everything I say with a grain of salt. This is just simply my opinion.

Second, regarding interservice rivalry, I simply stated that, in my opinion, and through multiple events in history, Marines have shown themselves to be a superior fighting force. Bounty on Marines' heads in Afghanistan is rumored to be $10,000 while the bounty for Army soldiers is only about $1,000. Once again this is just a rumor from some Marines that have served there. I also heard that the situation is similar in Iraq. Once again, no tear down is meant, but if you are looking for the elite, like the Rangers, the Marines, IN MY OPINION, are a far more superior force. The Marines also have Force Recon, their own special forces, but they are not as well known as the Rangers or SEALS. This Force Recon unit, CORRECT me if I am wrong, but they are more of a steathly unit whose whole goal is to go into a place, collect reconaissance(sp?) and then move out w/out the enemy even knowing they are there.

Finally, with regards to the easiest pipeline for becoming a Marine Officer, I did not intend to make regards to Physical Toughness, but that seems to be a popular issue on this site and I should have stated what I meant by easiest of the other pipelines. IN MY OPINION, NROTC is easier than other pipelines because of the outstanding job done by the MOI's and the AMOI's that help each individual midshipman and MECEP into becoming a Marine Officer. With my VERY limited experience, PLC and OCC's do not receive as much in depth and personal help from the MOI and AMOI as PLC's and OCC's receive from their OSO.

Thank you gentlemen very much for your insights, especially phrogdriver, with the insights into different OCS platoons.

phrogdriver,
I know I have a long way to go ,sir, but I was wondering if CH-46's were as boring as an assignment as is rumored by some people? When I went on CORTRAMID this summer, I got a chance to get into a CH-46 and handle the stick for a few minutes, including taking off and landing and I had a great time but I was told by many people that the CH-46's are not a good aviation community to go into. I was wondering if you had any rebuttle to these, im sure, stereotyping remarks, sir?

Sorry for being so long winded, I just ate a whole plate of my momma's cookies. Merry Christmas to you all.

Very Respectfully,
MIDN 3/C Cleland

 

[USMC1371]

PhatFarmer, if that is what you want to do more power to you. I would love to go to jump school and all that stuff, but I want to be a pilot so I'm setting my sights a little further down the road. Its all about personal interestes and priorities. I have no doubts being a Ranger would be a good experience and offer you windows of opportunity, although I do dare say that I would seriosuly consider staying in school before I enlisted active duty. As for me I was a 92-day Reservist which means I did Boot Camp one summer, MOS school (Combat Engineer) the next, and if I hadn't gotten into PLC I would be going to MCT this summer, no skin off my nose by not going to MCT, lol. As far as being in the PLC program and taking NROTC classes I'm not sure how that works. I'm sure you can still take classes but I don't know about scholarships because in PLC you do get paid a monthly stipend, plus you can choose to accept a certain amount of money for school. An NROTC instructor or OSO could fill you in on all that. Good luck whatever you decided, we'll all be around if you want some more info or anything.

Semper Fi

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thank you again for replying and for all the advice.

USMC1371:
I have a friend that is going to college and wants to go into either the USAR or the USMCR. Do you know if it is possible to take a year off from school after high school to go to boot camp and your MOS school, so you get it all over with before college?

Also, I asked this question on the BDCP board too. When applying for PLC what else do they look at besides PFT and ASTB scores? I assume they look at college grades but do they look at high school grades?

Thank you again for replying.

 

[USMC1371]

Ya, you can take an entire year off and get all your training over with if you like, no problem at all to do that. Your college grades are looked heavily upon when applying for PLC, you must have at least a 2.0 to get in and must maintain a 2.0 throughout your college career. They do not look at high school grades, at least I didnt have to send in a high school transcript so I am gonna say no on that one. They look at things like extracurricular activites, sports you play or have played, and leadership positions you have held throughout your life. If you have done none of these, I would get on the ball and start playing sports and looking for leadership roles to fill before I applied to PLC. Good luck.

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thank you for replying.

Like I said before I'm a junior and this year I've been doing pretty good. However my first two years I did pretty bad and I always got in trouble. I play football, wrestle, and play lacrosse and I'm in Civil Air Patrol outside of school so extracurricular activities probubly won't be a problem.

Thank you again for replying.

 

[phrogdriver]

I don't know why anyone would say that the 46 is a bad community. It is an old aircraft, to be sure, but I think the mission is what makes it worthwhile.

Here are a few quick points to ponder:
1. Mission: your mission is combat assault support of Marines. The 53 carries troops when we need it to. The 46 carries troops as its reason for being. This, combined with the fact the 46s are the bulk of Marine helo forces, makes the 46 package central to the commander's scheme of manuever.

2. Along with carrying troops as part of big packages, the 46 is also a preferred platform for smaller troop inserts. It is a much better FAST rope platform than the 53, which makes it ideal for seizing boats and taking down buildings. Plus, the 46 is a more survivable platform in many respects--it's the only Marine helo with armor plating, plus certain missile countermeasures the 53 doesn't have. If an insert doesn't require long range or heavy equipment, the 46 is often the superior choice.

3. Like I said earlier, the 46 is the bulk of Marine helos. When a Marine unit deploys as a MEU, the CO of the aviation element is a 46 pilot. That has a lot of implications for both the department heads below that CO, and for that COs future promotion.

The only major downside is that it is an old bird. Personally, I think of this as more of a challenge than a liability. I remember working the the high desert and a 53 pilot complained that he would only have 5% margin above HOGE pwr (the power required to hover more that 1 rotor from the ground). I replied that we had were lucky to get 5% more than HIGE power (pwr to hover closer than 1 rotor from the ground). It takes good hands to t/o and land right at the limitations of your machine. On the flip side, the 46 types will be 1st in line for the V-22--we'll finally get to be faster and go farther than everyone else.

That stuff's just off the top of my head. Any more ?, let me know.

 

[4thgen]

phrogdriver,

The people who said these things about the CH-46's were a F-18 squadron, I believe the Black Knights or something like that (VA-122??... not sure but there were based at Miramar) I believe it was all in good fun though.

A lot of people keep on telling me to go jets but the jet platforms are up and away from all the action. I wanted to know if the 46's act as a Seahawk or Blackhawk capacity Helo or if the UH-1 or CH-53 are used in these types of maneuvers. From what you said I believe they are. You also answered another question that was in my mind: Who was in line for the V-22? I know it is still in the trial phase and has a lot of bad press but if I am correct, I believe that it has not had any more crashes than any other experimental rotary wing aircraft.

Sir, I did have one more question. Do the 46's spend most of their time on the amphibs when deployed or are the aircraft shipped to the bases and then unloaded like I saw happen to a couple of the 46's during Operation Iraqi Freedom?

Very Respectfully,
MIDN 3/C Cleland

 

[phrogdriver]

For starters, relax. This is a bulletin board, not official naval correspondance.

During a normal deployment, all the helos, plus a few AV-8Bs will go aboard an amphib for about 6 months. They're out there standing by for any contingencies. For deployments larger than a Marine Expeditionary Unit (1 inf battalion+aviation sqdn+support), it varies. As an example, for Desert Storm, they used a combination of ship based and land-based helos. In OIF, most of the aircraft not associated with the MEUs were packed up on C-5s for the trip over, though some went via container ships.

To readress capacity comparisons--the 46 is generally used to transport a squad-sized unit--up to 15 pax. It has more room inside, but less load (i.e. weight) capacity than a H-60. As far as 60s, the Blackhawk is more comparable, as the Seahawks are rarely used for straight trooplift. The 53 obviously has both greater volume and load capacity, but has its own limitations. The Huey is tiny, and is rarely used for any trooplift in the Corps, other than very limited inserts, e.g. recon team, etc. It usually is either a command and control platform or is gunned up. It also makes a good sniper platform in certain missions. This may change once the upgraded UH-1Y comes out.

 

[DBLang]

I'd just like to put in my say here...

A year ago I was in the exact same boat. 17 year old high school senior trying to plan out the rest of my life.

I found out about the Ranger Challenge and seriously considered that along with a bunch of other military programs (NROTC, PLC, BDCP...). Anyway, all I can really say is try to talk to people that have actually been there, and try to find out what each choice entails.

I decided to go straight to college and apply for PLC. Hopefully I will contract in a couple weeks. My reasoning was that I wanted to have the normal 'fun' college experience, and I only have so many years so unfortunately I cant do it all.

I will say the Army and Marine recruiters I talked to were real gentlemen which I appreciated after being bugged(and stood up) by the airforce recruiters.

Good luck