A senior cadet becomes an active duty second lieutenant with a guaranteed job after graduation and receives a starting salary of at least $36,000 a year, housing, medical, clothing and food allowance as well as tax free benefits. Combined these benefits add up to approx. $64,000. After three years of serving Active Duty, many of these officers become Captains and take advantage of earning Masters degrees, fully paid for by the Army while also receiving a paycheck. The benefits, training, experience, career and retirement opportunities available in this program are absolutely outstanding.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The Army ROTC scholarship program provides financial assistance for the education and training of highly qualified and motivated young men and women who desire to be commissioned as officers in the Army after graduation from college. Army ROTC scholarships pay 100 percent of tuition and fees or room and board. The room and board option pays up to $10,000 per school year for those residing on-campus. Off-campus students who choose the room and board option receive an amount equal to the average room and board cost for an oncampus student at their college or university. Scholarship recipients also receive a $1,200 per year book allowance. Scholarships are awarded on merit and take into account such factors as academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and personal interviews. Scholarship recipients receive an allowance each academic month—for up to 10 months of each school year.
Amount of Monthly ROTC Allowance
If not a scholarship recipient, cadets may participate in the ROTC program for up to two years before contracting—that is making a commitment to serve in the Army. All cadets, including those not on Army ROTC scholarships, are eligible to start receiving the monthly allowance beginning when they sign an ROTC contract. Let’s look at some of the options available in the Army ROTC Program.
NATIONAL GUARD & ARMY RESERVES
ROTC Simultaneous Membership Program
The Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) is a program that offers ROTC students hands-on experience in an Army National Guard or Reserve unit. When you choose the SMP option, you are both a Soldier in the Army National Guard/Reserve and student in the Army ROTC Program. Normally during the summer between your junior and senior years in college, you will attend the Army ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course—also known as Operation WARRIOR FORGE—as well as participate in your Army National Guard/Reserve unit’s two-week annual training. Once you have received your degree and have completed the ROTC program, you will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army National Guard or Army Reserves. You will also receive credit for the time you have already served in the Army National Guard/Reserve while in college. Army leadership training equates to proven managerial experience in the civilian job market. As a cadet in the Simultaneous Membership Program, you will be assigned to train with a local Army National Guard/Reserve unit. Most units train one weekend a month, leaving the rest of the month open for classes and study. While a member of a unit, you will learn valuable leadership skills that will benefit you for the rest of your life. In addition, you will be paid at the grade of Sergeant (E-5) for your Army National Guard/Reserve training. This means that you will earn more than $265 per month during the school year, as well as active duty pay for annual training and pay for attending Operation WARRIOR FORGE. In addition, you will earn a monthly allowance as an ROTC Cadet during the academic year. The tax-free allowance is $450 per academic month during your junior year and $500 per academic month in your senior year. Recent high school graduates can enlist in the Army National Guard/Reserve and may elect to attend the ROTC Basic Course during their first two years of college, and then enter the SMP in their junior year. The ROTC Basic Course provides an opportunity to learn the same skills taught to freshmen and sophomores while attending Army ROTC classes on campus. Army National Guard/Reserve Soldiers attending colleges that sponsor Army ROTC units, and who are at least academic sophomores, are eligible to apply for the SMP option. College students who are at least sophomores and qualify academically and physically may also be eligible. They must complete the Military Science course of instruction during their freshman and sophomore years or the compressed course during their sophomore year. They may also attend basic training or the five week Army ROTC Leaders Training Course during the summer before their junior year.
An Illustration: Army ROTC Simultaneous Membership Program
Jim has been serving in the Army National Guard and going to college fulltime. He has already been promoted to E-4 in his National Guard Unit. Jim is aware that his college has an Army ROTC program. At the beginning of his junior year, he talks to the Professor of Military Science and decides that he would like to earn a commission in the Army National Guard. The Army ROTC office coordinates with Jim’s Army National Guard unit and Jim is enrolled in the SMP Program. He is now a cadet in his Army National Guard unit and is receiving pay as an E-5. He is also given additional leadership responsibilities in his unit. Back at school, Jim is attending classes in Military Science. These classes teach him leadership and military tactic skills that he will use initially at the end of his junior year during Operation WARRIOR FORGE and skills that he will continue to use for the rest of his life. The Army ROTC program pays Jim $450 per month during his junior academic year to help with expenses (increases to $500 per academic month during his senior year). In addition, if Jim is eligible for basic Montgomery GI Bill benefits, he would also receive the MGIB Kicker incentive since he is in an officer procurement program. The incentive is worth an extra $350 per month during the academic year. After attending Operation WARRIOR FORGE, Jim returns to college for his senior year where he will continue to attend Military Science classes that will help him when he graduates and becomes a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard.
Simultaneous Membership Program
• Receive Pay for Monthly Drills and Annual Training
• Receive the ROTC Monthly Stipend
• Obtain Advanced Rank as an Officer Candidate
• Qualify for Possible Eligibility for an ROTC Scholarship
Let’s look at how much Jim can earn for college in the Simultaneous Membership Program:
Jim will earn a monthly paycheck from the Army National Guard for drill and pay for his two-week annual training. In four years he will earn about $17,000. The Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve pays Jim $333 per academic month for up to 36 months. Under this program, Jim will earn $11,988. The Army National Guard also offers the Montgomery GI Bill Kicker. This incentive is worth an additional $200 for 12 months while Jim is a freshman and sophomore. This equals $2,400. When Jim becomes a member in the SMP, he is eligible for the increased kicker incentive for being in an officer procurement program. The incentive is $350 for his remaining 24 months, which equals $8,400. His total Montgomery GI Bill Kicker incentive is worth $10,800. Jim also receives an allowance from the Army ROTC program. The allowance is $450 per academic month while Jim is a junior, and $500 per academic month while Jim is a senior in the ROTC program. Total benefit is $9,500. Add in the Federal Tuition Assistance of up to $18,000 that Jim may be eligible for and a $5,000 to $20,000 bonus for enlisting in the Army National Guard and the grand total is up to $87,288.
Dedicated Army National Guard / Reserve Scholarships
There is also a scholarship program available for students wishing to serve exclusively in the Army National Guard or Army Reserves. The Dedicated Army National Guard / Reserve Scholarship Program offer ROTC scholarships of up to three years. Upon graduation and commissioning as a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard or Army Reserves, scholarship recipients incur an eight-year military service obligation (4 years with a unit and 4 years either with the unit or serving in the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR)). This scholarship program pays 100 percent of tuition and fees or room and board. In addition, scholarship recipients receive a $1,200 book allowance. Cadets are required to participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (discussed previously). The Montgomery GI Bill (Selected Reserve) may not be used with this program however; Active Duty Chapter 30 or Chapter 33 / Post 911 GI Bill may be used simultaneously with these benefits.
Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty Program
The Army ROTC program offers the Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD) Program for cadets who want to serve in the Army National Guard or Army Reserves. The Program is designed to attract cadets who are interested in obtaining a commission in one of the Reserve Components of the Army. Cadets electing the GRFD Program can compete for a GRFD Scholarship of up to two years that pays 100 percent of tuition and fees or room and board. In addition, scholarship recipients receive a $1,200 annual allowance for books. Cadets are required to participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (discussed previously), and may receive Montgomery GI Bill benefits if otherwise eligible. Upon graduation, cadets are commissioned and incur a military service obligation of eight years in a Reserve Component of the Army (4 years with a unit and 4 years either with the unit or serving in the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR)).
How Do Cadets Apply For GRFD and Dedicated ARNG Scholarships?
• Cadets can apply through the Professor of Military Science (PMS) at their college or university
• Cadet Command will verify eligibility and notify the PMS of offers
• The PMS will award the scholarships
Army ROTC Nursing Program
If nursing is your professional goal, there is no better place to begin your career than Army ROTC. Army ROTC offers you a unique opportunity to gain practical experience while you receive financial assistance for college. Nursing majors may compete for two, three or four-year scholarships. As an ROTC nurse cadet, you will combine college electives in military science and invaluable training experiences with your college nursing program. The Nurse Summer Training Program (NSTP) is a paid three week clinical elective for Army ROTC nurse cadets. An affiliated nursing school may award academic credit for this program. This elective is in addition to the required attendance at Operation WARRIOR FORGE and is conducted at Army hospitals in the United States and Germany. You get paid while attending NSTP, which is conducted during the same summer as Operation WARRIOR FORGE, usually between your junior and senior year of college.
