About Army ROTC – Legacy and Values
With strength comes responsibility. Officers in the Army possess the skills necessary
to lead others through the most challenging of circumstances.
The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) was born when President Woodrow Wilson
signed the National Defense Act of 1916. Since its inception, Army ROTC has provided
leadership and military training at schools and universities across the country and
has commissioned more than a half-million Officers. It is the largest commissioning
source in the American military.
Army ROTC is a diverse group of men and women with more than 20,000 Cadets currently
enrolled. Women have been an integral part of Army ROTC since the first group of women
was commissioned in 1976. Today, women constitute 20 percent of the Cadets.
Army ROTC has a total of 273 host programs with more than 1,100 partnership and affiliate
schools across the country. It produces approximately 60 percent of the Second Lieutenants
who join the active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. More than 40 percent
of current Active Duty Army General Officers were commissioned through ROTC. Army
ROTC provides Cadets with the character-building aspects of a diverse, self-disciplined
civilian education with tough, centralized leadership development training.
What does ROTC stand for?
The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a way for young men and women
to start strong in life. The college elective for undergraduate and graduate students
that provides unrivaled leadership training for success in any career field. If you
have a passion for it, you can find a place to fit in the Army as an officer and get
the training you need to turn that passion into a career.
Available at over 1,100 colleges and universities nationwide, it offers merit-based
scholarships that can pay up to the full cost of tuition and open educational opportunities.
Whether you’re in high school, college, or already in the Army, you can become an
officer in today’s Army through joining ROTC.
Enrollment
If you’re a high school junior or senior and are interested in enrolling in Army ROTC,
you can find more than 1,100 colleges and universities that carry an Army ROTC program
or talk to your academic advisor about the opportunity. You can find a great deal
of information on the GoArmy website. You can also ask your guidance counselor, academic
advisor, or JROTC instructor for more information. Please feel free to contact us
for school specific information.
If you’re interested in enrolling in Army ROTC and are currently a college student,
you can start by talking to the Army ROTC Enrollment Officer (318.274.3324) located
on Grambling’s campus. You will receive a personalized plan detailing the Army ROTC
basic or advanced elective course and about the incentives available, including opportunities
to compete for two-, three-, or four-year merit-based scholarships.
If you have two years remaining in a junior college or graduate school, you are still
eligible to enroll in Army ROTC. Talk to the Army ROTC Enrollment Officer on your
campus.
Basic Camp
This course is for those college students who want to complete Army ROTC training
in two years. To qualify, you must complete a challenging and motivating 31-day training
program at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Upon completion of BASIC CAMP (CIET), graduates return
to campus prepared to enter the advanced course.
Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP)
The Simultaneous Membership Program allows you to attend Army ROTC and serve in the
U.S. Army Reserve or Army National Guard at the same time. It gives you an opportunity
for additional training and experience. Cadets serve as officer trainees in the Army
Reserve or National Guard while completing college. You can earn Army Reserve/National
Guard pay and benefits in addition to your Army ROTC allowances.
How long do you have to serve?
Army ROTC students who receive an Army ROTC scholarship or enter the Army ROTC Advanced
Course must agree to complete an eight-year period of service with the Army.
· You can serve full time in the Army for three years (four years for scholarship
winners), with the balance in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).
· Selected Cadets may choose to serve part-time in the U.S. Army Reserve or Army National
Guard while pursuing a civilian career.
It’s an experience that you can’t get anywhere else, and your leadership skills will
be challenged every day. Contact your campus Military Science department for more
specific details on your Army ROTC service commitment.
Enrolling in the Army ROTC Basic Course does NOT involve a commitment of service to
the Army unless you have received an Army ROTC scholarship.
All scholarship students will be required to serve in the military for eight years.
This obligation may be fulfilled by serving four years on Active Duty, followed by
four years of service in the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR).
Non-scholarship program participants
Non-scholarship graduates may serve three years on Active Duty and five years in the
Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR).
Military Science