GKB commissioning 2013

We held our commissioning ceremony at Clarkson University on 11 May this year.  We commissioned 10 Cadets, and we had commissioned 2LT Nicky Lea in December which made a total of 11 Clarkson Lieutenants to date for the year group.

Thanks to our guest speaker Major General Robert Stall

Here are the new Lieutenants

Lieutenant Dylan Bach 

Lieutenant Bach is commissioned into the Transportation Corps.  He will receive a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.  He will attend the Transportation Officer basic course at Fort Lee, Virginia.  His first duty assignment will be at Fort Drum, New York.

Lieutenant Gregory Christian

Lieutenant Christian is commissioned into the Military Police Corps.  He will receive a bachelor of science degree in global supply chain management and a minor in project management.  He will work at this summer at the Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis,  Washington prior to attending the Military Police Officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  His first duty assignment will be in Sembach Germany.

Lieutenant Matthew Coryea

Lieutenant Coryea is commissioned into the Corps of Engineers.  He will receive a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.  He will attend the Engineer Officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  His first duty assignment will be in the Army Reserves with the 366th Combat Engineer Battalion.

Lieutenant Ian Lamos

Lieutenant Lamos is commissioned into the Military Intelligence branch.  He will receive bachelor of science degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics.  He will attend the Military Intelligence  Officer basic course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  His first duty assignment will be at Fort Drum, New York with the Tenth Mountain Division.

Lieutenant Patrick McPartland

Lieutenant McPartland is commissioned into the Corps of Engineers.  He will receive a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering.  He will attend the Engineer Officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  He will serve in the Army Reserves with the 305th Engineer Detachment at Fort Wadsworth, New York.

Lieutenant Nick Olszewski

Lieutenant Olszewski is commissioned into the Corps of Engineers.  He will receive a bachelor of science degree in engineering and management.  He will attend the Engineer Officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  His first duty assignment will be at Fort Riley, Kansas with the First Infantry Division.

Lieutenant Olszewski will also receive a certificate recognizing him as a Distinguished Military Graduate signifying his high standing in the class and national order of merit list.

Lieutenant Steve Strait

Lieutenant Strait is commissioned into the Corps of Engineers.  He will receive bachelor of science degrees in civil engineering.  He will attend the Engineer officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  His first duty assignment will be at Fort Bragg, North Carolina with the 20th Engineer Brigade.

Lieutenant Joshua Addington

Lieutenant Addington is commissioned into the Ordinance Corps.  He will receive bachelor of science degrees in history.  He will attend the Ordinance  Officer basic course at Fort Lee, Virginia.  His first duty assignment will be in the Army Reserves with the  1107th Mobile Support out of Fort Eustis, Virginia.

Lieutenant Andrew Christian

Lieutenant Christian is commissioned into the Military Police Corps.  He will receive bachelor of science degrees in psychology.  He will attend the Military Police officer basic course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  His first duty assignment will be in the Army Reserves with the 382nd Military Police Battalion.

Lieutenant Lampert

Lieutenant Lampert is commissioned into the Military Intelligence branch.  He will receive bachelor of science degrees in aeronautical and mechanical engineering.  He will attend the Military Intelligence officer basic course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  His first duty assignment will be in the Army Reserves with A Company, 325th Military Intelligence Battalion out of Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Scholarship transfer request

From the Cadet Command weekly blast.  Hopefully this isn’t news for those of you that have an offer, but would like to tranfer it to another school.

CHANGE REQUESTS FOR NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Transfer requests must be received by this headquarters no later than 12 April.  ALL decisions will be made after 12 April, with a target notification date to winners of no later than 5 May.  This same decision timeline applies even if you are in a College or University’s Early Decision Program.  Transfers will be considered on a case by case basis. The applicant will be provided an approval or denial of the request in writing. 

Requests for transfer of the scholarship must be sent to this headquarters with the following:

• A statement by the applicant stating why they are requesting transfer.
• A copy of the letter of admission from the college or university where the applicant is requesting the scholarship be transferred.
• If the request is based on the applicant not being admitted to the school indicated on the Notification of Intent, a copy of the letter from that college or university indicating admission was denied.  Failure to apply does not constitute a failure to be admitted.

So, what are the chances?  It depends on so many things I wouldn’t even venture a guess without knowing all the fact.  It depends on the school and how many allocations they have.  It depends on whether the losing and gaining school are  in the same Brigade.  It depends on the cost to attend the losing and gaining school.  It depends on the major.

I’ve seen plenty granted and I’ve seen plenty denied.

2013 deadline approaches

With a little more than a month before the final deadline of the 2012-2013 Army ROTC high school scholarship process here is what you need to know.

If you have already been boarded in the first or second board and haven’t received an offer hold tight.  You have one more chance before you have to swing fire to plan B.  Keep checking your status online, don’t worry about the medical status yet, and keep positive.  If you don’t get an offer and you still want to be an Army Officer there are plenty of other ways to get there.

If you haven’t completed your file and are not board ready get busy.  Again check your online status.  If you have questions or need help call a ROO at an ROTC Battalion.

I’ll say it again…you need 4 things to be board ready in this process

Transcripts

SAT/ACT scores

Presidential Fitness Test (PFT)

Interview with a PMS

Some of these things involve other people, so waiting until the last minute could be problematic.

You transcripts need to be submitted by your Guidance Office.  Do they have the capability to scan and email?  If not, do you have a plan to verify that the fax was received?  If they plan to mail them, will they get there in time?

You can take a screen shot of your SAT/ACT scores and email them to your processor.  Are you assuming because you listed Cadet Command as a recipient of your scores that they have them (don’t)?  Are you assuming because those scores are listed on your transcripts that they have them (don’t).  If your online status still says they haven’t received your test grades send them again via email.  You also might want to call a ROO and see if she/he can tell you what scores are posted in the system to make sure your best scores are in there.

You’ll need a coach or gym teacher to do the PFT.  It will take you 30 minutes at most to complete this test.  Are you planning on just submitting your Academy Fitness Test (CFA)(don’t)?

For the interview you will have to schedule a visit to an ROTC Battalion and fit into a PMS’s schedule.  These are busy men and women.  They are usually thrilled to meet with prospects, but that is not their primary job.  Are you planning to interview at your top school, or the nearest?  If it’s a big school the PMS is probably busier than at a small school, keep that in mind.

So, time is running out…If you haven’t completed your file get busy!!!

Medical: Not Received

Time to try to quell the panicked phone calls and emails…

If you are a scholarship applicant once you finish your online application you should receive instructions from Cadet Command to submit 4 things to complete your file and be ready for the next board.  The four things you need to submit are:

SAT/ACT test scores

Presidential Fitness Test (PFT) scores

High school transcripts

Conduct an interview at an ROTC Battalion

Once you start sending those things in you should be checking online to make sure those pieces of information are received.  Here is what it is going to look like when you check (although I hope your’s looks better than this one).

One thing you may see there that will cause panic is the medical.  DON”T PANIC.  You do not need to start your DODMERB physical to be board ready, and you will probably not be instructed to start your medical until you receive an offer.

If you have questions regarding your status you have a couple of options.  One is to contact the processor who was identified in the letter you received from Cadet Command.  Keep in mind that person is one of 5 people who process approximately 10000 applications a year.  If you don’t get a prompt response it may be because they are busy.  I suggest you contact the enrollment officer at one of the schools on your list of schools.  If you are one of my applicants I can quickly look up your status online and tell you exactly what has been received, and what is missing from your file, and I’m happy to do that for you.  If you aren’t on my list (don’t have one of my schools on your list) I can still see your status if you give me your social security number.

So, the bottom line is it’s up to you whether your file gets completed or not.  You have the ability to check on your status.  I’ve given you some options for double checking.  Be proactive and  be persistent to give yourself the best chance possible to receive a scholarship offer.

Why you should do a PFT

I’ve written about this topic before, but I have recently encountered a number of applicants who want to just submit the Cadet Fitness Assessment they did for their Academy application.  If you don’t understand what I’m talking about let me break it down in simple terms.  As part of the Army ROTC scholarship application Cadet Command asks you to take a modified Presidential Fitness Test.  You can download the scorecard right from the application website, and you can have a gym teacher or coach administer the test.  The test consists of three events:

1 minute of pushups

1 minute of CURLUPS

1 mile run

I highlight curlups, because that is not the exercise the Army will ask you to do once you are in.  If you enroll in Army ROTC you will never be tested on curlups again.

So, applicants to a Service Academy like West Point are asked to take what is called the Cadet Fitness Assessment (CFA).  This is a 6 event test that consists of:

Basketball throw

Pull ups or flexed arm hang

Shuttle run

2 minutes of Curl ups

2 minutes of Push ups

1 mile run

If the applicant chooses to have the Academy send the CFA score to Cadet Command they will use that score.  But, it appears what Cadet Command does is cuts your Curl up and Push up scores in half (2 minutes vs 1 minute) and takes the run time as is.  Does anyone else see the issues I have with this??

First off you are being asked to do three events before the event Cadet Command wants you to be tested on.  Think doing a shuttle run and a bunch of pull ups before your test might reduce your score a little?  Then they are asking you to do two minutes instead of one.  Think an extra minute of two exercises before the run might add a second or two?  And finally, does anyone else usually do more push ups and sit ups in the first minute if they are being tested for two minutes?

So, I’m recommending that you take the 30 minutes it will take to do a straight up PFT and send Cadet Command the best score you can and exactly what they asked for.

Quick look at the first board

Just some quick initial analysis regarding the first scholarship board.  Keep in mind that I am out here on the frontiers of freedom and don’t have all the data.  My analysis is based on what I can glean from the Cadet Command Information Management System (CCIMS).

alt offer – 11

Offer – 202

eligible -7

interviewee – 5748

ineligible – 948

Here is what I count.

The first thing I’m assuming is that there are 213 applicants that will soon receive an offer letter.  That is not a lot.

I don’t know what constitutes eligible vs. interviewee, but my assumption is that this pool of 5755 applicants are somewhere between completing the online application and having all their information in so that their file is board ready.  You will be in an interviewee status until you are offered a scholarship, so make sure you check to see that your interview is posted and then don’t sweat the fact that your status still lists you as eligible for the interview.  I know that doesn’t sound logical, but some of this process won’t make a lot of sense.

My final assumption is that the 948 ineligibles have something in their app that precludes them from competing.  Things such as low SAT, low high school GPA, or age may disqualify them.

So what does all this mean?  Very little in my opinion.  You can’t control how many scholarships are given.  You can’t control how you compare against other applicants who are competing for the same allocations.  The only thing you can control is how quickly you apply, how quickly you complete your file, and the quality of your application and interview performance.  I would remind you that to become an Army Officer you will make some sacrifices, in time, money, and effort.  How bad do you want it?

Repurposing – The Interview

Here is one of my favorites with some good information and links related to the interview that is required as part of the process.

This was originally posted here.

A prospect today asked about the interview process, and I realized I hadn’t written a blog post about it yet, so here we go. One of the 4 requirements to get your file board ready after you submit your application for the 4 year Army ROTC Scholarship is to conduct an interview with a Professor of Military Science (PMS). Here is what your letter of instructions will probably look like regarding the interview:

You must complete a face to face interview with the Professor of Military
Science (PMS) at a university of your choice or from one of the five universities
listed on the last page of this correspondence. These listed schools are in your
geographical area; not necessarily schools in which you are interested in
attending. Travel to and from the interview is your responsibility. You must
contact one of the individuals on the PMS’s staff to make an appointment for your
interview. If you do not appear for the interview, you may be eliminated from
further competition.

Here is my advice

Where should I interview?

Conduct your interview at a school you are interested in, and preferably one that is listed on your application. If it is just not feasible do it at one of the schools close to your home, but be aware that the interviewer has less invested in you if you don’t plan to attend their school. If you interview at a school that is likely to be your destination that interviewer will go the extra mile to make sure you have a successful interview. Additionally if you don’t receive a scholarship offer you will still be on that PMS’s radar, and may be considered for any campus based scholarships that may become available.

What will they be looking for?

Here is the checklist that the PMS will use when she/he conducts the interview. The PMS is looking at your Scholar/Athlete/Leader attributes and is awarding points based on what you tell them. Obviously you won’t be lying to pad your points, but make sure you account for all your accomplishments, and make sure you get credit. If you are short in one of the SAL areas, make sure on the back the PMS can give you extra points for something else. For example, you’ve never played team sports because you have had to have a part time job throughout high school to help the family make ends meet. You won’t get points for athlete, but on the back the PMS can annotate your circumstances and give you full points for personal qualities and potential.

What should I wear to the interview?

Use your common sense. Suit and tie is not normally required. Collared shirt, Khakis, and nice shoes will work. It might be good to ask the person that arranges the interview what to wear. We have conducted interviews in the field before, so a suit and tie would have been inappropriate. We have also had JROTC cadets wear their uniform to the interview (nice touch, but not necessary). Just don’t show up in ripped jeans and a grubby tshirt, and you’ll be fine.

Should you bring a resume?

Again, a nice touch but not necessary. You should have submitted all the information that we need prior to the interview. I have had applicants bring resumes, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and scrap books complete with gym club card and handgun licence. Don’t need all that stuff. Again, ask because some schools might want to see a resume.

What type of questions will be asked?

Depends on the PMS. Some PMS’s may be more formal than others. Some may want to have a discussion and answer your questions. Some may want to hear what is motivating you. Some may get off on a tangent and talk about something you both have in common. You should have a short concise answer prepared to the question “tell me a bit about yourself” and you should be able to explain why you want to be an Army Officer. Take a look at this post for some ideas regarding themes you can talk about such as Army Values or Soldiers Creed. Remember that no matter how informal the conversation appears to be, you are still being watched and evaluated. If you call him dude, and spent 20 minutes discussing the best band at this year’s Warped Tour you may think you hit it out of the park, and the PMS may be checking the “no scholarship for this guy” block.

Remember your manners

Yes sir, No sir or Yes Ma’am, No Ma’am will definitely score some points. Yeah, bro, and dude will loose you some points. It is also a good idea to drop the PMS a note or email after the interview thanking them for their time.

That’s my take on the interview. Hope it helps. Make sure you let me know how it goes.