Army Reserve AIT?? please read.

[Kat32206]

I'm currently in high school and I want to join the Reserves before I start College. After I get my nursing degree I want to go active duty. I'm talking to a regular Army recruiter and he told me that since I'm planning on joining full-time after college I could do it like this:
-Go to basic training this summer after I graduate.
-Start my freshmen year of college
-I won't have to go through AIT the next summer if I take four years of ROTC in college instead.
-After I graduate I will then be a commissioned officer and will go through OBC

I'm not sure, but the fact that I wouldn't have to go through AIT when it would be a medical related MOS seems kinda funny to me. Does he know what he's talking about or should I talk to an actual Army Reserve recruiter?

[armysc_25b]

If you go the ROTC route, you would be commissioned and as such AIT would NOT be required since AIT is for Enlisted MOS's. You would do the appropriate Officer level courses (which can be compared to AIT for training purposes). Me personally, I've never heard of being able to go to basic then never going to an AIT, but I don't know everything so that could be possible.

[army_grunt_11B]

Im going to hit up the Guard real quick, in the Guard we have the College first option enlistment contract, you do your split ops (basic one summer, ait next)(also, i have never heard of not going to ait, i would double check that with him. and I am a Recruiting assistant, but that could just be the reserves, so i would just double check.) After that, you cant be deployed anywhere for a minimum of two years, which means you go to drill, get paid, and never have to worry about leaving college for a length of time. Then, at college you take your ROTC classes like normal, and when you go to drill your whats called an SMP cadet (Some one with more knowledge can fill you in on what it is exactly, but you get paid Sgts pay at drill, so about 500$.... Just food for thought, also sorry for bad grammar, just got done with surgery few hours ago, still little groggy, but felt I should post in here.

[Kat32206]

Thanks for your responses guys. I really appreciate it. I'm torn between sticking with this recruiter (he was my boyfriends recruiter) and going to a reserve recruiter who I would know for sure that he knows what he's talking about. I just want to find out for sure if what he said was true because he's nice and I wouldn't want to switch unless I had to.

[army_grunt_11B]

I don't want to tell you he is lying, but I have never heard of some one not going to AIT, but with that, I have only been doing this RA stuff for a little while, and its entirely possible have just never had a guy do it, although we have had Soldiers go off to ROTC, and they still went to AIT on time.

[SGM]

As stated, AIT is an enlisted thing. If you go ROTC, become an officer you will then attend your officer basic & advanced cources. No AIT for officers.

[Kat32206]

The thing is I wouldn't be going in the reserves as an officer. I would probably be a healthcare specialist (68W) until I get my nursing degree. Then I'll go active duty in the Army as an officer. So I wouldn't need to go to AIT for the reserves as a health care specialist??

[army_grunt_11B]

As 68W, you would have to, thats almost a year long school, you would most deffenitly have to go to AIT for that.

[cscsmp]

Nope. Yo wouldn't have to go to AIT IF you contract with ROTC AND are awarded an SMP slot before your AIT is scheduled. In that case you are no longer a private, specialist, etc. at drill you're a cadet. Because of this you would be shadowing officers and not doing your MOS so there is no real need for AIT. Once you commission you would then go to BOLC II and III where BOLC III would be your "officer AIT" if you will.

[SGM]

The thing is I wouldn't be going in the reserves as an officer. I would probably be a healthcare specialist (68W) until I get my nursing degree. Then I'll go active duty in the Army as an officer. So I wouldn't need to go to AIT for the reserves as a health care specialist??

That's not what you stated at the start of the thread. You stated you would be going ROTC - different horse.

If you go in as enlisted, then yes, so I think you need to make up your mind how you want to do this.

[cscsmp]

... I just want to find out for sure if what he said was true because he's nice...

Of course he's nice. He's a recruiter!!! But it sounds to me like he does not what he's doing. What he told you is essentially what I did but with the Guard.

[Kat32206]

Maybe I just didn't explain it clearly. I would go to basic training for the reserves as a health care specialist. Then take four years of ROTC so when I graduate college with my nursing degree I will be able to go active duty as an officer in the Nurse Corps. At least thats how my recruiter explained it to me.

[Everforward116]

Since I'm a Guard recruiter working in an ROTC department I'll throw in my two cents.

If you enlist, and you've been accepted to a college you can do split option. That means you'll graduate high school, go to BCT, do your freshman year, and go to AIT the next summer. However, if you do BCT and then contract with the ROTC program as a freshman...you won't do AIT, instead you'll become part of the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP). As an SMP, you'll wear a Cadet 'Dot' on your uniform at drill and get paid as an E-5 (Sergeant), normally to follow a junior officer around and learn their job. If you do choose to go to AIT, don't do 68W...its a 21 week long school and it'll screw up your college timetable. You'd be better off choosing a shorter MOS like 42A (HR Specialist). Your enlisted MOS has no bearing whatsoever on what you'll do as an officer...and if your accepted into the nursing program your a lock for the Army Nurse Corps. The big thing is this, if you do AIT and then contract with ROTC...you'll get the GI Bill in addition to the ROTC stipend and SMP pay. If not, you'll get your Federal tuition assistance from the Reserve, your SMP drill pay, and your ROTC stipend. The SMP program in the Guard is identical, except for one difference...Guard soldiers get the College First Program and State tuition assistance (depending on your state) in addition to the benefits listed above. Feel free to send me an e-mail here if you have any other questions.

Oh, and you can go active duty when you commission regardless of whether you do SMP in the Guard or Reserve.

http://www.1800goguard.com/education/guides/pdf/part6.pdf

Page two of that PDF explains the Guard options.