Rangers after college

[Jedge]

Rangers, This question may be better suited for a recruiter, but here it goes anyway:

I am currently a highschool senior with plenty of time to decide what i want to do.

Here is my dream: Go to college, get military experience during college, and then be gauranteed a spot to try out for Rangers. If I can get all of those that would be great, but from what I've researched it doesn't seem possible. Military experience during college seems to be only for Officers, and Officers cant be gauranteed a spot to try out for Rangers, correct? Sure, I could go to college and get military experience during college through the ROTC program but then I couldn't be gauranteed a spot to try out (being an Officer). Could i reject the commission and enlist with an 11x Option 40? What about reserves? It may sound like I haven't done enough research, but the thing is, I know a lot about all of these individual things, just not how i can put the best option together for me. All thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ranger Bill]

If you truly want to be a Ranger, the way to gaurantee a shot is to enlist in the depayed entry program with an Option 40 contract. You can attend ROTC classes during college and not commission. I think joining the Reserves would make it difficult to transfer to active duty and get a shot at RASP.

[Jedge]

Ranger Bill, thanks for the help. Would attending ROTC classes during college and not commissioning be beneficial?

[Ranger Bill]

I believe it can be beneficial. There are a number of cadets on this site, as well as recently commissioned LTs who could better respond to your question. I do recall a cadet memeber of this site who just prior to commissioning, decided to enlist with a Ranger contract.

[Silverback]

You can participate in ROTC through your freshman and sophomore year without contracting (AKA: attending ROTC without becoming an officer). Truth be told, that option will not provide you with any "real" military experience. If (as Ranger Bill suggests) you do contract with ROTC and then bail you will be entering into a contract with the Army with the full intention of not fulfilling your end of the contract (that is not an honorable decision). If you want to go to college then go to college, if you want to join the Army then join the Army. If you want to do both then there are several options available to you.

[bethebaud]

I agree with Ranger Silverback's advice. I recently commissioned from the University of Alabama and had some experience with guys that were enlisted through the Army Reserve or the National Guard while in the program. While most were good guys, it did not appear that the decision to attend Basic and AIT during the summer really left them with a distinct advantage over their peers who did not when transitioning to active duty. You would still get this same experience after completing your degree. Our 300 and 400 level MIL classes were only open to contracted cadets, but any student at the university was allowed to take the 100 and 200 level MIL courses as electives. Though these courses do not contain much technical or tactical information, they provide an introduction to customs/courtesies of the Army and the basics of leadership. Regular students can also sign up for the lab that accompanys the lecture course and apply lessons learned in the classroom in a hands-on environment. If you want to earn your degree and not a commission, I would suggest just going to college and be a regular college student, while taking a few introductory MIL courses as electives. A lot can also happen over 4 years, if you take the courses and decide later that you want to pursue a commission, you have already taken classes required for that. If you want to enlist upon earning your degree, you have still taken courses that helped you earn the degree and broadened your knowledge of military customs and courtesies and leadership at the same time.

[madslashers1-2]

Check your private messages.

[Steadfast]

So are the chances of become a ranger after attending ROTC harder? and if so would it be wise to just enlist with the op. 40

Is there a reason why you are posting here instead of 1st posting an introduction (in a introduction forum) as is standard SOP on this site?

I think it would be a good idea for you to read FAQ's before you post again.