Pros and cons of being a Cadet before you join the Army.

My son will start ROTC at the University of Toledo this fall. I am hopeful that his expierance will be as positive and helpful as all of yours were. I have encouraged him to join Rallypoint as well. So that he will benefit from being part of an even larger military comunity than he will find on campus.

Being a cadet gave me some advantages over the general college population in that it offered me a disciplined route through my college years along with a secondary college goal and practical hands on experience in real world situations. People may have snickered when they saw us on campus in BDUs but I'd like to know if some of them are laughing now. We were paid for learning about the military, we got sent to summer camp, we bonded with each other, we had leadership experience before entering the real world, our ROTC staff were mentors, tutors and anything else they could be for us so that we could succeed AND we became commissioned Army Officers with a ready career in front of us - get that kind of experience from a fraternity or sorority.

I went to Camp Challenge in 1988 at Ft. Knox and I already had 4 years of JROTC under my belt.I was successful in my leadership roles at Basic Camp.I did not stay a Cadet and I did enlist in the Ca. Army National Guard where I would say my experience as a cadet paid off. I was decorated with the Army Achievement Medal, The Ca. Commendation Medal and the NDSM.Being a cadet is a positive thing