Print Page - Great news for me - I'm going to be an Army Officer

A little background information about me: I'm 23 years old and live in Eastern Ohio right along the Ohio river.? When I was 17 I enlisted into the US Army Reserves as a junior in High School.? I went to boot camp between my Junior and Senior year and applied for an Army ROTC scholarship.? Fortunately I was awarded a full 4 year scholarship with the works, I had no costs for school.? Late in my junior year of college -? a week before the end to be exact - I became? ill and was unable to complete the Army Physical fitness test.? You see, every ROTC cadet must goto a 32 day evaluation in Seattle, Washington which is the final culmination in cadet training and requirements save graduation.? Because I was unable to pass the PT test, I was suspended from the program until the new commander arrived.? When the new commander arrived he decided that he would not give me a 2nd chance and because I attempted to take the test rather than seek a medical waiver, there was no way to document my illness. (Sept 04)
? ?At this point I was destroyed and truly felt I had nothing much to live for; I was absolutely devistated,? Everything I had ever dreamed of being and had dedicated the last 8 years of my life to had appeared to be in vain.? Worse even yet, the commander wanted to use his discretion to force me into the military as Active Duty private so that I'd be unable to voluntarily enlist to gain the GI Bill and grants to repay the money I now owed for breach of scholarship contract.? Because I had never fucked up prior to this one occasion and because several cadets had been on prohbation one or more times for similar problems and were obviously retained I felt it justified and warranted to appeal the action.? I contacted my congressman and utillized the help of two friends whom are Army Sergeants to research regulations and policy.? The commander took 6 months to submit my disenrollment (February 05).
? ? ?I was told that the process would take 6-8 weeks and anticipated going into the Army immediately after I graduated in June.? Months went by and still I had received no update.? In early July I was contacted to re-sign paperwork as the original had been returned due to errors.? I should note at this time that I refuted the original submission for disenrollment and forced the commander to find another regulation to justify his actions.? It should also be noted that they possessed no paperwork on my PT test or performance - it was all on hearsay and only 1 instructor out of 8 returned from the previous year.? I signed the new paperwork in July along with another letter of appeal; last ditch effort if you will.? I was told again that the matter would finally be resolved in a matter of weeks.? Months again went by and still I had received no update and was being ignored by the ROTC.
? Out of the blue last Monday I received an email from the Commander asking me to contact him in regard to any interests I may have on being an officer.? I immediately contacted him and expressed my interests.? He explained that he "had been looking through regulations and discovered a way to get me back into the program."? I found this rather weird considering that if he wanted to aide me in that goal all he had to do was put me on prohbation rather than kick me out and keep me in the dark for over 18 months.? I now must return back to college after I've graduated and take the last 2 classes of ROTC that I missed by being disenrolled for my senior year.? This June I will goto Seattle and upon completion I will be officially a commisioned officer( Second Lieutenant) in the US Army.? Needless to say, I am estatic and can't wait to get my life back on track.? While I haven't worked out nearly at all during the past 18 months, I've already lost 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks and have until late May to demonstrate my ability to pass the Army PT test (something I did for 3 years prior to this one event).?
? I don't know what area of the Army I will request (although my requests don't guaruntee that's what I'll get) but I'm thinking Signal Corps (communication/networks) or quartermaster (supply).? There was a time when I was all about combat Arms and I may request Armor still (Tanks) but I think I'm gonna make a career out of it and being on the ground and in the field all the time isn't something I think I would enjoy for 20+ years.? Any workout plans that any of you have used with success in the past that you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated.? I apolpgize for the length and lack of excitement in this story, but you have to undertstand the ton of bullshit and delay I went through to get to this point, it's really been trying and gave me a unique perspective.

Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Off Topic => The Jungle => Topic started by: Guns N RockMusic on December 16, 2005, 01:45:32 AM