The time has finally come for mid-semester reflection and refreshment. Mid-term examinations are done and over with after an intense final two weeks of studies. After chalking off the first few weeks to a significant drop in energy and drive, things have finally picked back up and are well on their way to mimicking things last semester. Not a moment too soon at that; the success of those exams helped me to solidify that I am likely able to bring all my grades back from borderline to acceptable with the few weeks remaining.
Some of you have expressed a solid interest in the Navy ROTC program, how it is structured and what it’s all about in recent weeks, so I felt that this would be an excellent opportunity to help spell things out as best I can in the hopes that many questions can be answered outright. It should be added that if there are any other questions or concerns, I am still more than happy to address them or forward you to someone who’s better suited for the job in question.
The Navy ROTC scholarship covers all tuition, $300 for books per semester, your monthly stipend ($250 – $400 per month, depending on class), and flight so long as it is a part of your major. This also includes approved extra credit hours (the university charges for more than 16 credit hours per semester). Housing is not covered, but ERAU provides some sort of incentive scholarship for housing – $3000 for the year is currently under review.
Life in the Unit basically consists of three mandatory PT sessions per week (four morning and one afternoon are offered, Thursday mornings mandatory for all). If you take things low-key, then there’s not much else but uniform day on Tuesday, plus Drill that afternoon, the Naval Science classes, and any other extra activities you may perform with the Unit – anything from Color Guard to lunches with the Navy League to helping volunteer for certain events.
The more you can do to be active, the better off you’ll be in the long run. There’s a club for each of the warfare communities (Aviation, Submarine, Surface, and Special Warfare), as well as Color Guard and Drill Team, a budding Rifle and Pistol Team to name a few.
Furthermore, should anyone have more questions or merely an interest in reviewing the Unit’s Web site, I recommend looking towards http://embryriddlenavymarinesrotc.org/ where you’ll find photos, a wealth of information, as well as our semiannual newsletter, Eagles and Anchors, for your pleasure and review.
Onward + Upward
