College Military Preparation Club Idea

[BloodStripe]

By the way when you referred to Crane were you referring to the Naval Surface Warefare Centre? If so why?

If you went ROTC you would be able to head down there to shoot. Or based upon you thinking of enlisting (which by the way you don't need to commission out of ROTC as long as you don't take a scholarship), maybe reach out to them and see if you could form some type of partnership with them and the school. It would be difficult but may not be impossible.

 

[Ogriofa]

@BloodStripe ok I see what you mean now.

I did some research on my school ROTC page yesterday. For the Army ROTC at IU I would typically be tied to the Officer track after the first two years. I’ve also already missed the first year so I would have to take a summer camp that has an accelerated program. It’s certainly possible but not the most ideal.

I think your second idea of trying to form a partnership is solid. I haven’t considered that, but thinking about it now it might be possible. I know a few guys in the ROTC program who I can reach out to ask about the possibility so I’ll be doing that today. My guess is that I’ll probably be able to join their morning PT and some of the ruck but that will probably be the sum of it. I am also going to ask one of my buddies about the ROTC classes and labs he did first year. I might be able to take the Lower level classes without committing.

As for schools, participation is far less likely. The ROTC programs have to shell out funds to send us to schools, and they are extremely competitive.To make sure they win on their investment it seems IU ROTC limits attending schools to juniors and seniors, aka already committed guys. That said I’m not missing out too bad. The only schoolS ROTC students can go to are airborne, air assault, and mountain warfare. I have been lucky enough to get my certification in skydiving and will have to do airborne as part of the 18x contract so I’m not missing out on that end. I’ve also done rock climbing in high school which taught me basic rappel techniques. This doesn’t compare to MTNW or AA but it’s something.

Another option which is less ideal but still possible would be to go national guard and then rep63. I’m not nearly as keen on this idea however as I’d rather go active duty.

In conclusion I’m going to see can I take the lower level courses on military leadership and will see can I participate in some of the activities. I’m still going to go ahead with my club idea and am thinking I could recruit some of my ROTC friends into the fold too.

Thanks for the continued feedback!

 

[Arf]

If you went ROTC you would be able to head down there to shoot. Or based upon you thinking of enlisting (which by the way you don't need to commission out of ROTC as long as you don't take a scholarship), maybe reach out to them and see if you could form some type of partnership with them and the school. It would be difficult but may not be impossible.

NSW sends their weapons guys to Crane. Not 100% sure about SEAL, but we send a lot of SWCC to an armory school out there.

 

[BloodStripe]

NSW sends their weapons guys to Crane. Not 100% sure about SEAL, but we send a lot of SWCC to an armory school out there.

That's because Crane buys most of the weapons for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Additionally, NSW Sniper School is at Camp Atterbury which isn't far from there either.

 

[x SF med]

I also recognize your critique in that a club would need to admit any applicants and understand that could lead to a diminishing of the club’s mission. In fact one of our Ranger Prospect buddies brought up that very issue and we had a fairly long discussion around it. Our end conclusion was that whilst it would be a risk there are ways to counter the issue.

You will have to abide by the rules of the University, one complaint is an admonition, two an investigation, three a permanent shut down of your club. any attempt at military discipline, hierarchy, or the damaging of Suzy's feelers will get you in trouble. Just a warning.

 

[Archangel27]

@Ogriofa Hey fellow Hoosier! Glad to see that I'm not alone here! I don't know if this club is something that you're still interested in pursuing or have been able to bring to fruition, but props on you for starting.

Another major reason I am confident we could avoid that result is by maintaining a set list/parameter for club activities. When filing as a club at IU you have to submit a constitution that outlines the club’s purpose and limits its activities. By maintaining a very clear cut list of approved club activities we would be able to limit a negative transition. I have also already removed marksmanship from the activties so now most are based around rucking, survival, land navigation, and other barebones skills. These likely won’t appeal much to the LARP/Airsoft communities on campus especially when we already have LARP clubs on campus and a relatively prominent airsoft club off campus.

Speaking from my own personal experience, IUSA can be extremely capricious in how it approves and handles student activities, especially military related ones. @x SF med is very prescient when he says that you will have to make sure that you don't discriminate based on membership rules.

Personally, the Army ROTC battalion at IU was amazingly friendly to me and actually got me interested in commissioning. I know that COVID has impacted things, but I hope you're hanging in there and are still motivated.