Posted on 03/25/2009 7:07:20 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
I was in NROTC with a guy who had passed his physical and was accepted into the program. 2 years later they found a problem with a heart valve and discharged him. Hew as never asked for money.
Part of the contract that she signed is that she would fulfill the obligations - when she was no longer able to perform should the Navy have just said well, thanks for two good years of once a month meetings for which we get no benefit of service?
I’m tired of whiners.
(DUCKING!!!)
Welcome to FR!
Looks to me like she could get Mukulski and Hardin on the Navy’s back and force it to quickly cave in, if there are in fact no other unstated circumstances in this story.
Of course, the Navy has the upper hand. The Government always has the upper hand. After all, it's the Government, and it's bigger than you, has unlimited resources, and unlimited manpower, and even if you're in the right, by the time you've successfully fought off the hordes of bureaucrats, the damage is already done.
Thank you for posting more information on this matter. Th service branch rejected her due to medical conditions that would not have prevented her from fulfilling her obligations in other ways. That is their decision and one they should eat.
I wish you both good luck.
Same for academy accept the appointment and decide to drop out and you had to recompense - though after 2nd year completion of a 4 year enlistment was also required - at least back in 80s while I was there.
Both my appointment and ROTC scholarship (fallback plan) was predicated on passing a DFAS physical. I ran cross country so had to go back three times and drop off the team to prove I had no protein issues - running adds albumin to the blood - who’d thunk .....I digress....
Unless they changed the terms medical disqualification by the service did not create a financial burden on the disqualifiee as it was determined to be in the best interest of the service. However voluntarily dropping or being forced to drop due to inappropriate behavior, etc did subject them to the charge.
She didn’t opt out. They said, “no thanks”. She’s still willing to serve. The duties might not be combat related or anything more meaningful than pushing paper but they could find a job for her if they chose to. She could have completed her 4 years, walked onto a ship then suffered an injury that would have required a medical discharge. Should she have to pay it back then?
Nope, at least not in the Army some years ago. Had a close friend go down to Advanced Camp at Fort Bragg and they found out he had asthma previously diagnosed in the military (he was prior service). He disclosed on his forms when entering ROTC, but when they took a look at that at Womack, they medically disqualified him - non waiverable. He went in front of a medical review board to appeal the decision - nada.
Sounds like the Navy is breaching the contract. She seems to be the one willing to stay in ROTC.
If everything you say is true, the Navy is in the wrong big-time. Are you getting any help from your congressman?
She signed the contract - perhaps she should have read it first.
The options for reassignment post-commissioning are very different. They generally don’t pay full rides to people going into administrative positions - the reason they are willing to pay for school is to get people into certain designators.
And to your point about payback - officers and enlisted personnel in the nuclear program (as just one example) are in fact required to pay back bonuses if they lose their ability to perform the roles for which they were given the bonus. If they fail out or medical out of nuke school they are required to pay back their signing/commissioning bonuses .
Her desire is not the question - her ability to meet the terms of the contract is the issue. They have determined she can’t.
She can do just like any other civilian and get a student loan to cover her costs and work hard to pay it back.
Oh heck, you won me over - the Navy should just pay the tuition for every student in America who says they WANT to serve, but for some reason can’t...
I had an Army scholarship, and I echo your sentiments 100%. I knew guys who couldn't fulfil their obligations for medical reasons (usually injury, not illness), and they were simply released from their commitment for the good of the Army -- no harm, no foul. The Army typically doesn't use the "pay up or enlist" option unless the cadet has *really* screwed up.
In all fairness, ROTC is a bit more than once a month meetings.
In all fairness - it depends on the school and the program officers.
Would you feel better if I said once a week?
They already do. Like I said earlier, the military has the right to terminate the scholarship contract at any time, with or without cause -- and that's usually how they handle stuff like this.
I'd feel better if you were a bit less condescending about the whole thing.
I spent 30-40 hours a week for three years outside my regular classload with ROTC duties. That didn't include the summer events -- Basic Camp, Advanced Camp, and Airborne school. I also had five hours of required classroom time every week - just like every other ROTC cadet in the country.
What is the Navy supposed to say? “Because we read the comments on FreeRepublic, we have determined that we are in error and therefore will forgive the $100,000 owed.”
Sheesh.
I'm not - repeat not - trying to pick a fight, but what you say is simply not true.
My jokes about ROTC programs are based in personal experience, and I realize that it is probably the minority, but it is not an insignificant minority.
I've sat and listened as politely as I could as groups of ROTC grads bragged about how easy their program was, about how meetings and classes often consisted of a simple sign-in, about how long they could grow their hair, etc. etc. etc.
I'm not saying every program is like that, but way too many are...
Give me back the time I've spent (wasted) teaching recently commissioned ROTC grads to wear their uniforms, how to enter a ship properly, how to give basic commands on the bridge, how to write a proper log entry, how to identify visual navigation aids, and on and on and on, and I will find a way to correct my attitude. (Yes, another jab, but one said with a smile...)
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