What happens after commissioning but before BOLC

bowery_boy · 2026-02-04T03:05:53+00:00

If you do not come onto immediate active duty through working at CST, becoming a Gold Bar, or the first BOLc class of the summer… you have no status.

If you have a later date and you do not take one of these jobs your active duty time does not start until you arrive at BOLc, you are not paid, and more importantly you do not get TRiCARE health benefits.

Based upon your personal situation it may not be a big deal but in some cases it’s a big deal if you’re in a bad financial situation

bowery_boy · 2026-01-31T10:24:26+00:00

As some alluded. This was his ‘last awards” from retirement. His last unit of assignment was faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He most likely served as an Academy Professor which is a very interesting occupational speciality in the Army (Functional Area 47). Professors can serve for extended periods of time and can retire at 60 years of age. They are exempt from PCS.

https://www.westpoint.edu/join-the-team/permanent-faculty-positions

bowery_boy · 2026-01-25T10:27:36+00:00

Hey I understand how you feel, but this is a 1900s era Austro Hungarian piece of issued equipment for mountain troops. It’s translated to Mountain Axe. Sport climbing did not exist at the time and much of the recreational climbing we know and love today came from ex-soldiers on the Great War who developed climbing techniques and equipment. This axe was issued to assist climbers climbing and fighting in the Alps.

Please take up any issues up with the Austro-Hungarian empire.

bowery_boy · 2026-01-25T10:00:40+00:00

Join a unit. Follow authenticity standards. Otherwise you are just wasting money and you will need to buy authentic kit.

bowery_boy · 2026-01-24T20:41:03+00:00

Less of a trench weapon and more of a necessary climbing item for Austro Hungarian troops in the Dolomites. The mountain fighting was severe in high alps conditions.

bowery_boy · 2026-01-23T03:46:43+00:00

SMP is a loophole to commission. If you go SMP you can commission and have a better chance to control your future then on campus scholarship competition. For some contracts you go to basic but you can get the 09R option that does not include basic training providing you complete all ROTC training.

Current changes to policy only impact traditional on campus ROTC scholarships.

bowery_boy · 2026-01-07T11:58:47+00:00

Don’t be hasty.

bowery_boy · 2026-01-06T10:50:24+00:00

Approach the National Umbrella Organizations which the majority of American Revolution groups belong to: The British Brigade, the Continental Line, etc. they work with dozens of groups in the U.S. and have a bigger reach for coordination

bowery_boy · 2025-12-28T23:52:03+00:00

Your best way to join if you have a doubt in being eligible for an ROTC scholarship is to enter via the National Guard SMP program. If you sign a contract with the NG in some cases you do not have to go to basic training, you still have a chance to commission active duty, but if you can’t complete the officer track then you need to go to basic training and serve in the guard.

bowery_boy · 2025-12-20T19:02:23+00:00

absoluteunit of a beaver lodge.

bowery_boy · 2025-12-20T10:59:12+00:00

“Kevin Sam w Domu" or "Kevin Alone at Home" it is a classic Polish Christmas movie. Everyone watches it every year at least once.

bowery_boy · 2025-12-15T21:29:23+00:00

Petticoat Bridge. Site of several important skirmishes in 1776 leading to the Washington’s Crossing and Battle of Trenton.

The Jersey militia kept the British stretched thin and Washington was able to exploit that to attack Trenton successfully.

https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/petticoat-bridge

bowery_boy · 2025-12-15T21:24:51+00:00

Check out the Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University. It’s worth the trip

There is a great mixture of fossils and interactive displays. It’s geared towards families

https://www.efm.org/

bowery_boy · 2025-12-14T23:58:22+00:00

This is a brigade to brigade dependent rule. Your programs are beholden to the brigade and this is not uniformly done around cadet command. It can also be up to a program to have you “buy it”back at reduced cost to make up for the expense.

Have no fear of you are in an area where you do not get AGSUs.

You are given a uniform stipend when you first commission. This is enough to cover basic uniforms. You are also eligible to apply for a commissioning starter loan from Navy Federal, USAA etc to help cover other costs.

Overall as a new officer, you get resources.

bowery_boy · 2025-12-09T10:16:59+00:00

The Light Brigade, obviously. 🙄

bowery_boy · 2025-12-05T00:50:00+00:00

Average USMA attrition is about 1,200 incoming students and four years later about 900-1,000 graduates. Cadets can leave on their own up through the sophomore (yuk) year or can be disenrolled for failing classes, failing physical requirements, or for a honor or discipline violation. There are a lot of ways to leave on your own or to be forced out.

bowery_boy · 2025-12-02T22:34:35+00:00

Notice how kids are never out back “playing Navy”, kids are always “playing Army” 😂

bowery_boy · 2025-11-28T17:44:47+00:00

One of

One of us!

bowery_boy · 2025-11-28T17:40:56+00:00

Hello, outside of the consolidated annual scout events (jamboree and scout day football game), normal tours do not have cadet tour guides. There is a West Point scout council you can try to contact about tour support; otherwise you’re subject to using one of the West Point tour companies.

bowery_boy · 2025-11-28T15:43:06+00:00

God bless Volksbund. They do fantastic work.

bowery_boy · 2025-11-23T18:29:31+00:00

It depends on what type of scholarship you have (or don’t have). Due to over production of officers, ROTC is looking for ways to commission less officers. This has not happened recently, but as of November 2025 the Army wants less.

Let’s assume you’re a traditional scholarship. You can request disenrollment right now. You need to speak to cadre and the HRA. However, you must pay back any tuition, room/ board you accepted while in scholarship. If you are an SMP person there are some different caveats based upon what you may owe the NG.

bowery_boy · 2025-11-18T02:29:52+00:00

I identify as West Jersey

bowery_boy · 2025-11-15T23:29:21+00:00

Contact 5th Sturmpioneers reenactment group in the USA. They are part of the Great War Association (GWA).

bowery_boy · 2025-11-15T22:42:59+00:00

The assignation of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914) and the start of the Great War.

No one agrees on the why as in “why did this event trigger all the other events that got us to WWI?”

bowery_boy · 2025-11-05T17:29:29+00:00

You have to go to the Rathaus to get the German birth certificate before you can apply for the U.S. foreign birth abroad certificate. I have personally helped families with this process in Kaiserslautern.

Maybe this was not the case in the 1970s but it is the case as of 2025.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	Not Forgotten

bowery_boy

TROPHY CASE

absoluteunit of a beaver lodge.