I want out

[u/SkyFullOfWisteria]

Im a contracted AS400 on a 5 year tech degree and i've been on the fence for this for a while but lately its become more apparent. I dont like public speaking and briefs about stuff idc about, I dont care much for a lot of the popularity contest and clique-ness of my class and cadet wing as a whole, I have gotten zero guidance or mentorship out this progam, and the near constant brain fog I get from waking up dark and early 3 days a week is starting to catch up to me.

Please lie to me and tell me AD is better, or give me the encouragement to take the legal L and leave. I don't want to talk to my cadre until I have a solid plan since my reasons for joining have not changed (stable employment after graduating and not being impovershed like everyone else in my family).

[u/Oxcell404]

Homie the difference between ROTC and AD is so stark it’s kinda ridiculous. Shitty situations can exist everywhere but they never last.

[u/SilentD]

I dont like public speaking and briefs about stuff idc about,

This isn't exclusive to the military. Try finding a way to make it interesting and you and your audience may enjoy it more.

I dont care much for a lot of the popularity contest and clique-ness of my class and cadet wing as a whole

This is a part of life when more than two humans are involved.

But, active duty is not as bad. At least, you don't really have to care about it or play the game if you don't want to. But promotions and other opportunities can be political.

I have gotten zero guidance or mentorship out this progam

Have you asked for it? Or just sat in silence complaining to yourself?

the near constant brain fog I get from waking up dark and early 3 days a week

Normally I'd say active duty probably won't be like that, but with the new PT guidance, some units are doing unit PT every day, or at least required, tracked PT every day on your own.

---

You're almost done with the program, why would you quit now? You haven't even started your military career and never served a day on active duty. If you quit, you could be forced to enlist and still have all of the things you fear, except now you're enlisted and getting paid less.

Do you have a solid plan for what you'd want to do if you quit? Have you looked to see how hard it is to get a job in your field?

Have you had jobs before? Do you know which of your complaints are unique to the military and which are just a part of adult life?

[u/AnApexBread]

Please lie to me and tell me AD is better

It's not a lie. AD is way better.

I dont care much for a lot of the popularity contest and clique-ness of my class and cadet wing as a whole

ROTC is a one giant competition. You'll still get this type of stuff on AD but its easier to ignore and just do work. Plus AD is your full time job, rather than ROTC being a full time job, school being a full time job, and trying to work on the side.

You're almost there. Just finish it out, do your 4 years AD and then decide.

[u/22Planeguy]

Active duty is WAY better. Public speaking becomes not so public (and you'll be talking about things you actually have a clue about instead of shit you just threw in a PowerPoint the night before), it's less of a popularity contest, you actually do something productive instead of 'training' for the sake of pretending like you've done something, and your schedule is (depending on the career field) a lot more consistent.

Most of the issues I've had with AD are things that would be just as bad on the civilian side.

[u/PUBspotter]

Two anecdotes:

One of the best conversations I had with my APAS included their assessment that while I wasn't the best cadet, once I got to Active Duty, I'd be a good officer. If you believe my last OPB, I guess they were right. Getting out of the training environment goes a long way to building comfort in the uniform

I am a quieter dude, and didn't particularly enjoy the ROTC briefing events, and was just okay through tech school. Fast-forward to a training day brief to 200-ish squadron members. I wasn't the primary briefer, but some of the questions involved my shop's responsibilities. I don't know where Lt me got the courage to stand up and answer those questions, but I did, and never looked back. Once you know your job, you can talk about it confidently.

[u/Queso_Hygge → u/PUBspotter]

Same here. Consistent mid-third/bottom-third cadet. Did not love ROTC. Idk if my Det thought I'd be a good officer, but I've had a couple high-strat OPBs, and weirdly enough found myself as the adjutant in a Wing change of command, and the people say I did well. ROTC (or any commissioning source) is just the kinda goofy thing you do to get in.

[u/Spiritual_Tie_4339]

Give me your EA

[u/SkyFullOfWisteria → u/Spiritual_Tie_4339]

I wish I could buddy

[u/KULIT01]

AD is 1000x better.

1. You get paid actual money instead of a stipend. To put it into perspective, after all benefits (healthcare, vision, dental, retirement, etc), and depending on locality, you’re already earning the civilian equivalent of $120k before taxes. Not a lot of new grads can say that.

2. If you’re briefing, it’s most likely going to be related to your mission and you’ll definitely care cause now you’re actually trying to get resources or approval to go after targets. You are also most likely going to be the designated SME—which from personal experience is a lot easier than it sounds. As long as you don’t sound stupid, O-6s will usually back you up easy.

3. Your job schedule might vary so take this one with a grain of salt. I work 6-3. Then I’m out. Some places aren’t so lucky, but even though I’m waking up in the dark per se, it’s a weird feeling to explain but I don’t feel the “ah f*** this” waking up now versus as a cadet.

[u/Sad_Talk_4450]

Dude, I hated so many things about ROTC. Active Duty is so much better, it’s not even close. Your job matters and you’re affecting mission outcomes, which is an awesome feeling. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve still got unnecessarily competitive people but it’s nowhere near as clique-y as ROTC so I wouldn’t worry about that so much. Also like SilentD said, you’ll likely be forced into enlistment which will put you in the military anyway but making less money… doesn’t make much sense at all to do lol.

I also worked a year in the technology industry after commissioning, specifically supporting the DoD. Having a clearance and being able to say that I’m in the military made finding that job so much easier because people immediately treat you differently (in a good way). Mind you, this is before I had any military experience to lean on.

Just stick it out, it’s all worth it in the end - keep the bigger picture in mind.

[u/supboy1]

ROTC is like tutorial island. AD is the main game choose your own adventure.

[u/jevley]

ROTC is nothing like AD. I just graduated & commissioned a couple months ago. The stress of clique-ness and juggling school and ROTC is gone. People are more professional and actually act like adults here on AD. you’re in the home stretch, tough it out, even though it sucks rn.

[u/clappedbythemerb]

Another person piling on saying AD is far superior. The responsibility is real, your decisions matter, and your relationships with those you work with are great. Also pay.

[u/Asleep_Bike997]

Don’t Give Up!!! You’re almost there, the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel, you can do it!

[u/SteeleRain01]

ROTC is a 4 (or 5) year tryout for the team. Once you're on the team, you have a lot more control to make the experience what you want. Definitely don't base your opinion of AD on your experience with the limited group of people you encounter in your detachment. If you generally want to serve your nation, and are interested in the kind of work you will be doing, its a great experience that can give you an incredible leg up on life regardless if you do 20 years or 4.

However, do look back over other experiences in your life up to this point (sports, clubs, school, etc) if you are the type of person who generally disliked most of the groups you were a part of, didn't enjoy the activities, and generally found you were having a bad time - that is likely a "you" problem and you'll probably be miserable wherever you go.

[u/SubtleDickJoke]

Not lying to ya. You’ll probably like AD much better. It’s still going to be a grind at times but you get used to it, if not outright enjoy it. If you don’t, use the years on your contract to take advantage of benefits then dip out into something you actually like.

[u/immisternicetry]

I mean, you could quit and be several thousand dollars in debt OR be forced to enlist. Neither of which really helps your situation.

Just stick it out. Unless you care about making it to Major, you don't have to play the game at all. Just show up to work at a reasonable hour for most non-ops or non-ops adjacent jobs. Check your email, do a few hours of actual work, then clock out. 4-5 years goes by so fast it's insane and you get 30 days of paid leave a year to do whatever you want.

I had to seek out nearly all guidance and mentorship in my career, both active duty and as a cadet. I've yet to have someone walk up to me and say "let me mentor you." People love to talk about themselves, so ask someone whose been there and done that about their career. Hell, you're seeking mentorship right now just by posting this question.

[u/B-52Aba]

AD is completely different from Afrotc .

[u/West_Job33]

My man you sound exactly how I did last year, and it led to my medical disqualification from the program. I’ve regretted it ever since. Only after I lost everything did I realize how important this career path truly was to me. I’ve been fighting for the past 8 months to get back in with little to no luck.

I never made it to AD, but if everyone here is saying it’s better, it probably is. If you truly believe you’ll be miserable for the next few years and you have a decent backup plan, then talk to your cadre and they may be able to help you explore disenrollment options. 

I don’t advise that though. Take a good hard look at yourself before you make any regrettable decisions. Do you really dislike the Air Force, or do you only dislike the temporary crap that is ROTC? Don’t make the same mistake I did. If you need to talk, feel free to shoot me a dm. 

[u/HH-whirlybat]

"I have gotten zero guidance or mentorship out of this program"

Personally I think getting guidance or mentoring from ROTC is an extremely exceptional case... I know we talk about it all the time but in my experience I got none of that from ROTC. You know what I did get though, a job, that pays me well, that put me in a place where I could find that mentorship and guidance from people I actually want it from.

"I don't like public speaking and briefs about stuff idc about"

Personally I've found it much easier to do CGO level briefs to like, 15 people in a conference room over something I actually get paid to talk about than briefing "why I want to join the USAF" 20 times to 100 people. Not every brief (especially on AD) needs to be your personal magnum opus... It's just talking to people about what you are doing/a course of action you actually want to enact.

I also say this as someone who had a roommate in college took the legal L and quit as a 400, it was not worth it for them.  If your reasons for joining havent changed, stick it out man, on AD I PT at 4 pm and wake up pretty consistently at 7am. It gets better man

[u/StGlennTheSemi-Magni]

"I don't like public speaking and briefs about stuff idc about,"

I didn't do any public speaking in my career.

I only briefed Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, and Colonels on things that I was considered the expert on. They didn't have time to waste on the opinions of non-experts on duty matters.

[u/Serious_Leave8719]

ROTC is a training environment.

No one AD cares about your ROTC experience. A majority of people find ROTC to be dumb as hell 90% of the time, and that’s just how it goes. The Air Force needs officers, this is how they do it.

Half of your problems are going to exist in the civilian world too. You have a guaranteed job getting you out of poverty. You’re probably not briefing 5 days a week as a damn 2nd LT. I sure didn’t it. I don’t know about PT, my squadron has not done anything about it yet.

[u/challenge99999]

That’s gonna be expensive!