Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 7/21/2009

Question
I am starting college again to finish my 4 year degree an I am also joining the ROTC program. I wanted to join the national gaurd during the summer and get them to pay back my former student loans since I was going to get the active duty scholarship through ROTC. I wanted to know if there is a way I could be non-deployable so I can finish my degree without being deployed in the middle of it? I have no prior service and was told I could be non-depoloyable but I've also been told that it was very unlikely. Can u help me out?

Answer
I think you need to see if you can be both in the ROTC and the National Guard at the same time. You're attempting to use two benefits that seem to be contradictory: Having the National Guard, in return for service, pay for your old college, while having ROTC pay for future service. I am nearly certain you can't do both since you'll be cheating one component cheat the other for your eventual service. Second, National Guard can compel you to deploy whenever they want if you're in them. Your contract with them will be 8 years and they'll do what they want during those 8 years. I would suggest that, even in the very remote chance that you could join both, you refrain from doing so if you want to ensure you're not deployable.