Expert: Rod Powers - 4/23/2007

Question
Hello,
To start I recieved a DUI almost two years ago.  I'm currently active duty enlisted right now but i will be leaving active duty in june 07.  I will be enrolling as a full time college student and member of Army ROTC starting with the basic ROTC course even though as prior service I'm not required to. I plan to also do the Army National Guard with hopes of contracting through the Simultaneous membership program.  I wanted to know my chances of getting a waiver for the DUI to go through with ROTC and getting a commission?  The DUI is the only thing i have on my police record in my lifetime.  Any information is helpful.

                                  Thank You

Answer
Hi Kendrick,

A DUI (whether applying to join the military as an enlisted member or an officer) requires a waiver.

Nobody can say, for 100 percent sure, whether a waiver, for any particular offense, will be approved, or not. Each and every waiver request is evaluated individually. When it comes to waivers, there isn't any "go" or "no go" lists.

The ROTC command will make the decision. They'll use several factors when deciding, including grade point average (and -- because your prior service -- performance reports), time since the offense, etc.

The good news is that (whether active duty, Reserve, or Guard), the Army is forcasting to be "short" on commissioned officer applicants for the next few years. This bodes well for those who are requesting waivers.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com