Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP)
This program is for those who desire to serve in an Army National Guard or Army Reserve unit while earning a commission through ROTC. Scholarship students are not eligible for the SMP unless they are receiving a Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty Scholarship. If a guard or reserve member accepts an ROTC scholarship, he or she must be released and discharged from the guard or reserve unit.
As an officer trainee in the SMP, students are exempt from the ROTC Basic Course and may enroll directly in the Army ROTC Advanced Course at host colleges or at nearby institutions that permit cross-enrollment. There are also opportunities for tuition assistance with the SMP units.
SMP students draw pay from two sources. First, as advanced ROTC students, they receive $450-$500 a month for each month of the major academic term and approximately $800 for attending the National Advance Leadership Camp. Meanwhile, as officer trainees in an Army National Guard or Army Reserve unit, students attend monthly drills and annual training and receive pay equivalent to a sergeant’s (E-5) or the highest grade attained if they have prior military rank. In addition, they can receive Federal Tuition Assistance and GI Bill benefits, if they qualify.
The ROTC stipend and Army National Guard or Army Reserve pay, including annual training, provides students with more than $7,000 per year, depending on the nature of their SMP participation.