Active/Reserve Soldiers

Green-to-Gold Program

The Army Green to Gold program is designed for Active Duty enlisted Soldiers to pursue their Bachelors or Masters degrees and commission through ROTC. Applications are received at the national level, screened for eligibility and boarded by Army officers for selection of the winners. The application deadline for Green to Gold Scholarships is 1 February. The submission deadline for Green to Gold Hip Pocket Scholarships is 1 April.

This program offers enlisted Soldiers three unique ways to earn a baccalaureate degree:

• Green to Gold Scholarships: 4-year, 3-year and 2- year scholarships given to soldiers currently on active duty with an ETS date past 30 Jun prior to fall college attendance or an ETS date past 30 Nov prior to spring college attendance.
• Non-Scholarship Option: for Soldiers who have already completed two years of college.
• Active Duty Option: for Soldiers who want to remain on Active Duty and attend college.

More information about the Green-to-Gold program can be found here. You can download the applications you’ll need to get your career as an Army officer started using the Green-to-Gold program.

Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP)

The SMP option is available to current members of the Reserve Component (Army Reserve or National Guard) or non-scholarship ROTC Basic Course cadets, MSIs and MSIIs, who wish to receive financial assistance.

Members of the Reserve Component who wish to enroll in ROTC will serve concurrently in both their assigned unit and their ROTC unit, drawing benefits from both. Soldiers who are enrolled in ROTC will not be required to deploy upon successful completion of their first freshman semester and subsequent enrollment in their second freshman semester. Contracted SMP cadets (those with 30 or more college credit hours) are non-deployable upon contracting.

Prospective cadets with no prior service who choose the SMP option will attend BCT and AIT or OSUT during the summer and will be assigned to a local National Guard or Reserve unit upon successful completion of training. Prospective cadets with prior military experience will simply be assigned to a unit with a vacant SMP cadet slot (or, in some exceptions, with a vacant 2LT slot).

Soldiers may be placed in the ROTC Advanced Course as MS III cadets, depending on the number of credit hours earned, without the required Basic Course completion (BCT automatically qualifies SMP cadets).

Benefits of the Simultaneous Membership Program include:

• Monthly stipend of $350 for sophomores, $450 for juniors, and $500 for seniors.
• Drill pay at the E5 level (or higher based on current rank) per month (may be more based on the latest military pay chart).
• G.I. Bill benefits for those who qualify.

Those interested in the SMP program may also be interested in the Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD) option, which guarantees service in the Reserve Component upon commissioning.

Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty

The Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty, or GRFD, program is available to those enlisted members of the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) who desire a commission in the Army Reserves or National Guard. There are three types of GRFD scholarships available:

• GRFD-General: a 2-year or less scholarship for USAR/ARNG Soldiers.
• GRFD-Dedicated USAR: a 3-year or less scholarship for USAR Soldiers.
• GRFD-Dedicated ARNG: up to 3 years of scholarship for ARNG Soldiers.

Soldiers in the SMP/GRFD program may be able to use current ARNG or USAR benefits in addition to the ROTC scholarship benefits.