ROTC & Military Academy Disenrollment

ROTC and Academy cadets may be disenrolled for misconduct, poor academic performance, honor code violations, and other reasons. The procedures that must be followed differ according to the military department involved. In all cases, the cadet will be the subject of investigation and will be afforded an opportunity to challenge his or her disenrollment through restricted hearing procedures. For Academy cadets charged with honor code violations, a hearing before an Honor Board normally occurs.

In addition to destroying a cadet's prospects for serving as a commissioned officer, involuntary disenrollment can have extremely harsh financial consequences. In many cases cadets are required to reimburse the government for tuition and scholarship monies he or she has received. For Academy cadets, the amount of money the government will try to collect can range from $35,000 to more than $100,000. For ROTC cadets, repayment of monies will depend on whether the cadet was a scholarship recipient.

Cadets who are involuntarily disenrolled also may be required to perform active duty for two years in an enlisted rank in lieu of repaying the government for its costs. The decision to require repayment in lieu of active duty service will depend on the circumstances of the case and the recommendation of the commanding officer. ROTC cadets who were not scholarship recipients will almost always be required to perform 2 years of active duty service.

A cadet facing investigation and/or involuntary disenrollment should immediately seek qualified legal assistance. The military often fails to adhere to its own disenrollment procedures, to respect the rights of cadets, and to conduct an impartial investigation and/or hearing. As a result, cadets can be unjustifiably and unlawfully disenrolled.

A cadet who is voluntarily disenrolled and asked to repay the government for his or her educational expenses may challenge the disenrollment and alleged debt under a federal statute, 10 U.S.C. § 2005, by asking the Secretary of the military department concerned to investigate the lawfulness of the debt. If the cadet did not previously obtain legal assistance, he or she would be well-advised to do so at this stage of the process.

Mr. Sheldon has successfully represented cadets in numerous situations regarding disenrollment actions.