SMP questions

[williet9]

Hey all, after getting jerked around and having two chosen MOS's(96B and 21B) jerked from underneath me bc of the guard restructering in SC, I'm signing on Friday as an 11B(friday also happens to be my bday, so I'm giving myself bootcamp as a present). My recruiter is a straight up guy, but I feel the guard doesn't give recruiter enough info because I've had to correct him on several things, particularly concerning officer questions. I've got 80 hours from a military collage and am joining as an E-3. My original idea was to do the state OCS after I got back from AIT(an idea I stole from another thread here). However, I finally looked into the SMP program and realize when I get back from AIT and start back school, I believe I'll qualify which would be a big help monetarily.
My first question is where is someplace I can go that will give me a complete intel dump on the SMP program?
My next question for anyone who knows(not guess's), is what benefits would I forfiet by joining the SMP program? In particular, I get the full 20 G's, half and half. Would joining SMP before a year is up forfiet my first half?
(I'm pretty sure the second half would already be lost)
Would being commisioned in the SMP program cause me to lose out on the officer bonus after BOLCIII that I was counting on after state OCS?
I know this is a long series of questions and I appreciate any answers that ya'll can provide. Have a good Christmas and maybe I'll see one of ya'll at Ft. Benning soon.

[LT_77]

I can't answer any of your questions with full confidence, but I can tell you this:

Get ALL of your facts straight, ALL of your questions answered, and have your career path aligned BEFORE signing on the line and raising your right hand. Better to do that, than to try to scramble once locked into a commitment. Not saying things won't change down the road, but you seem to have quite a few unanswered questions...

[matthew.ritchie]

The problem with OCS and ROTC is that they bridge the enlisted and officer world. Thus, your recruiter knows how to write an OCS contract, but he has little idea of how branch selection happens, because that's an officer thing.

Get your state's Officer Strength Manager (OSM) involved on your case.

1. Would joining SMP before a year is up forfiet my first half [of the enlistment bonus]? Yes. You must serve 12 months of an enlistment contract in order to keep the first half. SMP changes your status out of bonus eligibility.
2. Would being commisioned in the SMP program cause me to lose out on the officer bonus after BOLCIII that I was counting on after state OCS? No. Taking an ROTC scholarship, however, will preclude you from the bonus. The scholarship will almost certainly be worth more than the bonus (which is taxed, so you don't actually see $10k), so that's still a better route.

For SMP info, visit this link (http://www.rotc.usaac.army.mil/command/ng/ng_smpBnE.html).