The military is comprised of 12 branches: five active duty and seven part-time duty.

CLICK HERE for a full list of the military options and enlistment process.

There are a few requirements to join (or enlist) in the military. You must:

1. Be 18 (17 with parental consent). 

2. Be a U.S. citizen or resident alien.

3. Have a high school diploma (preferred), but a high school equivalent such as the GED may be accepted.

4. Take the ASVAB test (offered through District 214 and military recruiting offices) to determine job placement. Each job and each service requires a different score. The best source of this information is a recruiter.

5. Pass a physical fitness exam. Some jobs may have additional requirements.

• Active duty is a similar time commitment to working at a full-time civilian job. 

• Active-duty service members live on base or in military housing and are immersed in military culture. 

• After attending boot camp, recruits are stationed at a base either domestically or overseas. 

• Active-duty soldier's terms typically last two to six years. The length of deployment varies depending on a unit's specific mission.

• Part-time service options fall under two types: Reserve and National Guard.

• Part-time service members attend boot camp and train one weekend a month and two weeks a year, allowing them time to pursue a civilian career or college. 

Reserve

• Reserve Components are part-time service members who maintain trained units at home while active-duty service members are deployed. 

• Each active-duty branch of the military has a reserve component under their command, which is available for active-duty deployment in times of war or national emergency. 

• Some active-duty service members switch to the reserve to finish out their service commitment.

National Guard

• The National Guard are part-time service members whose main focus is on homeland security and humanitarian relief. 

• Units help communities in their state during emergencies like storms, floods, fires and other natural disasters.

• The two National Guard branches, Army National Guard and Air National Guard, have one organization for each state and additional US territories (ex: Illinois National Guard) that report to that state’s governor.

• National Guard service members deployed overseas may see combat, but are also assigned noncombat humanitarian tasks, such as building schools and hospitals, training local peacekeepers and other community-building projects.

ROTC stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps. It’s a college program offered at over 1,700 colleges and universities across the United States that prepares young adults to become officers in the U.S. Military. In exchange for a paid college education and a guaranteed post-college career, cadets commit to serve in the military after graduation. Each Service branch has its own take on ROTC.

CLICK HERE for more information.

READ this quick article about the difference between an ROTC scholarship and the Service Academies (discussed below).

CHECK OUT this info sheet about the Air Force ROTC.

US Army ROTC Scholarships

Chicago Fire Battalion Army ROTC Presentation (October 2025)

• US Military Academy at West Point

• US Naval Academy

• US Air Force Academy

• U.S. Coast Guard Academy

• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy - Flyer - Wednesday Virtual Info Sessions

For students who want to experience a military environment while getting a college education, the five service academies offer a fully-funded tuition that includes books, board and medical and dental care.

These programs are highly competitive. Admissions criteria include:

• High school academic performance

• Standardized test scores (SAT or ACT)

• Athletics and extracurricular activities

• Leadership experience and community involvement

• A congressional letter of recommendation (not required by the Coast Guard Academy)

Graduates of all academies receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as officers in their respective service branches. After graduation, they are obligated to serve a minimum of five years.

• The military provides paid on-the-job training and reimbursement for college courses and degrees. 

• CLICK HERE to find out more about the ways that the military can help active duty, veterans and their families pay for college.

• Consider joining the District 214 NJROTC program to explore whether the military is a good fit for you.

• Meet with recruiters from various branches of the military when they visit your high school.

• Ask your counselor for the date of the next ASVAB test offered through District 214 and how you can prepare for the test.

Looking to connect with a recruiter? Here is some contact info (as of 8.19.2024)

• U.S. Navy: Sean Hegleland, Sean.p.helgeland.mil@us.navy.mil, 331-312-0850 

• Illinois Army National Guard: SSGT Nathaniel Ramos, nathaniel.a.ramos7.mil@army.mil,  224-545-4105

• U.S Marines: Sgt. Nicholas Lahay, nicholas.lahay@marines.usmc.mil, 312-877-2226

• U.S. Air Force:

• U.S. Army: Michael Morgan, michael.c.morgan70.mil@army.mil, 847-903-6268

• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: LCDR Tina Schoggers - schoggerst@usmma.edu

• U.S. Coast Guard: BM1 Nicholas Cotton, Nicholas.G.Cotton@uscg.mil, 773)-329-5030

ROTC Opportunities:

• U.S. Air Force ROTC: 

• U.S. Navy ROTC (IIT, UIC, Loyola, & Northwestern): Mitch Evans, NROTC@iit.edu, 312-567-8963 

• U.S. Army ROTC (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): Eric Ashworth, eashwort@illinois.edu, 217-265-6857

• U.S. Army ROTC (South Chicago Area/University of Illinois at Chicago): J. Thomas Jr.,  jthomasj@uic.edu or joseph.thomas10.civ@army.mil, 312-413-2357