Thoughts on military veterans rushing fraternities

[JC33]

First things first, I AM NOT a military veteran. I'm a freshman in college that's been considering leaving school to serve in the military. However, I also know that I want to eventually complete my degree, and rushing a fraternity was something I wanted to do as well. So how would you feel about a guy who left college to serve and then came back and wanted to rush a fraternity? This won't really have any impact on whether I choose to join or not. I just want to what I should expect in the future.

[badgeguy]

MHO....It worked after WW1 and WW2 and worked well, to an extent....(minus the hazing).

BG

[adpiucf]

It really depends on the person and the chapter. One of my chapter sisters was a veteran, and another was in ROTC during college. I knew at least one vet in a fraternity, and a few that were ROTC. I realize you're asking about vets, but know that there's not a stigma and Greeks support the military. I knew a guy at my school who pledged, initiated, then joined the military, was deployed, and then returned to college and his fraternity to finish his degree.

The only concern you would have is that you'd be a bit older and you might not have as much in common with the general fraternity population due to age and maturity, depending on the make up of the fraternities at your school. This could be seen as a desirable trait or you would be "the old guy." And sometimes the old guy is a welcome addition to a new chapter, a colony, or a well-established chapter who values your maturity and leadership.

Membership comes down to being a fit with the chapter. So we can't really say one way or the other.

Bottom line: doesn't hurt to try.

You may consider the value of joining ROTC/reserves and pledging while continuing your degree, rather than leaving to join and then returning later.

[LaneSig]

I know we say this a lot, but it all depends on the campus you go to. And, after you have been in (possibly) a combat situation and return at the age of 23-25 (depending on how long you serve), are you really going to want to put up with the rules and regs of a fraternity? Are you prepared to have a 20-year-old business major telling you what to do?

ETA: We had several chapter members who were members of the National Guard in school and went active afterwards. Have you considered that?

[AnotherKD]

I'm not male and am not in the military, but as I work with the military and have a military husband, hear me out.

Yes, there are people that are veterans that have come back to school and have pledged. There are a lot of people that go on to the military and find something else to strive for. Since you're still quite young and have yet to fulfill any sort of contract that you sign with any military group, this is potentially something you'll have to think about after YEARS from now. While it's something that some people choose to do, I wouldn't go through your military career focusing on what types of social interactions you want to have AFTER you're done with your career.

[knight_shadow]

My fraternity has several members who have served/are serving, so it's not impossible. Like others have said, it depends on what the chapter is looking for.

That said -- I'm a military brat and several people I've been around view the military as a fraternity in and of itself. They don't feel the need to join another like-minded organization, when they've already picked up the skills/experience that a fraternity would offer in the service. Of course, not everyone feels this way, but just throwing that out there.

[JC33]

I understand that this is a tough question to answer because there are so many variables involved. As far as age and maturity when I return, this is something I really won't know until I bring it up with a recruiter, and even then it's not set in stone. There's really no way to tell until I'm there. As for other options like the reserves or ROTC, yes I have considered these and I think it would probably be my best bet for making sure I get my degree, but I'm not totally sold and still have a choice to make.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is do you think would there really be anything to gain from rushing a fraternity as a veteran in my early twenties? If you think that it would just be a bad idea in general then please feel free to say so.

[justgo_withit]

ROTC sorority woman here to repeat the "depends on the campus" advice. I started out at a school that had many Greek cadets/midshipmen in basically every GLO, couldn't swing a stick at a fraternity party without hitting an ROTC person, etc to a campus where I'm one of a handful of Greek cadets. My big is a cadet, my unit commander one semester was one of my sisters, but that's just one campus.

The best way to get to the military always depends on what you want out of higher education, what you want out of the military, and how much risk you're willing to take with either one. If you want to get a degree and have a "college experience," ROTC is probably a good route for you. If you're itching to get out there and the degree is less of your focus, than the other routes (which I'm admittedly not as well versed in as ROTC) may better suit your needs.

[als463]

I went through sorority rush at Penn State after serving in Iraq for the war. I believe there are many organizations that would be proud to have you join as a military man but, keep in mind that you have to go through fraternity rush with a very open mind. Good luck!

[Kevin]

We've had lots of members in ROTC or enlistees who were deployed, lots of members in the National Guard, etc. It depends on your campus, but those guys have been assets.

[jazing]

My chapter picked up two veterans this Fall semester (one Marine and one IDF Soldier). Both are considered freshman at the age of 23/24. They function similar to a junior in the chapter while only having the experience in the fraternity as a newbie. That's about the best way I can explain it.