A special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service since 1998, Themistocles “Themie” Karavites undertakes a broad range of assignments that include investigating visa and passport fraud, providing security and law enforcement services to U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, and providing close-in personal security for U.S. and foreign officials. Themie Karavites earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, which he attended on a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship.

1. THE RESERVE OFFICERS’ TRAINING
CORPS
By Themie Karavites

2. INTRODUCTION
 A special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s
Diplomatic Security Service since 1998, Themistocles
“Themie” Karavites undertakes a broad range of
assignments that include investigating visa and passport
fraud, providing security and law enforcement services to
U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, and providing
close-in personal security for U.S. and foreign officials.
Themie Karavites earned his undergraduate degree from
the University of South Carolina, which he attended on a
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship.
Together with the service academies, the Reserve
Officers’ Training Corps is one of the main sources of
commissioned officers for U.S. military forces.

3. RESERVE OFFICERS’ TRAINING CORPS
 The U.S. Armed Services require that officers have at least a
bachelor’s degree, which makes combining officer training with a
college curriculum an efficient way to train military leaders. The
Army, Navy, and Air Force maintain ROTC units nationwide at
colleges and universities where ROTC students pursue their
bachelor’s degrees like other students, but also take military
training and officer training classes. In many cases, students
whose schools do not offer ROTC may take those classes at
nearby institutions that have ROTC units.
The different services require different service obligations of the
ROTC students. Army ROTC cadets who receive scholarships
must agree to a four-year active duty service obligation (ADSO)
after graduation, and four years in the Individual Ready Reserve
(IRR).

4. CONCLUSION
 Non-scholarship Army cadets who receive a stipend
to enter the Advanced Course, which is essentially
the junior and senior years of college, must agree to
a three-year ADSO and five years on IRR.
Navy ROTC students, called midshipmen, must serve
five years in the U.S. Navy upon graduation, or four
years if they elect to receive a commission in the
Marine Corps. Midshipmen who do not receive a
scholarship have a three-year ADSO obligation. Air
Force cadets must serve four years on active duty,
except Combat Systems Officers and Air Battle
Management officers, who serve six years, and pilots,
who serve 10 years.