By: Diana Dopheide, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, dmd5846@psu.edu
The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, ROTC, was created in 1916. Army training courses are offered locally at West Chester University and Widener University; so Brandywine students can enroll in the program, and upon graduation serve their country as military officers.
ROTC is taught at nearly 2,000 colleges across the country. The program teaches leadership management that students will need in order to become second lieutenant officers in the armed forces.
Students learn fundamental military skills in ROTC, but the program differs from basic training in that the focus is on learning organizational techniques and managing operations.
Cadets, who are trainees in the armed forces, do not join the active army; they are required to finish their academic degree, and their service commitment begins after graduation.
The ROTC program is offered through Brandywine; students sign up for the required courses while scheduling their academic semester. The classes are taken in exchange for electives along with their major.
Since the courses are not held at Brandywine, students take the classes off-campus at West Chester University and Widener University.
Benefits for contracted cadets include free tuition and housing as well as a small monthly budget ranging from $100 to $300 depending on the student’s year in college.
Cadets learn battle tactics, critical thinking, navigation and weapon qualification. Students partake in daily labs, which teach simple attacks, maneuvers and ambushes.
The physical training consists of strength building workouts four times a week in addition to weighted marches, which prepares cadets for carrying their gear while on patrol.
“We will use these skills every day when we take our platoon out on patrols in foreign places,” said Brendan Cleary, a Brandywine student enrolled in ROTC.
The field experience involves a weekend of camping held at the Fort Dix Military Base in New Jersey. Cadets sleep outdoors and enact realistic scenarios through keeping watch and guarding their troops throughout the night.
They apply the skills they have learned in class by practicing land navigation with compasses, problem solving and team building in various conditions.
Cleary is passionate about his future role as a second lieutenant officer in the army.
“I want to serve because I like what the army stands for, and I believe that if you have the capacity to serve, you should.”
Cleary plans to use his current field of study, computer science, in his army occupation. “I have the option to include my major into my career if I were to choose a branch such as cyber security; a necessary and growing branch.”
The skills that are taught in ROTC are useful in any profession outside of the army as many employers seek leadership abilities.
“The army teaches great values such as discipline and hard work which are the key to success in any job,” said Cleary.