William Oriet ROTC professor honored for his leadership by Brenda McDonald Lt. Col. William Oriet, '81 Hist, may have been on the nine-year college plan, but the wait was worth it. The unsure youngster from Belgrade who enrolled in Montana State University in 1972 bore little resemblance to the motivated and directed man who came back to class in 1978. After two unspectacular years of college, Oriet left and joined the Army where he served in U.S. Army Special Forces. "I had a great experience," he said. "It got me to think about my life. I discovered who I was." He knew then that he needed to finish his degree. So after his four-year tour, he wrote to the MSU ROTC department and was granted a spot in the program and embarked on a career as an Army officer. In recent years, Oriet's military career brought him full circle to his ROTC roots when he served as an assistant professor of military science at Virginia Tech. Then three years ago he was selected to lead the military science program at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. "I knew this would be pay-back time," he said. "I could bring all my experience. This is where I could best pay back the Army for what it had given me. I could make my greatest influence in producing the future leaders of the Army." The program and Oriet proved to be a perfect fit because this year he was awarded the 2003 Army Cadet Command Award for Excellence as the Professor of Military Sciences of the Year, and Gonzaga received the MacArthur Award as the top college ROTC program in the nation. "A great program isn't built over night," he said. "It's the total team effort and quality of the instructors, staff, students and the support of the university that's important." The Gonzaga program has more than 90 cadets enrolled. It's a program that is historically very strong and well supported by the university. "It's been the most rewarding job I've ever had in the Army," Oriet said. "It's been an all-consuming job as well, because as a ROTC professor you don't get to put your feet up." He describes the daily routine as very intense with each day starting about 6 a.m. and going non-stop until about 6 p.m. Oriet said that military science professors don't just teach classes. They're involved in daily mentoring and leadership development through a wide variety of activities ranging from weekend training exercises to special events. "I was fully committed to these young people, and they performed to extremely high standards," he said. But the greatest gratification for Oriet is knowing that the cadets he trained are now some of the Army's best leaders. In June Oriet completed his three-year posting at Gonzaga. He is now assigned to the Western Region of ROTC headquartered at Ft. Lewis, Wash. He is Chief of Training for the region's 140 schools. "I get to bring to the job my very current field experience in leading an ROTC program." Oriet lives in Steilacoom, Wash., with his wife Susan. He is the son of Patricia Oriet, '69 Nurs, who was recently honored with the prestigious Centennial Alumni Achievement Award from the MSU Alumni Association.