(Clockwise from top left) Capt. Derrick W. Cheng, Major Steven J. Smith, ROTC students raising the flag on the MSU campus. Photo Credit: Linda Best
ROTC program continues to attract cadets
by Marjorie Smith
Most folks at Montana State University probably give little thought to the university's relationship with the military--except on Thursdays when the cadets at MSU wear their uniforms to classes. But military science has been a part of the institution since its founding in 1893. The Morrill Act of 1862, which established the land grant college system, required that all male students under age 26 receive two years of military training. With the establishment of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program in 1916, Montana State was assigned a senior division program.
How do current attitudes and events effect enrollment in the program? It seemed particularly fitting that, to answer this question, I tracked down the military science department on the second floor of Hamilton Hall.
James Hamilton, president of Montana State College from 1904-1919, had worked especially hard to get the ROTC program established at the school.
Participation in ROTC became voluntary in 1964 and, a few years later, women were allowed to join the corps. During years when the United States is not involved in major combat, the ROTC inducements of scholarship money and leadership training attract cadets. But what happens in a time where each morning's news reports new deaths in a faraway country?
"Enrollment has not been affected that much by the events of September 11 or the war in Iraq," says Capt. Derrick W. Cheng, the Army's enrollment counselor on campus. "Some people feel a responsibility to serve their country, and September 11 may have intensified that for them. Something like the terrorist attacks sometimes leads to cadets wanting to get into the action right away, and we have to persuade them to finish school first."
The Army ROTC at present boasts 90 cadets, about a quarter of whom are women. Meanwhile, Major Steven J. Smith--Cheng's Air Force counterpart, says the Air Force ROTC has 70 students. Both recruiters agree that the scholarships offered by the programs are a big factor in enrolling students--especially in these days of escalating tuition costs.
While the Air Force seeks out students in engineering and other technical fields, the Army has cadets from every possible major, although nursing earns particular attention. Smith acknowledges that the opportunity to become a pilot also attracts students to the Air Force ROTC program. Air Force cadets who are commissioned as officers commit to four years on active duty, while Army cadets can opt for the reserves or the National Guard as well as active duty.
Cheng believes that many students are motivated to sign up by the propensity to serve. He says the ideal cadet is a student leader, and student athletes are sought after since they are, by definition, in excellent physical condition. The current Army cadet corps includes a football player and a member of the track team.
In recruiting cadets, Cheng says he stresses the benefits of leadership training and the closeness members of the corps share, learning to rely upon each other. He acknowledges that for the active duty Army cadre assigned to MSU's ROTC program, the campus assignment represents a real shift in mindset, moving from the immediate demands of war to "our responsibility to groom the next generation of military leaders."
Upstairs in the student lounge, two cadets muse about their participation in ROTC. "I think I joined for the wrong reasons," says Emilie McEvoy, a junior in nursing who transferred to MSU from Oregon. "I was just looking at the scholarship money as a way to help with out-of-state tuition. But this has become my home away from home and really has helped me figure our who I am." Jesse Skates, a junior in political science from Belgrade, agrees that the ROTC corps has become another family for him.
Mindful of the audience for Collegian articles, Capt. Cheng says, "We love to have alums come back to campus and visit with the cadets about their military experiences."