KU Army ROTC cadets prepare the Posting of the Colors at an event Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007. In foreground from front to back are cadets MS4 Dan Flynn, St. Louis, MO., MS3 Karl Gustke, Overland Park, MS2 Bruce Archambault, Leavenworth, MS3 Jeffrey Orcutt, Lawrence and MS2 Douglas Kennedy, K.C. KS. The cadets were attending the 3rd Annual Jayhawk Battalion Alumni Association Wall of Fame Induction ceremony.

Matt Fortier, Jessica Adkison and Pete Holmes sit in the busy lounge area on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. They are dressed in Army fatigues and have just come out of a lecture.

Any day now, the Kansas University seniors and Army ROTC cadets will learn what their occupations in the military will be after they graduate this spring. The options range from communications to infantry.

As of this moment, it’s an unknown what the next four years will hold. But, going to Iraq or Afghanistan is likely.

“We’re naive to think that we won’t,” Fortier said. And, he is OK with that.

One of the three has gone to war once before. Holmes was a freshman during Sept. 11 and took a two-year hiatus from school to serve. He was deployed to Afghanistan.

When he returned to KU, he signed up with ROTC to become an officer.

Since the war started, ROTC focus on leadership has remained unchanged. Students still wake in predawn hours for physical training and wear uniforms to class on Thursdays.

However, some things are different. Cadets now take courses on cultural awareness. In training, unexpected obstacles are thrown into missions and quick thinking is required. They learn how to react to roadside bombs.

Holmes already has a good idea of what to expect.

The infantry unit that he served with in Afghanistan has since returned to that country. He wishes he was there with them and that the soldiers were on the minds of more Americans.

“It seems like people are starting to forget. I just want everyone to remember that there are still people out there doing their jobs and in harm’s way,” Holmes said.