Jason Cha, 19, a freshman from Shawnee, joins other Kansas University ROTC students spending Thursday afternoon at the Lawrence Municipal Airport. The expedition taught them about the Blackhawk helicopter, with a unit from Topeka helping to take students on a short ride. A friend shot a picture of Cha and a Blackhawk taking off.
Neither military nor humanitarian crises that demand U.S. military presence overseas have affected ROTC program numbers of Kansas University’s campus.
In fact, recruitment numbers for the KU programs have grown, said William McGreer, senior military science instructor at KU.
“I really don’t think there’s any correlation to what’s going on overseas to what’s going on here,” said McGreer, who is affiliated with KU’s Army ROTC program. “I think kids are realizing they want to get involved in a military program and have their education paid for.”
Army
While it seems that a fluctuation in the amount of troops overseas would immediately impact KU’s ROTC recruitment, this fall numbers in the university’s Army ROTC program are on the rise.
“The enrollment numbers have increased over the last three years from around 62 in May of ’06,” said Ted Culbertson, KU’s Army ROTC scholarship and administrations officer. “This year, we’re projecting fall of ’09 enrollment of 124.”
He says that increase is anything but common.
“I don’t think it’s typical at all,” Culbertson said. “What we’re trying to do is diversify … one-third on scholarship, one-third in (National) Guard or Reserve, and one-third are your average student who wants to try the program out.”
Leaders in KU’s military science department also believe with the economy down, this could be an ideal time to join the ROTC program, secure a long-term career and save money on education all at once.
“I think it’s offering more for them,” McGreer said. “The draw here is to have school paid for, and most kids are given some type of scholarship that allows them to go to school.”
While the Army prides itself on helping young men and women grow individually, it also provides students with education in the field of their choice. Those within the program also believe that their military experience will not only improve, but change lives.
“It’s kind of interesting because you think about camaraderie and a band of brothers or sisters that you can rely on, and ROTC has really become that,” McGreer said.
Air Force
The Army ROTC isn’t the only program experiencing growth. Although KU’s Air Force ROTC numbers have remained steady over the past several years, with just over 60 students expected for the fall semester, more students are completing the program than in years past.
“First and foremost, this program is about developing leaders,” said Lt. Col. Gena Stuchbery, an adjuct professor for Air Force ROTC. “If a young person wants to grow as an individual and develop their leadership skills, the military and the Air Force does that better than anyone else.”
As with the other branches of the military, Stuchbery says a student’s reason for joining their program is as unique as the cadet themselves.
“Many join us because of patriotism, and there are still folks who want to support the flag and defend our country,” she said. “Others are out for a sense of service and want to serve others, and still there are some to whom this is a family tradition, and they want to carry on that family heritage.”
For those looking to get away from the tough economic climate and get a college degree when finances are low, the Air Force has many scholarship opportunities available. Still, program leaders believe if that’s your only motivation, other cadets will leave you behind.
“We are looking for a very competitive gene pool. If you’re average and you’re looking to get a scholarship, you probably won’t be competitive with your peers,” Stuchbery said. “If you want to learn what it takes to lead others and be successful and motivate and accomplish goals, this is the program for you.”
The Air Force ROTC also has many opportunities for students away from the classroom that can tap into the individual’s adventurous side.
Whether it’s free-falling from an airplane at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., or traveling to Turkey as part of their cultural immersion program, leaders believe the possibilities are endless for their cadets.
“There are a lot of cool things to do beyond your summer job,” Stuchbery said.
Navy
Battalion numbers also are on the rise in the Navy and Marine Corps.
“As we were drawing down, they were seeing a reduction in the amount of officers needed in the Navy,” said Capt. Thomas Arnold, professor of Naval science in the KU naval ROTC program. “Now that we are leveling off and we need to sustain numbers, we are increasing the numbers coming into the program to sustain us and keep us at our current level.”
KU’s naval ROTC is expecting to reach nearly 90 students by the start of fall classes. Twenty-five to 30 incoming freshmen are signed up, and that’s nearly 20 more than were signed up three years ago. Leaders say the growth is due to hard work within the program and a large presence on campus.
“It’s been very exciting for us,” Arnold said. “I think it’s a very exciting time. I think the military is a great way for a student who is inclined towards this type of service to get valuable leadership experience.”
Naval science instructors say the educational programs offered in their department are just as challenging as the physical expectations of future naval officers. Between their junior and senior years, students are sent to Quantico, Va., for Marine Corps officer candidate school.
“It’s a four-week program, kind of like a boot camp, but (with) higher expectations because they are going to be officers and it’s very rigorous,” Arnold said. “It’s very demanding both physically and mentally. They have to demonstrate their leadership abilities, and if they do not successfully complete that and graduate, then we cannot commission them as a Marine Corps officer.”
Arnold says the growth in the program is very rewarding for leaders of the program. They also say the Navy ROTC at KU is a great way to prepare men and women for leadership in future careers.
“The more of a presence we have on campus the better,” he said, “so other students can appreciate what their fellow students have chosen to do in serving their country.”
— Staff writer Mark Boyle can be reached at 832-6327
Comments
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 3 years, 9 months ago
With education costs going up and job prospects going down, it's no wonder that more people are taking scholarships from the cannon fodder industry.
Practicality 3 years, 9 months ago
The ROTC program at KU is excellent. It does not surprise me at all that the numbers are on the rise. The ROTC program turns out exceptional young men and women to be leaders in the military. By far one of the most disciplined group of young people up on campus. It has always bothered me that many feel unwanted and misunderstood up on the campus.
Unfortunately, some of the comments made by professors and students up on the hill concerning the War in Iraq and our military get targeted at the ROTC members. Trying to make them feel like they are bad people and dupes for joining the ROTC program. Just like the comment from Bozo above.
snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 9 months ago
I just knew that bozo would be the first to post on this thread.
vertigo 3 years, 9 months ago
Yes, opening up new areas to stay because we are closing our base in Ecuador where these missions are staged from. We already have a footprint in South America. We have four military bases in Manta, Ecuador; Aruba; Curacao; Sato Cano, Honduras; Peru; Panama and Comalapa, El Salvador. But don't let facts distort your vision that we're just now moving into South America.
The plan is expected to increase the number of U.S. troops in Colombia above the current total of less than 300 but not above 800, the maximum permitted under an existing military pact.
Less than 800- sounds like a great number to try and invade Columbia's neighbors! LOL
Practicality 3 years, 9 months ago
logrithmic (Anonymous) says…
"The military in the next week or so will sign an agreement to create five new army bases and two new navy bases in Columbia. Why Columbia? To help the Columbian govt fight a guerilla civil war and to wage the “War on Drugs.”
Even though I wish we were building bases in Columbia, as everyone can plainly see, based on the statement below, that Loggie is just being an outright liar again. He does this to support his Pro-Drug agenda that he constantly argues for. Notice how he didn't leave a source for his nonsense? Here is what President Obama had to say about this.
Obama said this was a myth.
"We have had a security agreement with Colombia for many years now. We have updated that agreement. We have no intent in establishing a U.S. military base in Colombia," Obama said.
"This is continuation of assistance that we had been providing them. We have no intention of sending large numbers of additional troops into Colombia, and we have every interest in seeing Colombia and its neighbors operate peacefully."
The new security arrangement would allow the Pentagon to lease access to seven Colombian military bases for U.S. support in fighting drug traffickers and guerrillas involved in the cocaine trade.
The agreement would also increase the number of American troops in Colombia above the current total of less than 300 but not more than 800, the maximum permitted under the existing pact.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5765HL20090807
Pretty pathetic attempt again Loggie.
Practicality 3 years, 9 months ago
No comment on your proven lies again Loggie?
Ralph Reed 3 years, 9 months ago
Tom, the loathing for the military also exists in the far right. Extremists and radicals on either side do not support the military in any form. There's enough blame to go around for everyone, so don't dump it all on your "far-left". Fred Phelps is an example, I'm sure you could name more.
On another note. I know a lot of officers who earned their commissions out of ROTC and/or were PMS and any number of universities. Excellent people.
75x55 3 years, 9 months ago
"With education costs going up and job prospects going down, it's no wonder that more people are taking scholarships from the cannon fodder industry."
Always fun to see what repetitive drivel the local communist(s) will come up with. Makes me always curious to know what they would have done, had they been the president, on 9/12/2001.
Expecting the usual response.....
MeAndFannieLou 3 years, 9 months ago
Log,
The Vietnam war inspired Charlie Wilson to win the Afghan war against the USSR! Never mind that once the war was over we didn't care about Afghanistan enough to help them recover, leading to the rise of the Taliban, who welcomed Al Qaeda, etc., etc., so that Afghanistan is our new Vietnam! Just.Don't.Say.Anything.About.That.
Practicality 3 years, 9 months ago
Another thing the military does with its trillion dollar budget
*Insuring that Logrithmic has the freedom to post idiotic ramblings full of lies and nonsense from all enemies, both foreign and domestic, while he sits in the safety of the heart of America, in his mother's basement, badmouthing the very organization that provides this safety and disrespecting the members that serve it faithfully and honorably.
vertigo 3 years, 9 months ago
First time on here I've been called right winged. I guess my stance that healthcare reform is needed, that gay marriage should be legal, that don't ask don't tell should be repealed, that gays be allowed to serve openly, and that marijuana should be legalized but taxed heavily makes me a far right winger. LOL
Funny thing- I've been to Bagram, didn't see any 10 year old prisoners.
Flyovers are a recruitment tool- most of these aircraft are up that day on training flights. You do realize that pilots have to maintain proficiency and log X number of hours per month in order to keep their license, no? So whether they're flying over a stadium or flying over some farmer's field in nowhere Missouri the cost is the same.
Can I justify all $515B of the DOD budget? Of course not, I too think there is some waste that can be cut from the DOD budget. But when a Democratic congress pushes for 6 additional planes that the Air Force says they don't want you can't blame that on the DOD. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124960404730212955.html
We turn a blind eye to rape? Really? Tell that to these people: http://www.military.com/cs/Satellite?c=maArticle&cid=1199422204139&pagename=News%2FnwsLayout
http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/02/airforce_lofton_charges_080207w/
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Four_more_U.S._soldiers_charged_with_rape_of_14-year-old_girl,_murders
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13686528/
You stated a military scientist was accused of sending Anthrax though the mail and then later received a high award. Was he ever charged? Was he found guilty of doing this? Surely you do know there is a difference between being accused of something and having actually done it.
The first and second generation of nuclear weapons were the atomic and hydrogen bombs developed during the 40's and 50's. The third generation was developed in the 60's (neutron bomb which never really took hold militarily). We're working on a fourth generation... try to catch up. In a nutshell, the defining technical characteristic of fourth-generation nuclear weapons is the triggering - by some advanced technology such as a superlaser, magnetic compression, antimatter, etc. - of a relatively small thermonuclear explosion in which a deuterium-tritium mixture is burnt in a device whose weight and size are not much larger than a few kilograms and litres. Since these new weapons will use no (or very little) fissionable materials, they will produce virtually no radioactive fallout, their yield being measured in the tons rather than megatons or kilotons. We're talking building size explosions rather than city size explosions. Nice try in suggesting that the nuclear weapon will be deadlier when in fact it will be less deadly. To bad it's a fail.
As far as you're other points go- please site some credible sources rather than some conspiracy theories and we can discuss them.
Practicality 3 years, 9 months ago
Wow! Nice refute Jesse. As far as your last statement,
"As far as you're other points go- please site some credible sources rather than some conspiracy theories and we can discuss them. "
Good Luck. Loggie doesn't believe in credible sources, so you are just going to have to "take his word for it" LOL.
It is interesting to note that Loggie appears far out there for the Left as well.
sfjayhawk 3 years, 9 months ago
Nancy - so explain how the Invasion of Iraq has protected our 'freedoms'. Was Iraq somehow suppressing our freedoms? Please elaborate..
vertigo 3 years, 9 months ago
Logi-
Thanks for the links.
To talk about nuclear weapons as “less deadly” is bizarre. You certainly can't be serious, can you?
- Yes I am. What do you consider to be more deadly? A nuclear weapon that can wipe out a city of 7 million or a nuclear weapon that is confined to a couple square yards with no fall out? Sure they both kill- but one kills on the millions and the other kills in the double digit range (depending on how many people are in those few square yards).
In regards to Bruce E. Ivins, the scientist. You stated: "A military scientist at one of these facilities, Fort Detrick, was accused of sending weaponized anthrax through the mail to two U.S. senators - killing four and injuring 22 American citizens. He had been awarded the military's highest civilian award - after the attack!!!" Let's put some context to your statement. First off he was a civilian working in a biodefense lab, he was not in the military. Secondly he was awarded the Excellent Civilian Service award in 2003; he was not a suspect until 2006. I guess his supervisor is suppose to be able to see into the future and know that he was going to be fingered by the FBI? As far as his suicide goes... maybe the CIA did force him to overdose on Tylenol PM, who knows. His family stated he suffered from severe depression and had been taking meds for this. Could the pressure of the investigation coupled with the depression also have lead him to take his own life?
I'm in agreeance with you that it probably was Iving behind the attacks. The FBI were wrong with their first suspect, Hatley, and they could of also been wrong about Iving. Evidence seems to indicate it was him, plus his history of psychosis and depression, so I'm more apt to trust the FBI experts on this. I don't believe for a second Iraq had anything to do with this.
I stated I never saw any 10 year olds in Bagram. That is true. There may of been minors in the detention facility but I never saw any. But what does that say about the Taliban and Al Qaeda who were using these children on the battlefield? An optimistic view would be that it was a good thing they were picked up and detained rather than being left on the battlefield and dead.
If children were subjected to torture, or even adult detainees for that matter, then there should be investigations and punishments. For the punishers and for their bosses (You can't tell me Lynndie England's superiors didn't condone what was going on at Abu Ghraib). Will it happen? Most likely not... but then again the detention center, while on a military installation, was basically ran by the CIA. The CIA is not the military and the military is what this thread is about.
vertigo 3 years, 9 months ago
Located at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Joint Task Force-Bravo is one of three task forces under United States Southern Command. JTF-Bravo's primary mission is to organize multilateral exercises and supports, in cooperation with our partner nations, humanitarian and civic assistance, counterdrug, contingency and disaster relief operations in Central America.
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