To explain things a bit more thoroughly, ROTC is time consuming and the amount of time you have to put aside for it increases with each semester. You’re ultimately working towards graduating as a commissioned officer but there are several milestones along the way, one of which is Field Training. You compete academically and physically to earn a spot to go to Maxwell Air Force base in the summer following your sophomore year of college. Being a cadet at a university with such an excellent AFROTC program has its benefits, yet it also means you are held to higher standards and are competing among the best. After you have gone to Field Training you take on various leadership roles in the Detachment, which in turn means more responsibility, and thus more time committed to the program. As a freshman, you’re essentially trying to get a feel for how everything works and it’s your opportunity to step up and set yourself apart from the group. You’re required to attend 80% of PT (physical training) which takes place at 0550 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, your AIR course with an instructor designated by year in the program, as well as your Leadership Lab which is a Cadet run and guided lab. This can include doing air warfare activities, briefings, and more. You are constantly learning and being put into situations where you must apply your knowledge and skills, but at the same time there is also a lot of fun to be had whether it is maybe the Air Force Ball, or FTX (Field Training Exercise), or the number of AFROTC clubs including Civil Air Patrol, Arnold Air Society, Silver Wings, and Honor Guard. It’s hard work, and although it has some downsides such as waking up early twice a week, it is something to look forward to. You get to work with a diverse group of people, who are not only able to uniquely relate to you, but moreover want to see you succeed, and have grown up with you over your four years at Penn State.
I think it's amazing that you're a part of ROTC. I could not even imagine going through all of that physical and mental training. You should be super proud of yourself for waking up early and being fully dedicated to being in the ROTC program. I have a couple of friends in ROTC and I see the amount of work they put into the program and it amazes me every time. On another note, from this post I feel as if you are a pretty strong writer. Your post flowed smoothly and was coherent. You also effectively used details to explain more about ROTC.
ReplyDeleteThanks ! This past week has been relatively boring because we have to go over a number of mundane briefings at the beginning of the semester so I was somewhat unsure on what to write about for this week, but I think it turned out okay. And it’s great that you have friends in ROTC−despite the hint of friendly rivalry between branches I’ve also made a lot of friends in the other programs.
DeleteI agree with Nikita--this is really cool. I'd be interested to see you detail some more of the stuff you are learning/doing in your classes. After all, most of us probably won't even get to see/hear how war/fighting strategies are talked about (beyond movies and video games).
ReplyDeleteHaha alright. Today we didn't cover hand to hand combat or anything serious like that, but we did meet our mentors and practiced some Drill. I'll try to keep you updated !
ReplyDeleteThis is really admirable. Most people could never be able to do what you do on a daily basis. What made you decide to get involved with ROTC?
ReplyDeleteSomeone actually asked me about this last night, but I joined because I respect the job, if that makes sense? I always thought I wanted to work for the government/national secuity and felt that this was a good place to start getting experience. There are also a number of things that the Air Force offers that I don't currently benefit from but hope to in the future, including tuition assistance and traveling later during active duty.
ReplyDelete