Every day, students in four-year universities pick a major that sets them on their life path – whether they want to be an entrepreneur, filmmaker or neurosurgeon. Some students take a path less traveled, using college as a stepping stone to a career of bravery, skill and service. What is this noble career, may you ask? 250 University of Miami students spend their collegiate years in ROTC training to serve as United States Army officers after graduation.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Evan Bycholski wakes up at 5 a.m. — sometimes even earlier — and heads to the University of Miami’s Reserve Officer Training Corps building on the outskirts of campus.
Wearing a crisp, neatly pressed camouflage uniform, Bycholski joins other ROTC cadets in physical training exercises that start at 6:30 a.m. on the dot. For the next hour, the Southern Strike Battalion Army ROTC members will complete an arduous workout of push-ups, sit-ups and running. The exercises, along with the military science classes the cadets take at UM, are the skills they will need to become exemplary leaders in the military.
Those skills, combined with a keen sense of patriotism, are what motivated Bycholski to join ROTC.
“As an able-bodied individual I owe some obligation to my country and to do so, the college route would be the most efficient for me,” said Bycholski, a senior economics and political science major from Stuart, Florida.
With a total of 120 ROTC cadets — 85 in the Air Force and 35 in the Army — UM is one of approximately 1,700 colleges supporting ROTC units. Collegiate programs include not only Army and Air Force, but also Navy, the Marine Corps and the Space Force, which was established in 2019 to secure U.S. interests in space.
ROTC enables students to take military courses while they earn their bachelor’s degrees. After they graduate, they become commissioned officers in the U.S. military with a minimum mandatory active service of four years.
Enticing Enlistment
UM’s ROTC recruiters say some of the reasons their two programs are attractive to students are the national prominence of the university and the high caliber of their cadets.
“We always want the best and the brightest to come to the University of Miami or the other colleges and universities who are a part of the unit,” said Air Force ROTC Recruiting Officer Maj. Ricardo Cisneros.
The cadets often base their military unit selections much in the way students choose their colleges or majors — general interest, parental influence and career goals.
Lance Kreitzer, a senior majoring in meteorology, said the choice was obvious.
“I chose Air Force instead of Army because for me, through my meteorology degree, I really want to be a weather officer and the Army doesn’t have that,” said Kreitzer.
“The biggest misconception, I feel, is that whenever people think ‘Air Force,’ automatically they think ‘pilot.’ The majority of people in the Air Force are working to help the pilots,” said Kreitzer, who will be a weather officer after he graduates in May.
Kreitzer and Bycholski said ROTC cadets are no different from any other student, except that they attend physical training and elective classes in military science for Army cadets or aerospace studies for Air Force cadets throughout the week.
Army PT takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the Air Force schedules both PT and classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Classes are split into two parts: the basic course for freshmen and sophomores, and the advanced course for juniors and seniors. The further the cadets advance in ROTC, the more leadership opportunities they will be given and the more demanding the course load becomes.
Ultimately, the goal of ROTC is to produce officers for the United States Army and Air Force who will serve their country.
“The mission for Air Force ROTC is to develop Air and Space Force leaders of character whom we expect to fight and win our nation’s wars,” said Lt. Col. Regina Purnell-Adams, detachment commander of the Hurricane Aces, UM’s Air Force ROTC detachment. “That’s our biggest goal; that’s what we strive to achieve with ROTC.”
Between 2011 and 2021, UM had an average annual ROTC enrollment of nearly 14 students, half of whom became commissioned officers in one of the military services, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office analysis of Department of Defense and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data.
“We are looking for the scholar, the athlete and the leader,” said Army Recruiting Operations Officer John McCammon, adding that 75% of freshman Army cadets end up signing a contract to join the military after their sophomore year.
At UM, the Air Force’s host branch was founded in 1946 and the Army branch was formally established in 2004, with the host branch located at Florida International University. Nationally, some military historical records trace the beginning of ROTC programs to 1819 when a former superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point established the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy at Norwich University, a private senior military college in Norwich, Vermont.
Although Norwich University boasts on its website that it is the birthplace of the ROTC, it is more commonly accepted that ROTC started in the shadow of World War I in 1916, with the first unit being established at Harvard University.
Benefits and Bylaws
ROTC programs tout the many benefits of joining, including scholarships that cover 100% of tuition and fees, study-abroad trips to learn languages and professional development for future employment opportunities.
Cadets also have the chance to show off their leadership qualities in practical labs and for Army ROTC members who choose to enlist there is a 32 day advance camp training course they must complete, located in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
“It sucked,” said Bycholski, labeling the course as one of the toughest things he experienced during his time in ROTC when he completed it last year.
To join either branch of ROTC, you have to be a U.S. citizen, maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher, and, for students attending on a scholarship, meet certain fitness and medical standards set by the military branch in charge of the program.
There’s also the very real idea that students must decide whether to sign a contract committing them to between four and eight years of military service depending on the branch — in one year for scholarship students or two for non-scholarship students. To continue pursuing ROTC training beyond the basic courses, the student must sign the contract, which may put off some students from getting involved in the first place.
“My parents don’t really come from a military background, so they kind of saw it a little bit as a risk,” said Bycholski, who was “a little skinny kid who was influenced by ROTC to put on a little more muscle.” He said he has transformed himself over the past four years into officer material.
Bycholski advises students who may be curious or interested in ROTC to explore UM’s military options.
“I would say do it,” said Bycholski . “There’s no harm in putting your toes in the water.”
A Few Words with Abbie Leahy
When she applied for college, Abbriele “Abbie” Leahy knew three things: She wanted to be a pilot, she wanted to attend the University of Miami and she wanted to join ROTC.
Leahy, from the Catskills of New York, had no prior military experience or family members with military ties when she submitted her application for the Army National ROTC Scholarship. She said she independently decided that the military would be the best path to achieve her career goals.
“I found this on my own, applied, and my parents were shocked,” said Leahy, now a junior finance major. “It was just out of nowhere. I was like, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m doing this,’” said Leahy, who not only won the ROTC scholarship but UM’s Presidential Scholarship.
Leahy, who has been in Army ROTC since her freshman year, credits the program for instilling discipline, providing purpose and helping her become a leader. She is looking to make the most of the opportunities ROTC has given her. She gained an internship in the financial sector, and she credits ROTC for building up her confidence to pursue those opportunities and excelling in them.
“It keeps me super disciplined with my grades and my athleticism, staying in shape,” said Leahy. “You know, pushing myself outside the classroom with extracurriculars, clubs, leadership positions and then also leadership within ROTC too.”
In September, Leahy organized the Army ROTC’s fifth annual “Ruck to Remember” to honor the men and women who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks. She led a group of 100 participants on a 9.11-mile march on a course made even more challenging by heavy rain.
Leahy stands out as an excellent cadet but also as a female in a discipline that historically has been the military milieu for men. Until 1970, women were not allowed to join ROTC at any college in the U.S. Since 1975, women have had access to all branches of ROTC.
The percentage of women and minorities enrolled in college ROTC programs nationwide grew between 2011 and 2021, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office study. Since 2011, the program has produced more than 94,000 officers, according to the GAO. The percentage of officers who are women increased from 20.7% to 25.7% between 2011 and 2021.
At UM, where women make up 40% of the cadet enrollment, students like Leahy increasingly change the demographics of the nation’s ROTC programs.
Leahy says she is motivated by the ideal that women can be America’s heroes too.
“Diversity makes a team stronger,” said Leahy. “We add a unique perspective, and we are invaluable to the military.”
Reflecting on the rigors and demands that come with being in ROTC, Leahy said ROTC has shaped her mental resilience and time management.
“Starting out, it’s tough to balance it all,” said Leahy, adding that ROTC has helped her become a better organizer and taught her how to delegate. “It just gave me real-world skills.”
Leahy encourages female students who might be interested to give ROTC a try.
“For girls who are thinking about it or finding out about it, don’t be nervous,” said Leahy.. “If you think it’s a fit, pursue it.”
Wanna Join Uncle Sam?
Non-ROTC students who are interested in signing up need to have a minimum of three years of undergraduate schooling remaining. The recruiter can address each case individually, but that is the general rule.
Here is the contact information for the UM’s ROTC programs:
Army Recruiting Operations Officer John McCammon
305-348-1619
Air Force ROTC Recruiting Officer Major Ricardo Cisneros
305-284-2870
words_daniel braz, vanessa bonilla & communitywire.miami. photo_valeria barbaglio. design_charlotte deangelis.
This article was published in Distraction’s Fall 2024 print issue.
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