Be All You Can Be in the ROTC

by Alexander Talcott

In an article for the Review, Dartmouth Professor Emeritus of English Jeffrey Hart credited former College President David McLaughlin with enraging the faculty "by returning ROTC to campus, ordered to do so by the Trustees, who, like most Americans, did not see the U.S. Army as the enemy." Though the Army may not be the enemy, the College certainly does not treat it as a friend.

The College has only eight students active in its Army ROTC program. Half are on scholarship. A single student has been commissioned each of the past two years. The College is a mere extension center of Norwich University as its program is "too small to warrant a full-time Army Staff," according to ROTC organizer Captain Gregory M. Goth. Says student cadet Harry Camp’04, "From my experience, I would say that recruitment is virtually impossible at Dartmouth. Let me qualify that by saying that we never stop trying."

Goth does try to recruit students for the program. "Each year, during the summer," he says, "the ROTC program sends out a mass mailing of information packets on the Army ROTC program. These packets are sent to all incoming freshmen and contain information on the program as well as scholarship information. Also during the year we try to attend all the student activities fairs and the parents weekend activities. I am also available throughout the year to meet with incoming or prospective students."

Dartmouth’s ROTC program was once much larger. But the College is not alone in its declining enrollment. Goth explained, "During the early ‘90s during the big draw-down of the Armed Forces, many ROTC programs were closed and their students cross-enrolled in other schools’ ROTC programs. This is what happened at Dartmouth." ROTC is still offered at hundreds of colleges and universities across the country, including such selective universities as Cornell and the MIT.

The Army ROTC at Dartmouth College website (www.dartmouth.edu/~rotc) says that ROTC is "the one college course that helps you develop leadership skills, managerial skills, [and] confidence…to put you on the fast track of life." Dartmouth’s highest-ranking cadet, Mike Breen ’02, has already benefited from the unique opportunities offered by ROTC. He has been trained in digital radio and other communications technologies, traveled to Khazakstan and Uzbekistan to study foreign equipment, and attended the prestigious Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia. Despite his exemplary commitment to the program, he is still able to work toward majors in Government and Religion, sing with the Cords a capella group, and take part in other College activities.

ROTC is an elective taken with other college courses and normally covers four years, divided between Basic and Advanced Courses. The classes, taught in Leverone Field House, require about five hours weekly. The program has an office and a classroom, but upon the completion of Leverone’s refurbishment, ROTC will be limited to the office space. Once a term, cadets train "crosstown" at Norwich University, a one-hour drive up I-89 that students must make with personal cars. At Norwich, students gain leadership experience as they work in larger groups. They practice military tactics and maneuvers, including the task of leading thirty-five to forty cadets across field terrains, which requires considerable organization and communication. Other operations include night, mountain, and snow manuvers. Camp recalls that the FTX (field training exercise) in Norwich was "a great learning experience. We trudged up mountains through two feet of freshly fallen snow. Our mock enemy was the Tenth Mountain Division of the regular Army. They had snow camo, snow shoes, and skis—needless to say we were a bit outmoded." Despite the handicap, Camp says the program taught leadership and technical skills. ROTC coupled with an Ivy League education produces well-rounded individuals who are better prepared to confront problems in the private sector as well as the military sector.

The Basic Course requires no commitment to the Army and includes study of Adventure Training, Life Skills Training, Basic Military Skills, and Basic Leadership Development. Upon entry to the Advanced Course, students are commissioned as Second Lieutenants and are committed to serve in the U.S. Army on active duty or in an Army Reserve component. The curriculum of the Advanced Course includes Advanced Tactics, The Army Ethic, Cadet to Lieutenant Transition, and Advanced Leadership and Management Skills. Breen plans on serving at least six years in active duty, citing his family’s tradition and a moral obligation to serve.

Participating students can earn up to $1,500 each year. Additionally, all ROTC textbooks, uniforms, and materials are fully furnished. Students receive a "hands-on feeling for the Army" over a five-week paid camp between the junior and senior years.

Because, however, of a College policy of deducting outside scholarships, including ROTC monies, from financial aid packages, Breen notes that there is "no financial incentive to incur the obligations" of the program.

Some students may be put off by the Army’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy. Referring to the policy, Captain Goth offered, "it is hard to tell what effect it has had on the program; it may have had some negative effect on recruiting incoming students and retention of those already here." But Goth is quick to defend the Department’s policy. "The key to understanding the Department of Defense policy on homosexual conduct," Goth says, "is to remember that the policy focuses on homosexual conduct, not on sexual orientation alone. Conduct is considered to be statements, acts, or marriages."

Dartmouth’s ROTC program is so inconspicuous that in late October of Breen’s freshman year, a classmate mistook his uniform for a Halloween costume. Student cadets have their character tested by a College that pretends that they don’t exist. "At Dartmouth," Breen says, "it’s all on you."