The Skyliner

Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Entertainment & Features

ROTC Training: Charlie Dib and other Cadets wake up early and train through various rigorous challenges.

Media Credit: Andrea Brazell Getting Dirty: Sam Sanders prepares for intense competitions.

Andrea Brazell
Visual Arts Editor


Three times a week the Army ROTC cadets get out of bed before sunrise for physical training.

The cadets begin thier routine at Furman University, at around 5 a.m.

Add that to a lab they attend Mondays and Tuesdays at 2:15 p.m., which teaches them various skills, such as how to read maps and calculate coordinates.

And do not forget other activities, a weekly donning of the uniform and weekend events three or four times per semester.

The Paladin challenge, a competition between the groups within the Furman-North Greenville ROTC, was this past weekend.

They have FTX or field training exercises at Fort Jackson, SC, once or twice a semester.

"FTX trains us to know how to react in real combat situations," said Antwan Glenn, sophomore broadcast media.

But the highlight of the ROTC year happens only once.

Once a year, the Furman-North Greenville ROTC compete against top cadets from other major universities and military academies in Fort Jackson's Ranger Challenge, a mentally and physically demanding competition that includes nine major events.

Those events are a physical fitness test, a patrolling written exam, orienteering (land navigation), Basic Rifle Marksmanship, M16 disassembly and assembly, one rope bridge assembly and crossing, an obstacle course, a 10k run with packed rucksack and a hand grenade assault course.

The Furman-North Greenville ROTC battalion has won the Ranger Challenge four times the past five years.

Glenn is a member of the ROTC program and receives a scholarship, in return for his service contract with the Army.

Students can participate in the program without making any commitments of service for their freshman and sophomore years, but after that they have to sign a contract or quit.

"My whole family has military background," Glenn said.

Glenn is not the only ROTC member whose desire to join the military stemmed from family involvement. Nathaniel Balough and Joseph Powell are from military families, and Paul Tucker said a member of his family has fought in every major war since the Revolutionary War.

But other influences played a role in making the commitment to serve their country.

Powell said he has wanted to be in the military since he was a child.

"You know how most little boys want to be things like a cowboy or a fireman. Well, for me it was either going to be a cowboy or a soldier and since cowboys have been out for like a hundred years, I figured I'd go with soldier," Powell said. "But in all seriousness, 9/11 played a big role in my decision. I was irate and felt strongly compelled to join, but I was fifteen and had to wait."

While the ROTC life may not seem glamorous, there are a few perks.

"I'm in the best shape of my life," Glenn said. Glenn, who also plays football for NGU, said, "Football is good, but it doesn't compare to running up Paris Mountain at five o'clock in the morning."

Glenn also said, "ROTC opens a lot of doors. Just having a college degree doesn't necessarily guarantee you are going to have a job when you graduate, but with ROTC you're commissioned when you graduate as a second lieutenant and start receiving a monthly paycheck amounting to a $40,000 annual salary."

"People respect us. I had to park cars for a football game, I was in uniform, and several people thanked me for serving. Kids even look at us like we're gods, just because we're wearing camouflage," said Powell.

All four cadets agreed that they liked the lessons ROTC teaches them on leadership.

"We learn how to be better leaders not just in the military but in other areas of life, like how to be a good father and husband - a leader in the home," Powell said.

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