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Imagine starting your weekend with a breathtaking aerial tour of Cambridge in a multi-million dollar helicopter. And not just any helicopter, but a military Black Hawk. To most of us, this scenario seems far-fetched, like something out of a Hollywood war movie. But to a select few men and women who are part of the US Army-ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), this is just another day out in the training field. In fact, while most college students got ready to enjoy the long weekend, dozens of student cadets from colleges such as Harvard, MIT, and Wellesley clad in military uniform prepared to board two UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters in the Harvard Athletic Field preparation for a grueling two-day training period as part of their annual Field Training Exercise.

When a chance to shadow the cadets during their two-day training period arose, I immediately signed myself up for the opportunity to fly out to Fort Denvens, a military training base, where they would train in basic soldiering skills, including rifle marksmanship, outdoor survival, and patrol base operations from April 18-20th. The training also included a 4-mile march and tactical operations alongside Boston University’s ROTC program.

One interesting thing to note was the training event came in lieu of an increasing presence of ROTC recruiters on campus. Although the campus does not have its own ROTC unit, surprisingly, quite a number of Wellesley students have been active participants in the ROTC program over the years. Currently there are two Wellesley army cadets, Courtney Wilson, WC ’08 and Andrea Herbin, WC ’10 who are a part of the MIT ROTC unit. While on assignment, I was privileged with the opportunity to interview the two cadets to better understand their reasons for joining the ROTC and also to find out what the ROTC is all about.

For the military un-savvy, the ROTC allows college students to train to become military officers while still pursuing their undergraduate degrees. Then upon graduation, after having successfully completed their training, the cadets are commissioned as full-time army officers for a minimum of three years.

Wilson, a Senior cadet, has been with the ROTC since her firstyear and has thrived on the various intense and adrenaline-inducing training programs, one of which was the Ranger Challenge. Held in Fort Devens, the competition involves neighboring ROTC units who team up to compete using basic infantry skills, including throwing grenades, disassembling weapons, and marching a 10-kilometer road.

This year, however, Wilson was back in the field, not as a cadet in training, but as a senior cadet whose active duty was to evaluate the third year cadets, also known as M3s. The M3s will then take the feedback to improve or sustain their performance in preparation for their summer evaluations that will determine whether they get commissioned or not.

The weekend began with the cadets being dropped off in the landing field at Fort Devens, after which they marched back to the base camp where MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), aka vacuum packed and sealed food that would probably survive exposure to chemical warfare or radiation, were provided. Later on that night, cadets received weapons and blank ammunitions, and were given basic instructions on the weekend’s training plan. By 10pm, the cadets set up their military sleeping bags in the outdoor training area amidst the woods where they would rest until 4am the next morning, when the real weekend training would begin.

The next day began sharply at 0400 military time. After feasting on a catered, hot-meal for breakfast, the units assembled and divide up into individual squads roughly composed of about a dozen cadets, out of which three or four members were M3s whose performance would be evaluated. That day’s training was called Strategic Tactics Exercise, which simulated real-life battle situations. The squad would be presented with multiple lanes, each of which posed a different threat or situation. The squad leader, typically an M3, would plan out a mission and lead his or her team to execute and successfully to complete the task.

These exercises are meant to imitate real-life combats that parallel the kind of situations that the cadets would face in warring zones such as Iraq. An example of one of the lanes was one involving infiltration of an enemy stake-out. Before taking action, the team leader set out the plan, then briefed the team on the appropriate course of action using code names such as bravo, fox-trot, Charlie three, etc before heading out into enemy territory. During the whole process, although no actual ammos were fired, my fellow Counterpoint member, Caroline and I were literally on our toes. As a journalist, and not as an active participant on the scene, I could clearly sense the strenuousness of the day’s exercise. After all, unlike us civilians, who hiked around in our regular attire, the cadets were clad in layered military uniform from head-to-toe even amidst the 70-degree weather. To top that, each cadet, would carry around a xxxxxx, that averaged around 60 pounds, depending on his or her height and weight. Supervising lieutenants and officers in charge of the exercises would constantly remind the cadets to hydrate to prevent heatstroke.

At the end of each lane exercise, one or two lieutenants or officers would provide feedback to the entire group and also evaluate the cadet in charge of that particular mission. The cadet would be judged on basic military values such as loyalty, duty, self-less service, respect, and honor. Moreover, a cadet would not only be judged as a leader, but also as a follower. As lieutenant Karwowski who has been with the military for 19 years puts it, “You can’t be a good leader, if you’re not a good follower.” As a result, the M3s under evaluation are closely observed even when they are not leading the team to determine whether they follow orders that are given by others and to see whether they are good team players. Evaluators tend to look out for what is termed, the “spotlight ranger.” A spotlight ranger is one who does a great job at leading others when need be, however, only does so for his or her own benefit. Moreover, when it comes time to follow orders or help out fellow soldiers, these spotlight rangers tend to fade out, proving unreliable. As a result, cadets need to literally put forth their best foot regardless of what role they are assigned.

Although I was only assigned at the training facility for a short period, the chance to be fully immersed in a military environment helped open my eyes to what it takes to be a member of the ROTC. It is heartening to know that even amidst the negativities associated with the unpopular war in Iraq and the Bush administration, there are still young men and women who whole-heartedly believe in giving back to their country by serving in the military. They are, after all, our leaders and future army officers of the US military.

So that's my long rant/post/article. Now I'm off to make love to econ...bleh