The Reserve Officer Training Corps can be found on more than 400 campuses nationwide, including several well-known private schools like Notre Dame, Columbia and Stanford.
“People ask, ‘Why would a student of that caliber do ROTC?'” said Army Lt. Col. Brian Rogers, a professor of military science at the UW. He said there are a variety of reasons for student ROTC involvement.
Some of those students are looking at serving their country or doing something other than a typical career. But more than anything, he said, the ROTC builds leaders.
“I'm a firm believer that leaders are not born — they're developed,” Rogers said. “And they're developed if you give them certain instruction.”
By the time ROTC students get to their senior year, they're spending an average of 19 hours a week working outside the classroom on ROTC projects and training.
“It's a lot, but what we expect of them is a lot,” Rogers explained. “We want to put our students in stressful, demanding situations, because that's what's going to happen when they're in charge.”
As seniors, ROTC students meet three or four times a week in small groups to plan the leadership labs for younger students. (Full Article) |
Major General: Maj. Gen. W. Montague Winfield, left, talks with George Washington High School acting Principal George Borja, right, as Junior ROTC Battalion Cmdr. Cadet Lt. Col. Theresa Salazar and Senior Instructor U.S. Army Capt. Joseph A. Santos stand by. Maj. Gen. Winfield, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Cadet Command out of Fort Monroe , Va. , was paying a visit to the Mangilao school.