Corps Curriculum

Dedication, leadership and accountability are the words that come to mind when Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) instructors talk about their students. On the University of Tampa campus there is a community of ROTC cadets that have been striving to reach their post-graduation goals.

Nick Braden, the recruitment officer for the ROTC department said people don’t have an accurate view of the program. “When the cadets are in school, I think a lot of people are under the misimpression of what they do and what they are striving for,” he said. “I think a lot of people don’t understand that Army ROTC isn’t about marching or anything like that, it’s about becoming a leader.”

Braden said the students in the ROTC program are selected based on a variety of assets including their GPA, extracurricular activities and athleticism. He said they look for “SALs: scholars, athletes and leaders.”

Within the program is a diverse group of students with equally diverse reasons for joining the program. Kelly Smith, a senior in the ROTC program, said she knew she wanted to join the military and knew the difference between being an officer and being a newly enlisted soldier.”I really wanted to go to college and I knew there were scholarships available so I joined ROTC,” she said.

Braden said within the program there is a big push to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. Smith said upon graduation she will be moving to Fort Lewis in the state of Washington for her first assignment. She plans to work in military intelligence, hopefully on an international level. She said learning about and working with cultures in the African countries interest her the most.

For Meghanne Oberg, another senior in the program, it was a part of her life plan. “My family has been a part of the military since the revolutionary war,” she said. “I am going to be the first officer and the first member of the Army.” She said her mother cried when she joined the University of Tampa’s Army ROTC because the rest of her family was in the Navy.

Oberg’s first assignment after graduation has her going to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. She said her job is in branch and field artillery, a branch inside the Army that works specifically with controlling long-range weapons while coordinating with Armor and infantry forces. She said beyond that she doesn’t know what’s next for her career.

ROTC cadets agree their workload is intense. “A typical day is pretty exhausting,” said Smith. “You wake up early and you’re tired. You go to class, try to get a nap somewhere in, eat, study, workout and start all over again.” For ROTC cadets, the day starts at 6:00 a.m. with an hour and a half of physical training (PT) including different workout routines from five mile runs on Bayshore to sit-up, push-up and sprint drills on the track.

Andrew Orosz, a junior in the program, said he comes from a family with no military background. “I had no idea what I was getting into,” he said. “I just knew I wanted to enlist after college and then I found out about ROTC and decided to do that.” For Orosz leadership flows over into his classes. He said classmates seem to always look in his direction to take the lead when a group assignment is given.

Stephen Godbee, a senior in ROTC, said their workload sets them apart from classmates that are not in the program. “There’s a lot of time we have to get removed from class to do training events,” he said. “On top of that, you have to ask your teachers what you need to do.” He said there are times they have to complete big assignments ahead of time and it can be stressful to complete in addition to other homework they already have.

Smith said other students have luxuries ROTC cadets don’t. “You don’t get to decide you don’t want to do something because you don’t feel like it,” she said. “Most kids can say ‘I don’t want to go to class today.’ We don’t have that option. Either you’re there or you get kicked out.”

Orosz said the ROTC program is like a community. “We are definitely like our own fraternity without having to pay dues,” he said. “Instead we get paid to be with our friends.”

Braden said the ROTC scholarship selection is rigorous. He said the minimum GPA required to apply for it is 2.5, but realistically a student needs a 3.0 or higher along with extracurricular activities to be considered for it. He said it’s not as easy as it used to be to get a scholarship.

The cadets said the overall size of the battalion has been cut almost in half because of available funding for scholarships. “Three or four years ago it was really easy to get a scholarship, now we have like 20 kids competing for a scholarship,” Oberg said.

Margarita Trevino, a junior in ROTC said she’s glad she applied when she did. “I was in JROTC and my instructor was pushing me to go into it,” she said. “I didn’t have a way to pay for college.” She said she knew she wanted to join the military and was glad she kept with the program.

David Grohman, a senior in the program, said he joined the program because of its benefits.”The education, everything was paid for and the Army is what I wanted to do,” he said.

“Making a career out of the Army was the best decision for me.” He said the only information he knows about his post-graduation assignment is he will be posted at Fort Benning in Georgia. He said as far as actual duties he knows nothing yet. “I’ve requested a career in Germany so hopefully that will go through,” he said.

Braden said before students graduate they have the opportunity to create a list of what they would like to do post-graduation. This process is called “accessions.” When the cadets make this list they can request whether they want to be active duty, reserve or national guard. They can also request a country of placement. Cadets’ requests are taken into consideration based on their GPA and how well they have done in the ROTC program.

Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Kelly, professor of military science in the ROTC department, said he is proud of his students. “Our students are very busy with all the additional time and requirements placed on them yet it never ceases to amaze me how willing and how often they donate their time and energy to non-profit organizations and causes,” he said.