Though Northwestern’s Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps garners little attention (except when we’re trying to run it off of campus), NU’s Army ROTC cadets are even more unknown. This is mostly because at present, there are only two such cadets at NU, and NU does not actually have an Army ROTC program on campus.
NU is one of many satellite schools whose cadets participate in the program cooperatively with the ROTC battalion at the University of Illinois at Chicago. How in the world did the “I am Northwestern” ads miss this?
I talked with McCormick junior and Army ROTC cadet Scott Tuttle about what this arrangement demands from his schedule. Cadets have 7 a.m. Physical Training at Loyola University Chicago three days a week, a longer training session at 5:15 a.m. at UIC once a week and an ROTC class at DePaul University on Thursday nights. In addition, they spend the summer before their senior year at the Army’s Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash. In return for such diligence, the Army provides maximum job security: The cadets serve four years of active duty and four years in the inactive Army reserves after graduation.
Why would someone subject himself to such unpleasant experiences on a regular basis? Was he worried that the Naval ROTC program didn’t get up early enough? Tuttle’s family served in the Army and the Navy, so he respects both branches. However, he decided that given the state of current world affairs, the Army gave him more opportunities both at home and abroad. For instance, he was able to attend Airborne School last summer, completing five parachute jumps from Air Force transport planes. In addition, he wanted to join the Army because of its influence in the engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had considered attending West Point, but decided to do ROTC at NU to get a more authentic college experience.
Tuttle admits that participating in the program creates something of a disconnect between himself and his classmates. Since he spends so much of his time away from campus, many of his best friends attend DePaul or Loyola. He told me that other NU students joined the program at one time but quit because of the required time commitment.
But despite the small size of the program, Tuttle, who will be the UIC battalion commander next year, thinks the commitment is a useful training tool. He says that the combination of the ROTC program with NU’s academic atmosphere requires those cadets who complete the program to be highly motivated and self-disciplined.
Despite the rigor of the program, Tuttle hopes more students will join. Not many NU graduates pursue careers in the Army, but those who do are already being all that they can be.
Music senior Braxton Boren can be reached at [email protected].
