New Spartan Battalion Commander Nicholas Yodock stands at attention during the change-of-command Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013 at Demonstration Hall. Yodock, a senior majoring in creative writing is assuming the position for the spring semester. Simon Schuster/The State News
—Tuesday afternoon, history junior Nick Larsen watched younger Army ROTC cadets rappel down a 40-foot structure in one of their weekly leadership labs, a step preparing them for future careers.
“This tower is only half to a third of the size of one in a real army base or at air assault school, which a lot of students go to,” said Larsen, an ROTC cadet. “I want to go into the Army after college, so this is direct preparation for that.”
In addition to the physical preparations for Army life, the Spartan Battalion is adding academic ones to its list.
For the first time this semester, the Army ROTC program put a defense studies minor into place, which is meant to prepare students in a range of studies for a career affiliated with the military.
Pairing a defense studies minor with various other majors can give an inside look at what Army life is like, said Lt. Colonel Jeff McDonald, the Army ROTC chairperson.
“The biggest thing is that it helps with people skills (and) interacting with others to get things done,” Larsen said. “If you’re going into business, it’s easier to take charge after being in ROTC.”
The minor also helps cadets financially, roughly half of whom are paying tuition with a three-year or four-year scholarship, McDonald said.
Because scholarships from the Army ROTC often only cover courses directly related to their majors, ROTC members in the past have been limited in what types of electives they can take, McDonald said. With the minor, which now is available for students to declare, cadets will be able to use financial aid to take the courses, McDonald said.
For international studies senior and ROTC member Wolfgang Petermann, who wants to work in military finance after college, the defense studies minor applies perfectly by helping him focus more clearly on defense than his major alone would allow.
“It offers a more international perspective,” Petermann said. “A lot of kids are criminal justice, and with defense studies, you won’t just know domestic law. It can go as far as U.S. threats, and the technology, (its) uses and getting behind what they’re doing.”
McDonald said this is why MSU’s Army ROTC program has seen its highest numbers since the Vietnam War era with 37 cadets commissioned last year and 40 more to be commissioned by the end of the year.
“I’m preparing platoon leaders … I want to give them experiences similar to what they will see when they’re assigned to their units.” McDonald said. “We’re producing quality cadets.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
