Mission Possible

  Photos by DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Cadet
Angie Yoon relaxes by playing pool in the ROTC
Lounge in the Men’s Gym.

By Marjorie Hernandez
Daily Bruin Contributor

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadet Angela Yoon, a
second-year political science student, wants to solve a family
mystery.

During the Korean War, communist students from Seoul University
kidnapped her grandfather, Yoon Seong Wook, an art professor.

Although she admits that the chances of finding her grandfather
is small, Yoon hopes to answer questions that still haunt her
family.

“My father grew up without his father, and I grew up
without a grandfather,” Yoon said.

“I want to find out what happened to him,” she
continued. “As futile as it may seem, I think it’s only
right that I at least try.”

With her commitment to serve eight years in the army after
graduation, Yoon may realize her dream by joining the military
intelligence branch and eventually specializing in North Korean
diplomacy.

But she also joined ROTC for independence and discipline.

As a cadet, she wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for physical
training as most of her peers squeeze in a few more hours of
sleep.

  Photos by DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff One of
Yoon’s ROTC duties is cleaning doorknobs on
campus.

“It’s not as hard as people might think,” Yoon
said. “When something’s army related, people usually
think, “˜Oh, my God, I can’t do this.’ But
it’s not like that at all.”

Despite her goal to give closure to her grandfather’s
disappearance, Yoon’s family initially reacted negatively to
her joining ROTC.

Some of this disapproval stemmed from traditional Asian culture,
which discourages women from participating in the military, Yoon
said.

Her father also wanted her to pursue a professional career
without committing to the ROTC.

“But he was gradually accepting it.,” Yoon said.
“He saw how successful I was in the ROTC program and how much
it made me become who I am.

“They like the fact that I’m taking the initiative
to make important decisions in my life,” she continued.

Despite being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field
and battling cultural norms, Yoon continues to surpass expectations
and has excelled in the UCLA ROTC program, according to her
instructors.

“Angela’s doing very well,” said professor of
military science Maj. Michael Berry. “She has tremendous
potential and she is extremely physically fit.”

Yoon’s physical ability ranks among the top of her class,
scoring above the maximum points for the Advanced Physical Fitness
Test, a monthly exercise where cadets are timed in a two-mile run
and do sit-ups and push-ups.

“Anybody can do this. It’s not like you have to be
especially talented in athletics. If you dedicate yourself and you
are willing to do the best that you can, that’s what the army
wants.”

Although Berry said women currently make up 25 percent of the
cadets, Yoon is the only contracted, four-year scholarship woman in
the second-year class. She was also the only female student in her
high school to join ROTC.

“I like it because it makes me feel more
competitive,” she said about being the only woman in her
class. “And there’s never any kind of sexual
discrimination.”

Although women are allowed more time for running exercises and
push-ups, Berry said doctors and ROTC officials set these standards
because men and women have different physical abilities.

According to Yoon’s battalion commander Melvin Jeter, a
fourth-year anthropology student, men and women have similar
abdominal strengths, though men generally have more upper body
strength.

But these variations should not affect a woman’s chances
of entering the ROTC.

“This isn’t a man’s world,” Berry said.
“There’s nothing a female can’t achieve in the
military. It’s gender neutral for the most part.”

“We have a very high quality of females in the program
this year,” he continued. “I think the females as a
group will outshine the men this year.”

Although women can’t serve in the infantry, they can
specialize in areas such as aviation, Signal Corps and military
intelligence.

Outside of physical training, Yoon is also required to take one
military science class every quarter. This fall, she is taking
Introduction to LDRSHIP, which stands for Loyalty, Duty, Respect,
Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage.

Berry, who teaches the class, said students learn leadership and
speaking skills that may help in other professions, such as
business.

These leadership classes are also open to students not enrolled
in the ROTC cadet program.

But Yoon’s first experiences at ROTC were not always
positive because of her unfamiliarity with college and military
life.

“At first I was so paranoid because I didn’t know
what to expect,” Yoon said. “I didn’t know
anybody.”

Being a cadet brought added pressure in her first year.

“There’s a totally different sense of
professionalism and camaraderie,” Yoon said.

During her first year, fellow cadets noticed Yoon’s
devotion to improve her physical abilities. Now, she is focusing
more on academics, which ROTC encourages.

“I think she became more mature,” said Dean Allen, a
fourth-year political science and psychology student and ROTC
cadet. “She’s learned more about herself as a student
of UCLA and being part of ROTC, and searching for what she liked
and what she didn’t.”

In addition to discipline, Yoon said being part of ROTC has
given her a special camaraderie with fellow cadets.

“Almost everybody here is my friend,” she said.
“It’s kind of corny for me to say this, but it’s
like a second family because we all have to work
together.”

Her confidence has also grown because of ROTC.

“They are not going to ask anything more from you,”
she said. “Usually you’re the one who’s asking
more from yourself.”