ROTC program offers adventure, real-life experience

  The Navy ROTC platoon stands at attention during the
Change of Command ceremony on June 1. The ceremony signifies a
transition from one year of service to the next. ROTC members must
commit to serve the country for four years. After their four-year
commitment, they are free to continue with military service or
pursue other career choices.

By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Reporter

When United States-China relations hit a road-block two years
ago, First Class Midshipman Colleen Lane, a fourth-year UCLA
Reserve Officer Training Corp member, was among U.S. ambassadors
and top- ranked diplomats attempting to foster positive
relations.

Her visit to China, after what was called an accidental bombing
of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, in the former Republic of
Yugoslavia in May 1999, was part of her class schedule for
ROTC.

“They flew me out to Japan, and I sailed on the USS
Chancellor on a five-day diplomatic mission to China,” Lane
said.

The visit was a diplomatic affair, but Lane considers it one of
her greatest personal experiences as well.

“We went to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the
Summer Palace,” she said.

Upon graduating, Lane, along with all other students who are
required to sign a contract after their first year in ROTC, must
fulfill their commitment to serve the country for at least four
years.

While in the armed forces, ROTC graduates receive pay for
traveling.

Former battalion commander and top-ranking student officer Jerry
Ragadio said those in the program miss certain freedoms, but this
is necessary for a successful military life.

“You don’t get to choose a place to live or the
option of calling in sick,” he said.

“You’re basically set in your schedule, no matter
how much stress or how much you think you hate it. You have to do
your job when people are relying on you.”

Colonel Mark Brousseau said the ROTC provides challenges that
require men and women to push themselves mentally, physically and
internally, attracting those who don’t set limits for
themselves.

“In many ways, completing ROTC is a graduate degree in
yourself,” he said.

The three branches of ROTC ““ Army, Navy and Airforce
““ operate independently of each other.

Though enrollment in the corp has dropped gradually since the
1960s, Brousseau says those involved are still driven by “a
desire to serve their country,” and bound by “a common
pursuit of honor, courage and commitment.”

Currently, the 70 ROTC participants from UCLA must take two
classes per quarter that tailor to their division within the armed
forces. Much of the focus of ROTC is on leadership. Once a week,
all reserves attend a lecture from a distinguished officer or
professional in the field.

Some ROTC participants receive scholarships, which help pay for
tuition and books.

“If I get a scholarship they are going to pay for my
dental school. (I plan to) become a dentist for the Navy and
probably sail for 20 years,” Lane said, adding that she hopes
to open a free dental clinic in Los Angeles afterward.

After their four-year commitment, participants are free to
continue their military service or pursue civilian careers.

“They can stay or get out with a knowledge of tools,
travels and experience,” said Commander James Trotter, who
serves in the Navy.

According to Trotter, approximately half the participants choose
to continue military service.

Brousseau, who served in Norway, Japan and Hawaii during
Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, considers the rapport
between fellow officers one of the most amazing things he’s
ever experienced.

“You can have all the features of professionalism, but it
is the sense of camaraderie that is the catalyst for achieving
synergy,” Brousseau said.

Next year’s battalion commander, third-year geography
student Ryan Tashma, will command a crew for three weeks in Hawaii
on a 560-foot submarine.

Tashma, who met some of his best friends through the ROTC, said
working together in training exercises forced them to rely on each
other.

In emergency submarine training, Tashma and his team had to work
together to go from one room, up through a hatch and into a second
room filled with two feet of water.

“It was such a weird feeling to go up through water, and I
was glad my friend was the one to pull me out,” Tashma
said.

Students develop skills in ROTC with “limit-pushing
exercises,” which are the same ones they will use in combat,
Brousseau said.

“In an environment that involves life and death,
you’re not concerned about being a star player, but being on
the star team,” Brousseau said.

Though it may seem the military would be one organization that
could withstand Hollywood influence, Trotter said ROTC enrollment
can be affected by the silver screen.

Movies like “Top Gun” drew interest in the Airforce
and current movies such as “Pearl Harbor” will draw
more interest in the Navy, he said.

Movies are a major source of interest in military life, Ragadio
said, but they can be misleading.

“Movies usually depict boot-camp, but in officer training,
you realize that we are, after all, human beings,” he
said.

“You just treat everyone with respect, but also develop
discipline and military skills.”