{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/primeabbybeyondtheuniform","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"prime.abby.beyondtheuniform","excerpt":"While these ROTC cadets can thrive in the rigid structure of their routine, they are also able to discover their individuality outside the program. From linguistics to pick-up basketball, they recount their experiences in and out of ROTC.","headline":"Beyond the Uniform","author":"Abby Thomas","authorbio":"Abby Thomas is a second year sociology student and is minoring in Spanish. She is also a contributor to the Daily Bruin’s News section.","authoremail":"athomas@media.ucla.edu","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.sean.TS-66fba4dee59a4ae724e9e7f2b20b469d.jpg","covercred":"Tanmay Shankar","coveralt":"Midshipman Lee, otherwise known as Sean, stands in the middle of Bruin Walk as students pass by him. He is wearing his uniform and looking intently into the camera.","articleType":"article","updated":null,"content":[{"type":"text","value":"It’s 0545 and the whole campus is quiet, except for the chirping of birds and the whir of maintenance vehicles on their way to prepare for the day. Making my way down to Wilson Plaza, I occasionally pass by students trudging back to their rooms after a night of studying, ending their day as I am just beginning mine."},{"type":"text","value":"As I join the group of Army cadets dressed in black uniforms, I notice they are much more easygoing and laid back than I had expected, joking around with each other and casually chatting."},{"type":"text","value":"The cadets begin getting in formation for revelry, the morning salute of the flag. Everyone is still chattering and joking around. Over the phone, one girl talks to a cadet who is running late, and with a playful roll of her eyes, she advises her friend to start sprinting."},{"type":"text","value":"At 0600, the platoon leader calls the cadets to attention. They immediately straighten up, an abrupt contrast to the lax demeanor they’d held just a few seconds before, and turn to face the flag in Royce Quad. A bugle plays “First Call” and “Reveille,” and the plaza is silent."},{"type":"text","value":"One can’t help but notice the overbearing sameness of the group. The cadets march in neat lines echoing the same footsteps and the same chants as they call out to their leader. Uniformed and stony-eyed, they share the same look of respect."},{"type":"text","value":"As 0600 passes to 0700, each cadet changes out of their uniform. Cadet Daly turns into Bill, and attends his engineering class. Midshipman Lee becomes Sean and clocks in at his job at the James West Alumni Center. Cadet Holden, Hannah, emerges from practice and makes her way to the farmer’s market where she regularly buys her groceries."},{"type":"text","value":"I see the cadets practicing and I realize that this is all I know of them: uniformed groups of people marching in unison on rare mornings when I am awake early enough to catch a glimpse. What I don’t know is who each individual is, where they come from and why they choose to be ROTC cadets."},{"type":"subheading","value":"{\"name\":\"Cadet Holden/Hannah\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"The first thing I notice about Hannah when I meet her outside Kerckhoff Hall is the approachable smile that lights up her freckled face. Hannah is 5 feet, 6 inches, has bright ginger hair, and dresses like any UCLA student you would see walking on campus on a sunny day."},{"type":"text","value":"At first glance, you may not know she is a nationally high ranking ROTC cadet who was specifically chosen to commission as an Army officer in Vilseck, Germany."},{"type":"text","value":"“I’m going active duty. So three days after commissioning, which is when we swear in as officers, I start my officer training, so I don’t get any time off,” Hannah says. “I’m really excited. I feel ready.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Hannah has spent several summers during her college years training for the Army in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Tahiti and Hawaii, doing anything from teaching English, to building relationships with cadets from other countries, to interning with the Army in international relations. As she recounts these summers to me, I realize I had no idea what ROTC cadets actually did. All I had were vague notions of leadership building and physical training."},{"type":"text","value":"The main reason Hannah explains she joined ROTC, I find out, was to address her desire to make a positive impact through her career. Growing up, she first dreamt of becoming a veterinarian, then later, of being a reconstructive surgeon. When she was preparing to go to college, she was drawn to the military because of its central goals to assist people who can’t help themselves."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"sample\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.hannah3.TS-7d4600a83f5c6f702d62eb3213d4028f.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Tanmay Shankar\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"As I scroll through the Army recruitment website, I notice a theme: Most of the pictures and slogans refer to service and duty. Statements such as “Serve with honor. Live with purpose” and “There’s more than one way you can make a difference” catch your eyes with bold yellow text against a black background. This kind of message and value is what attracted Hannah to the Army."},{"type":"text","value":"Hannah is the command sergeant major, meaning she is in charge of the discipline and accountability of all the cadets here at UCLA and at six sister schools including California State University, Los Angeles; Cal State Northridge; California Lutheran; Pepperdine; The Master’s University and Loyola Marymount. She tells me that although she loves helping other cadets be prepared and informed of their duties, it is not always the easiest job to have. Guided by her sense of morality and responsibility, she is often forced out of her comfort zone."},{"type":"text","value":"When I asked Hannah about her leadership as a woman in the army, I expected a knowing sigh and a diatribe about the difficulties of identifying as women in a workspace of majority male co-workers. Instead, she gives a wry smile, indicating that my view of the Army is a little outdated."},{"type":"text","value":"“Don’t get me wrong in saying that the military is a male-dominated industry. I’d be a little naive to say it’s not,” she says. “I don’t think that it’s male-dominated in the sense that I feel marginalized by my sex. I ranked very well among my peers and I don’t think my gender had anything to do with that at all.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Although Hannah is a nationally ranking and successful cadet, ROTC is only a part of her life. She is majoring in applied linguistics and minoring in Asian languages and cultures with a concentration in Mandarin."},{"type":"text","value":"“I didn’t come in as a linguistics major, but once I took my first ling class I was sold. I knew it was right for me. It’s kind of like you have those people who are really really good at math; it just comes naturally to them. It’s kind of like that with linguistics for me,” Hannah says."},{"type":"text","value":"Hannah has a balance of good friends inside and outside ROTC. She thinks it is healthy to maintain an equilibrium of inside and outside social connections so you don’t end up only talking about ROTC all the time."},{"type":"text","value":"“I am like the anti-cadet,” Hannah says to me with a smirk. “I don’t do army stuff really outside of the army. But I think that’s how most of us are, we all have our individual interests.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Hannah tells me she loves fitness, health and food, and the outdoors. “One day I’m going to have my own farm, like that’s what I want.”"},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"sample\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.Hannah2.TS-999d1c4f6353e856a59bdc9a41745614.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Tanmay Shankar\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Each week, Hannah makes a trip to the farmer’s market to get fresh produce for her cooking hobby. She says she tries to fill up her bag first with the things she actually came for, usually cashew yogurt and lots of vegetables, before meandering through the rest of the market to avoid buying too much out of temptation from the stands. One of her favorite parts of visiting is getting to speak to the vendors that she’s built a relationship with week after week."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I ranked very well among my peers and I don’t think my gender had anything to do with that at all.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"As the year comes to an end and she prepares to commission as an Army officer to Germany, Hannah passes on the new forming tradition of service, as celebrate her younger brother’s enlistment into the Army this spring. She acknowledges that her decision of service has influenced him as he makes his own decision to devote years of his life to a greater good, just like she has. Hannah is proud of her brother and looks forward to the passion for service he will develop, just like she did."},{"type":"subheading","value":"{\"name\":\"Midshipman Daly/Bill\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"I met Bill for the first time at Bruin Plate, upon his request. Bill tells me that he is 20 years old and a second-year electrical engineering student. Over several plates of quinoa, he shares that he’s a fan of Manchester City F.C., “Game of Thrones” and pick-up basketball at Hitch Suites."},{"type":"text","value":"Bill is also Midshipman Daly, an officer in his second year of training to be a naval officer."},{"type":"text","value":"“It’s weird flipping the switch sometimes,” Bill expresses about the dual identity he holds of student and midshipman. “Every Tuesday, we have a thing called Pro-Lab in ROTC and then most of us have 8 a.m.’s. There’s a moment where we switch from officers-in-training to a student again. It’s definitely unique.”"},{"type":"text","value":"I found from our conversation that this experience of balancing the two identities of being a midshipman and a student takes some practice to get used to. Navy ROTC members wear their uniforms Tuesdays, and Bill says that something as routine as walking down Bruin Walk was not comfortable for him at first."},{"type":"text","value":"“At first you think, ‘Oh, everybody’s looking at me, literally everybody is watching me.’ And then, you know, there’s a point where you’re like, ‘Everybody is doing their own thing, they’re not looking exclusively at me,’” Bill says."},{"type":"text","value":"Bill’s dad was a Navy pilot, so Bill grew up in a military family environment in Sacramento. Although Bill didn’t feel obligated to follow in his father’s footsteps, it was something he ultimately valued because of the way it would aid his career goals of leadership."},{"type":"text","value":"“Not to humble-brag, I always thought of myself as a leader,” Bill says to me with a reticent grin. “I wanted to be put on a career path that helped me explore that,” Bill says."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"sample\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.Bill.TS-6353d6818f743db0eec27f6c420e3d28.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Tanmay Shankar\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Each midshipman in the Navy ROTC is granted a specific role to gain direct leadership experience. Bill has worked as a physical training leader, designing and implementing workouts for the other cadets in the mornings, as well as a squad leader, in charge of keeping track of the progress and well-being of four other midshipmen."},{"type":"text","value":"Bill says he has grown significantly from these leadership roles, developing his skills in public speaking, decision-making and being assertive."},{"type":"text","value":"Before ROTC, Bill says if something made him uncomfortable, he wouldn’t say anything. He recounts a time he had a conflict with roommates and used his newly developed skills in assertiveness to address his roommate directly."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"There’s a moment where we switch from officers-in-training to a student again. It’s definitely unique.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“I remember my roommate had a habit of snoozing their alarm over and over. I put up for it for a while, but then one day I kind of just snapped. It might have been me just getting tired of it or part of the Navy training as well, but I was like, ‘Hey, is it possible for you to maybe only set two alarms instead of 10?’” Bill says."},{"type":"text","value":"Bill thinks the skills he’s learning today will help him in his civilian career if he decides to leave the Navy."},{"type":"text","value":"“Basically the mission of the (Navy) ROTC is to create leaders for the military, for the government, and civilian life,” Bill says, commenting on the Navy ROTC’s motto. “I never thought of what I’m going through here as purely Navy training. It’s a complete transformation and betterment of who I am.”"},{"type":"text","value":"While his dad went to the Naval Academy, a rigorous officer training school, Bill says he chose ROTC because he wanted the experience of going to college. To Bill, the college experience is defined as staying in the dorms, having roommates, going out to Westwood to get good food, going to the movies with friends and having a girlfriend he can see on a regular basis. He says he doesn’t want his whole life to revolve around the military."},{"type":"text","value":"Bill considers ROTC more in the context of his career, and he sees his college experience as separate from his midshipman training. He compares the act of balancing his different identities to wearing several different hats throughout his day."},{"type":"text","value":"“In the morning I put on my midshipman hat and go do training. And then right afterwards, I put"},{"type":"text","value":"on my student hat and I go learn, and after that I put on my ‘Bill’ hat and I can go hang out in Westwood, or go play video games,” Bill says."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"It’s a complete transformation and betterment of who I am.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"One of his favorite activities is playing basketball at Hitch Suites with his friends. He goes about three to four times a week to get some exercise and clear his mind. He says this is something he loves to do and at times it comes to represent the many different identities Bill holds in his college years, sometimes playing with his buddies from ROTC and sometimes with his outside friend groups."},{"type":"text","value":"“It’s interesting because it’s a melding of these different groups together through this one activity. Sometimes I’ll be up there playing with my ROTC buddies and some of my other friends will come over,” he says. “It’s kind of a weird entangling of friend groups and different parts of my life.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Overall, Bill is grateful for the life balance that ROTC provides him with all the other parts of his life."},{"type":"text","value":"“It’s a good balance of a lot of different things. I couldn’t do just one of those things and maintain my sanity. You need a little bit of everything,” Bill says."},{"type":"subheading","value":"{\"name\":\"Cadet Hurley/Alex\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"When we arrange to meet for an interview, Alex tells me I can find him by looking for the really tall guy wearing a bright yellow shirt. Sure enough, I find him almost immediately. He’s 6 feet, 6 inches. It soon becomes clear that Alex is a man of few words, serious and resolute with his statements."},{"type":"text","value":"Alex is a fourth-year political science student and is minoring in Russian, finishing his last months as Army Cadet Hurley after four years of dedicated training."},{"type":"text","value":"One of the first things Alex tells me about himself is that he is a former dual citizen of Austria and the United States. All of Alex’s immediate family is in the line of work of international relations: his dad working for the State Department, his mom working for the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and his sister attending  graduate school to study International Relations. For Alex, going into a civil service career like the Army was not only familiar, but also an opportunity to get into a similar career field as his family."},{"type":"text","value":"Alex’s childhood played a key role in his interest in international relations. Alex’s mother is from Austria and he used to hold both an American and Austrian citizenship. He speaks English to his dad and German to his mom when he’s at home. Alex also experienced many different cultures during his childhood. He was born in Washington, D.C., then moved to Moscow for five years, and spent most of his childhood in Europe."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"sample\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.Alex.JA-f8c2f5d6e462c36488bbe997b2e592c6.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Joe Akira\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“I would say my upbringing, my childhood, is the most important part of me,” Alex says. “The way I grew up kind of having the two-sided identity,  being both American and Austrian, affected how I interacted with people in school, affected how I interacted with people around me in general. I would say that was one of the largest factors that shaped who I am today.”"},{"type":"text","value":"However, Alex had to give up his Austrian citizenship to be able to join the Army. He explains that in order to be an officer in the Army, you are not permitted to have citizenship in any other countries besides the United States."},{"type":"text","value":"This doesn’t phase Alex though. His sense of Austrian cultural belonging is enough for him, he explains, because the title of  “citizen”  holds less significance than the experiences he fostered in each of his part-time homes."},{"type":"text","value":"“I would say it’s just a formality,” says Alex of forfeiting his Austrian citizenship. “It’s still a huge part of my identity, like I speak the language, the culture is still embedded in me, I have a lot of cousins who live over there so I visit them still, and I speak German to my mom everytime I talk to her. It’s not like anything is lost.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Within the Army, there is a wide variety of jobs that require special and specific skill sets. Each cadet will be assigned to a location and a job that is individual to them. Alex tells me his unique background is what has dictated his future goals within ROTC."},{"type":"text","value":"“If I stayed in the Army, what I would want to do is be a foreign affairs officer, which is like a military representative at an embassy. I think it’s a cool job given my background.”"},{"type":"text","value":"And, if he were to leave the Army, Alex says he would want to follow in his dad’s footsteps, working in the foreign service."},{"type":"text","value":"Alex thinks there are a wide range of misconceptions about ROTC at UCLA, with some thinking cadets are literally just soldiers, while some think it’s just a club people join. Alex says ROTC is, in reality, somewhere right in the middle of those two ideas."},{"type":"text","value":"“ROTC, the way I view it, is it’s basically like a part-time job. As a scholarship recipient and someone who is being contracted, I’m literally being paid to be a part of the program and everything that comes with the program, whether that’s working out in the morning, training on Thursdays or anything else. I’m legally signed that I have to do all this stuff. So it’s a huge responsibility for cadets in the program and it’s also something to be taken very seriously.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Reflecting on his four years as an Army ROTC cadet, Alex admits this role was a challenge for him in the responsibility he was given, but one he took on with determination in order to achieve his goals."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I’m legally signed that I have to do all this stuff. So it’s a huge responsibility for cadets in the program and it’s also something to be taken very seriously.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“I would say that one of the most significant parts of the program is that a lot of the challenges come from how hard you push yourself, rather than the standards that are pushed out by the program. I would say that a lot of friends of mine and myself, we are the kind of people that push ourselves.”"},{"type":"subheading","value":"{\"name\":\"Midshipman Lee/Sean\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"I meet Sean during a passing period between his aerospace engineering upper division classes, on one of the first warm days of spring. Sean is bubbly and easy-going, and his clear passion for his work makes conversation enjoyable and engaging."},{"type":"text","value":"Sean is a fourth-year aerospace engineering student. He also goes by Midshipman Lee, and is a fourth-year Navy cadet about to commission into a minimum of four years of service. In a few months time, Sean will be stationed in Pensacola, Florida, to train to become a Navy pilot."},{"type":"text","value":"When Sean tells me about ROTC, he talks about community."},{"type":"text","value":"“There’ll be sometimes that I just kind of look around and think, ‘Wow, all these people with different backgrounds, different races, gender, things like that, they’ve all decided to do this with me. It’s like one big team,” says Sean."},{"type":"text","value":"Sean has been a part of this military community his entire life.  Sean’s dad was in the Navy, so Sean had a typical “military kid” experience for part of his childhood, making friends in one place, moving and having to start all over again in  a new place. He says it was common to run into the same people after years of distance."},{"type":"text","value":"“One of my best friends was in Japan in the second grade. When we moved away, I completely lost track of him until freshman year of college. He ended up being best friends with one of my really good friends in ROTC, like they went to the same high school and everything,” Sean says."},{"type":"text","value":"The prominence of the military community in his life has continued into his college years. A lot of his really close friends in college come from ROTC."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"They’ve all decided to do this with me. It’s like one big team.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"After spending four years in the program, Sean will be graduating and commissioning with his fellow midshipmen to different assigned locations and positions, which is not an easy transition to make because of the physical distance it will create in his college friendships."},{"type":"text","value":"“It is kind of hard to deal with the fact that half of them are going to go off and do their own thing, but I think one thing about the military, is it’s a lot smaller than you’d think. You will more than likely end up running into these people at some point in your life or in your career,” Sean says."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"sample\",\"url\":\"https://assets.dailybruin.com/images/prime.abby.beyond_the_uniform/web.sean.TS-66fba4dee59a4ae724e9e7f2b20b469d.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Tanmay Shankar\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Although the Navy community is a significant part of his life, Sean training as a midshipman isn’t the only thing Sean does. He told me about how he likes to go to the beach or go to Broxton brewery with friends on a Friday night."},{"type":"text","value":"“I’m just pretty normal, I hope,” he says laughing. “I think there is a misconception that we are all military, always working out, or like always doing training and stuff. After our required responsibilities, you’re basically just normal college students.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Sean also finds some of his community outside of ROTC at the Alumni Center, where he works three times a week. Sean helps set up for events, but says the most important part of his job is not the tasks he performs. It is the people he connects with there who aren’t affiliated with ROTC."},{"type":"text","value":"In the beginning of the job, Sean had the opportunity to explain the ROTC side of his life to his Alumni Center co-workers, and says it was a great chance to reflect on his time as a midshipman."},{"type":"text","value":"“It provides a cool little perspective, because when you’re actually in ROTC, everyone is doing the same thing. But when you actually explain the whole process of ROTC and you see that they’re actually interested, it’s kind of a cool feeling.”"},{"type":"text","value":"The pursuit of individuality in college is something I feel most students can relate to. After all, we attend a large university with so many options for ways to define ourselves, whether that’s through a club, a major or even outfits we wear. The way you choose to define yourself can have a significant impact on your college experience as well. It can be reflected in the friends you make, the clubs you join and where you end up after graduation."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I think there is a misconception that we are all military, always working out, or like always doing training and stuff.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"I believe finding individuality in light of these great consequences is a challenge. For this reason, these members of ROTC strike me as exceptional for committing to the task of forging unique individuality within an organization that values structure and uniformity."},{"type":"text","value":"Through getting to know them, these ROTC members have shown me this task is not one that requires strategic planning or great visioning, but one that it is quite organic, a natural unfolding of identity into a place that becomes your home. It’s something we all do as we get jobs, refine hobbies, make friends and set career goals during college."},{"type":"text","value":"The sense of individuality we build in college sets a foundation for the rest of our lives. These ROTC members will carry this special and honorable cadet identity with them into their service and in the years beyond. “It gives me pride to be able to say that I’ve decided to do this. And that idea also just kind of dictates a little bit of how I carry myself, and how I act in everyday life,” Sean says."}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"spring19","slug":"prime.abby.beyondtheuniform"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}