Xavier ROTC: More than Soldiers
Matthew Finger
Managing Editor
Erika Breese
ROTC cadets participate in military science labs twice a week and physical conditioning three times a week.
Every morning before the sun comes up, before the caf opens, and before The New York Times makes its way to the newsstands, about 80 Xavier students are wide awake, and ready to go.
Xavier’s military history is a tradition older than basketball on campus. There has been a military science program at Xavier since 1877. The current ROTC program has been around since 1936. That was when ROTC was mandatory for all able-bodied freshmen and sophomores.
Today the ROTC program is a volunteer organization, meaning that five-dozen men and women choose to give up their college mornings and weekends.
But what exactly do our Xavier cadets do? That’s what Newswire photographer Erika Bresee and I set out to discover when we followed the ranks of Xaver’s ROTC program Tuesday Nov. 6.
For myself, 6 a.m. came pretty early. But to Xavier senior and XU ROTC Public Affairs Officer John Verwiel, this Tuesday morning was just like every other: full of hard work and experience.
“ROTC is about development,” Verwiel says. “We are the United States Army. We have responsibilities.”
Click on each picture to enlarge.
Erika Breese
That is why every Tuesday and Thursday the battalion (that is what the ROTC
cadets are collectively called) assembles for a military science lab.
They have physical conditioning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The three companies, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie, formed a few minutes before 6:50 a.m. and promptly greeted their commanding officer with a hearty “Good morning Sergeant Major!”
After that, it was all business. The military science labs are tutorials on basic, and not so basic, military concepts.
Erika and I witnessed a lab on tactical movements, which the battalion was practicing in anticipation of that upcoming Saturday’s First Blood training excercise.
First Blood is the first time that the cadet juniors are evaluated for accuracy on their military technique.
This exercise is designed to help prepare the juniors for LDAC (Leadership Development and Assessment Course), which comes the summer before their senior year.
The juniors, usually called MS-3s (military science third year), are in charge of the squads, since they have the most experience and will be the ones tested at First Blood and LDAC.
Junior Austin Riker, a squad leader, used a visual aid called a terrain model kid to explain to the MS-1s and MS-2s.
The tactics that they learned for that day were how to assault a bunker, a squad attack and a recon mission.
After a brief explanation we ventured into the crisp, 28-degree morning to put what we learned into action.
Verwiel explained everything that the squads were doing, as they would line up, lie down, create cover and then advance on their objectives.
The exercises were impressive, as they were understood and executed quickly.
They do the labs and physical conditioning to perfect their movement and reactions.
More important than what they do right is what they do wrong. It is crucial to identify what can improve, says Cadet Batallion Commander Chris Wimsatt.
“That’s the essence of good training. There is always something that can be improved.”
The real question is why do these students spend two hours a morning, five days a week becoming soldiers? And why do they choose to become soldiers in the first place?
Well, cadet Verwiel has an answer for both. “It’s who I am. It’s my life,” he says when asked why he is dedicated to ROTC.
“You are what people look at for the army,” and because of that, constant training and conditioning are imperative, he says.
Verwiel joined ROTC because his father was a graduate of the Xavier ROTC program.
Verwiel’s freshman sister Michelle did the same, by choosing to go to Xavier and join ROTC.
Freshman Joe Paskowski is a nursing major at Xavier, and a cadet in ROTC.
He joined ROTC because he has always wanted to join the army, but wanted a normal college life too.
“I came to Xavier because I know that it has one of the best programs in the country,” Paskowski says.
Xavier’s battalion boasts an impressive record, receiving the General MacArthur Award, which identifies the top ROTC units throughout the country, over six times since 1991.
The bottom line is that the Xavier students in ROTC are growing when they show up at 6:30 a.m. They are doing a duty they feel is right, and enjoying college life as well.
To see more ROTC photos, go online to xu.edu/newswire.
Police Notes
Nov. 5, 12:58 p.m.- A student reported that his vehicle had been broken into in the R-2 lot and that several pieces of electronic equipment were stolen.
Nov. 5, 10:14 p.m.- Campus Police, Physical Plant and Cincinnati Fire and Rescue responded to a house on Ledgewood Avenue for a possible carbon monoxide leak.
Nov. 7, 5:24 p.m.- A student reported the theft of an iPod from the basketball courts in the O’Conner Sports Center.
Nov. 9, 2:29 a.m.- Campus Police assisted a Cincinnati Police officer in recovering a stolen vehicle from the corner of Dana Avenue and Ledgewood Avenue. A suspect was arrested without incident.
Nov. 10, 9:45 p.m.- Two students were cited for smoking marijuana on the residential mall. One student was also cited for failing to cooperate with a school official.
Nov. 10, 11:31 p.m.- Campus Police assisted Cincinnati Police in breaking up a large party in the 1000 block of Dana Avenue.
Nov. 11, 1:20 a.m.- A student was cited for underage alcohol possession in the Joseph lot.
Nov. 11, 3:18 a.m.- Campus Police assisted an intoxicated non-student who was lost in the Village parking lot back to his off campus residence.
Police Note of the Week
Nov. 9, 10:05 a.m.- A student was cited for the possession
of two fake IDs after his wallet was turned in to the lost and found.
Katie Rosenbaum
Campus News Editors
Financial wellness
The 12th annual Financial Wellness Workshop will be held from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 in the Gallagher 330 meeting room. This program is designed to improve students’ ability to manage their finances, promote awareness to known pitfalls and develop strategies to avoid them. Topics will include overviews of the financial services resources available through the office of the Bursar, ALL Card, X-Cash program and Xavier Banking. For more information contact Auxiliary Services at auxiliaryservices@xavier.edu.
Student planner
Get organized for the new year. A Jesuit-themed day planner with weekly reflections is available from Xavier’s Mission & Identity Division. If you would like a book, stop by the Ledgewood Avenue house next to Residence Life. For more information contact Diana Rischman at rischman@xavier.edu.
Fight Night
The XU Boxing Club will be hosting “Fight Night” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Armory. Members of the club will match up and contend with fighters from other schools such as Miami, UK, NKU and West Virginia. The event is open to all spectators. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 with any college ID. For more information contact Shannon Lloyd at 513-226-6463 or Lloyds@xavier.edu.
Hip-hop speaker
Michael Eric Dyson, professor and The New York Times bestselling author will be speaking about “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?: The State of Our Generation” at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at Cintas Center. Dyson is a professor at Georgetown University, has authored 14 books and was named one of the 100 most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine. For more information contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at x3181.
Free Hugs Day
Random Acts of Kindness Club members or anyone in the Xavier Community can make “Free Hugs” shirts for Free Hug Day. At 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14 stop by the RAK Shak on 3717 Ledgewood Ave. to make a shirt, or make one on your own. The first Free Hug Day will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 20 and will take place every third Tuesday of the month for the rest of the year. Contact Beth Richer at richerea@xavier.edu for more information.
