Hope for America's future: Highlighting RI's ROTC stars during graduation season
I have recently enjoyed meeting several of the “best and the brightest” – young men and women who give me hope for the future.
It’s graduation season, and wearing my Military Order of Foreign Wars cap, I’ve been involved in the presentation of awards to ROTC (college) and JROTC (high school) cadets for academic, leadership and military proficiency.
Older veterans often express worry for the future of our military and its role in American society. If these young people are part of this country’s leadership a couple of decades from now, I think we will be in good hands.
As part of a deep dive on ROTC programs this summer, I will introduce some of those future leaders, and provide context for challenges they'll face. I will also address the challenges of the schools hosting these programs.
Six Rhode Island high schools participate in JROTC today. Hope, in Providence; Rogers, in Newport; and Cranston East sponsor Army programs, while Tolman, in Pawtucket, hosts a Marine Corps unit. Coventry is building up a Navy program, and North Providence launched an Air Force detachment this year.
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The Patriot Battalion at Providence College trains about 100 cadets from seven participating schools: Bryant, Brown, and Johnson & Wales universities, Rhode Island College, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and the Community College of Rhode Island.
Cramer's Saber Battalion at URI also serves students from Roger Williams and Salve Regina universities.
But I’m starting on College Hill, because Brown University is the ROTC elephant in the room.
Since Vietnam, a rocky relationship between ROTC and colleges
Brown had a distinguished military and ROTC tradition until the Vietnam era, when the antiwar movement caused the eviction of the program from campus. To be fair, many other colleges, especially in the Ivy League, also dropped ROTC.
However, steps taken in the last several years suggest that Brown is reassessing that action.
Students are now allowed to participate in ROTC – although they have to go to other campuses for military science courses and training. Army cadets go to Providence College, while Navy midshipmen travel to College of the Holy Cross and Air Force cadets go to Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
But proponents view getting ROTC back on the Brown campus in any form as a major step forward. Does this toe in the water mean that Brown may be moving toward reestablishing an on-campus program? What else would have to happen before such a decision might be made?
I am in a dialog with Brown administration to try to answer those questions.
Evidence of success makes the case for expansion
In the meantime, the quality of cadets produced by this limited program may be the best argument for expanding it – and reinstituting academic credit for ROTC courses.
According to Brown’s Office of Military-Affiliated Students, this year’s participation numbers stand at 22 for Army ROTC, 15 for Air Force, and three for Navy/Marine Corps.
Multiple college advisory services agree that ROTC scholarships offer more money than most National Merit Scholarships and can be used at more institutions.
Rachel Huynh, of California, is one of those students. She would not have attended Brown had she not earned a ROTC scholarship. She will graduate at the end of May.
Her career choice is medicine. “I am driven by the idea of helping people through their most trying times,” Huynh explained.
Her scholarship covers her tuition and related fees. However, she is responsible for her own room and board (about $17,000 annually). To earn that money, Rachel works multiple part-time jobs.
Brown employs her as an independent study concentration coordinator, and also as a residential assistant in her dormitory. She is also an emergency medical technician/CPR instructor for Brown University Health Services.
Despite her full-time academic schedule, ROTC participation and part-time employment, Rachel has maintained a GPA above 3.80 in her rigorous pre-med program.
She will join the health professional school program at the University of California/San Francisco. “I have received an Educational Delay from the Army so I can attend medical school, after which I will be a physician serving in the greatest Army in the world,” she said.
This is a step beyond just being a doctor. “I will get to embrace the same ‘suck' as my fellow soldiers while helping people in hostile environments,” Rachel said.
Family dynamic: Lessons in hard work, perseverance
In 1985, Rachel’s father, his seven siblings and their parents fled Communist Vietnam. Rachel’s mother is from Taiwan. “My parents met at a restaurant in Santa Clara," she said. "Mom was a waitress and Dad was a dishwasher/cook.”
Thanks to hard work and perseverance, they ended up owning the restaurant.
Rachel graduated from Leigh High School in San Jose, where she was salutatorian and co-captain of the varsity women’s swim team.
Her sister Jennifer graduated in 2019 from the Air Force Academy, which gave Rachel an early glimpse at military life and added to her motivation.
Her parents were supportive of her goals, “but many Californians only think of the military as a path for people who ‘can’t get into college.’ One doctor, a volunteer advisor at my high school, told me that joining ROTC was not a sensible idea.”
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After receiving a similar offer from Duke, Rachel chose Brown because of its more open curriculum.
Within the ROTC program, she is most proud of her successful completion of the Air Assault School at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. About 20 ROTC cadets nationwide joined a class of 120 soldiers. She was one of only eight women.
Christian “Mac” Manning is a Marine Corps veteran who directs the Office of Military-Affiliated Students at Brown. According to Manning, “She is an incredibly impressive woman. Rachel also was selected for the prestigious Joslin Awards for 2023.”
The Joslin Awards recognize a small group of seniors who have contributed in a very significant way to the quality of student life at Brown.
Upcoming activities
2023 Button Hole Veterans Golf Clinics: 2023 Schedule (Thursdays, 5-7 p.m.): May 25, June 8, June 22, July 13, July 27, Aug. 10, Aug. 24, Sept. 14 and Sept. 28
All veterans, active military and National Guard members are welcome, as well as their immediate family members. There is no charge for the golf clinics, golf equipment or the food that follows. A “ParaMobile” golf cart is also available, courtesy of Full Swing Golf RI and the Stand Up and Play Foundation.
If you plan to attend a clinic, email Dwright@buttonhole.org. If transportation is an issue, call Don Wright at (401) 421-1664 and Button Hole can find you a ride.
Also: Veterans can use the range or play nine holes at no charge on any Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m.
The Providence Vet Center will hold a Shore/Open Water Diving Group on Saturday, June 10. It will be a boat dive out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Additional dives will take place on the following Saturdays, with times and locations TBD: July 15, Aug. 12, Sept. 2 and Oct. 7. To participate in this group, you must be Vet Center eligible and have a dive certification.
Graduates of Operation Blue Pride (OBP) can use OBP equipment at no cost. Members who are scuba certified but not through OBP will need to provide their own equipment or register with OBP. For members who are not scuba certified, there is training and certification available at operationbluepride.org.
If interested, contact Paul Santilli via email at Paul.Santilli@va.gov or by phone at (401) 739-0167.
Calendar
On Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day): Texas Roadhouse (1200 Quaker Lane, East Greenwich) will be offering a $20 food voucher for veterans from noon to 4 p.m. There are only 50 spots available, and it is first come, first served. Contact Missy Beaudoin at 278marketing@texasroadhouse.com.
Thursday, June 8, 6 a.m- 4 p.m: Charter Fishing out of Hampton, New Hampshire. This trip is limited to 45 veterans/active duty/Guard and Reserve. If more than 45 sign up, a lottery will determine participants.
All you need is a cooler for your catch/beverages, weather-appropriate clothing and Dramamine if you need it. Please do not sign up if you are not 100% sure of going. This is an early-morning departure from New Hampshire!
To sign up, you need to join The Fallen Outdoors East Coast Community Page on Facebook. Once accepted, comment on the post for this trip with “Tight Lines.” This enters you into the drawing for the trip. Questions? Call Justyn Charon at the RI Vets Center, (401) 739-0167 or Justyn.Charon@va.gov
To report the outcome of a previous activity, or to add a future event to our calendar, please email the details (including a contact name and phone number or email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: ROTC in RI colleges: Future leaders leave country in good hands
