VFMAollersROTCopportunities

Editor's note: This article, which was originally published in the Dec. 6, 1996 edition of Loquitur, is being reprinted due to an error in layout that prohibited publication of the entire article.

by Dave Jurkiewicz assistant perspectives editor

Now is your chance to be all you can be.

J:he Army Reserve Officer Training Corps is a way to start a career in the U.S. Army. The ROTC is a program. offered to all Cabrini students as a crossenrollment with Valley Forge Military Academy.

There are two programs through which a person can become a member of the ROTC.

The first program is called the progression program.

This is offered to first-year students and sophomores. It involves one hour of class and a 90-minute lab per week. The class work is primarily book work based on leadership management. The lab offers practical applications for the material covered in class.

There is no obligation to join the army for first-year students and sophomores in this program.

Junior year is the year of decisions. If students decide they want to be a member of the army or army reserves, they can ask to be contracted. If they meet certain physical and scholastic qualifications, they will be contracted into the ROTC and receive an allowance. It is at this point, after being contracted, that a student is obligated to serve in the army or army reserves.

The progression program continues until the end of senior year.

If students fulfill all their requirements, when they graduate, they will enter the army as a second lieutenant.

The second ROTC program is the two-year program. This program is for students who discovered the ROTC after their sophomore year. The first part of the two-year program is called basic camp. Students can use basic camp as a way to see if they want to be in the army, or to make up for the two years missed in the progression program.

Basic camp is a six-week program held at Fort Knox, Ky. It is an introduction to the army and its leadership principles.

If a student fulfills the goals of basic camp and wants to maintain involvement in the ROTC, they can be contracted and complete the program just like the progression students.

As with the progression program, there is no obligations unless a student is contracted in the ROTC.

There are many benefits for being involved in the ROTC, primarily scholarship opportunities.

ROTC scholarships are awarded for two, three and four years. The four-year scholarship is not available to students entering their first year. However, they can apply for the two and three-year scholarships.

The scholarships are awarded on a tiered basis. That is, there are four scholarship amounts that a student can receive based on how they rank in the competition.

Included in the scholarships are tuition money, a book allowance and a subsistence allowance.

Competition for the ROTC scholarships is very high. Students must have an 850 on the SAT or a 19 in the ACT. Also, the students must pass medical and physical exams. Involvement in extracurricular and civic activities is also taken into consideration for scholarships.

For more information on the ROTC, contact Captain Sublett at Valley Forge Military Academy at (610) 989-1445.