By Joanne Shih
It is barely past 8:30 a.m. and everyone I see looks alert, alive, and ready to go. Not your typical MIT morning scene, but for the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program hosted by the Institute, such is the norm, if not actually a few hours later than usual.
On Sept. 16, 2006, I spent a gorgeous Saturday with a group of around 20 new Army ROTC cadets, a few of which are MIT students, for orientation at Camp Curtis Guild in western Massachusetts, a day-long event that covered everything from weapons training to tactical instruction to group formations to MRE’s (Meal, Ready-to-Eat).
A number of the new cadets were accepted to West Point or other prestigious academies but chose the Paul Revere Battalion, based at MIT, instead. Touted as the best ROTC program in the nation, the battalion is comprised of students from MIT, Harvard University, Tufts University, Wellesley College, Salem State College, Endicott College, and Gordon College.
Surprisingly, this year was the first time such an orientation has been held. In previous years, new cadets had to try their best to fit in with the older, more experienced cadets on the first day of training, which is stressful enough when no one knows anyone else’s name. Imagine trying to march and follow orders on top of that!
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09-22-2006, 06:54 AM
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