When University junior Evan Matthews was still in high school, he was soft-spoken and shy. Now, the 20-year-old history major has made an about-face. The catalyst for his change, he says, is his involvement in the University chapter of the Army ROTC.
“It makes you be more assertive, and it helps you take more initiative,” Matthews said. “Now, I can get up in front of 60 cadets and can speak with no problem.”
Matthews, an ROTC cadet, joined the program as a freshman in spring 2001 after a friend in the program introduced him to several instructors.
Joining “was definitely an immersing process,” he said, adding that while he eventually wants to attend law school, he is looking forward to life in the U.S. Army after graduation.
“At some point down the line, I will be leading soldiers,” he said.
After graduation, ROTC cadets are given several choices of what fields to enter based on their performance in the ROTC. Matthews said his top two choices are engineering and transportation because they are job skills he can use after his service is up.
Cadets receive their commission and are usually sent into four years of active duty, followed by four years of reserve duty.
However, the ROTC is a world away from the Army. The mood is lighter — for instance, cadets aren’t punished if they break ranks or let their arms sag during Physical Fitness Training, or PFT, which is held only three times a week.
“We get a taste of what it’s like to train,” Matthews said.
For PFT, cadets meet at the Student Recreation Center by 6:30 a.m., wearing gray Army T-shirts and black Army shorts. Ten minutes later, they line up in two platoons for roll call.
On this particular Wednesday, Matthews’ platoon performs guerrilla exercises in the Rec Center Mat Room. The cadets warm up by doing stretching exercises and jogging, conducted by Wednesday’s leader, cadet Sam Gross.
“Left arm, right arm, sit down,” Gross says. “Left leg, right leg, roll over. Left calf, right calf.”
After five sets of 26 push-ups for men and 16 for women, and four sets of 31 sit-ups, Gross orders cadets to partner up for “guerrilla drills,” which ROTC Col. John Sneed said simulate battle situations — for instance, having to carry in injured soldier.
In addition to PFT, cadets also attend military science and leadership classes along with regular University courses. During their freshman and sophomore years, cadets learn basic Army knowledge. By their junior year, they must sign a contract to remain in the program through graduation and in the Army for eight years afterward.
During Matthews’ second year in the program, he learned U.S. military history as well as how to shoot an M-16 rifle, read a map, tie knots and complete squad infantry tactics. He will now be spending the rest of his junior year and senior year taking classes in individual leadership, tactical proficiency, critical thinking and battle drills.
Once per term, cadets travel to Camp Rilea, near Seaside, for Field Training Exercise — where they go through real-life battle situations such as navigating with a map and compass and having to move to attack a bunker by a certain time at a certain grid coordinate.
The specialized training is meant to train cadets for the Army, and eventually combat — so cadets are prepared for a possible call-up.
“I definitely didn’t join the Army to win medals, but I know that if I was faced with combat, I would be ready for it,” Matthews said. “But it’s not something I look forward to.”
Sneed said while no records are kept to determine whether conflicts such as the war in Iraq affect recruitment for the program, enrollment appears to stay steady in times of peace and war alike. ROTC leaders talk with cadets about current issues and hear their concerns, and Sneed said he makes sure that cadets know what they are getting themselves into before they are contracted.

“They are training to do something we hope they don’t have to do,” he said.
Matthews said cadets’ opinions of the war vary.
“We know as much as the next person about policy and national security,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned is that situations in the world are very complex. So in the end, I support the troops and their sacrifice.”
But before ROTC cadets even have a chance to go to war, they still have to complete their education. Matthews said he does not have a problem managing a normal school curriculum with the ROTC.
“It does seem kind of like another aspect of school,” he said. “You’re still learning, but it’s more hands-on.”
He is also looking forward to graduating, and said that even though college is fun, he wants to continue growing in his military education — this he credits to the ROTC.
“It’s an opportunity to serve that many people don’t have,” he said. “It will definitely stretch you as a person.”