As both a graduate student and ROTC cadet, Mike Smith shares his perspective on life as a student soldier.

Story by Kristi Mueller

Photo by Nick Cote
Dressed in a sweatshirt and baseball cap, Mike Smith looks like any other laid-back University of Oregon student. However, rather than sporting yellow and green, Smith’s daily wardrobe revolves around forest green and black. A military man first, Mike Smith’s maturity and real-life experience in the field distinguishes him from classmates who, for the most part, have never ventured outside of academia.
A master’s candidate for the Conflict and Dispute Resolution program, Smith also serves as a ROTC cadet major. At thirty-nine, Smith has served for more than a decade with the U.S. military as a medical field officer and continues to serve with the Oregon National Guard. Despite initial opposition from his family and friends, Smith volunteered to serve in the Middle East twice. As graduation approaches, he opens up about his experiences both in and out of the military.


KM: Why did you enlist in the ROTC?
MS: Well, I have prior military service, for one, and I’ve always wanted to be an officer. But I also felt that there are a lot of younger individuals who have come through and they just think that the military is kind of like the video game Call of Duty. You know, where somebody shoots somebody and then they get back up. Basically, like a great big game and that disturbs me. I think if you’re going to join the military, you really need to know what you’re getting into because it’s not a lifestyle like anything else.
KM: What motivated you to join the military?
MS: I believe — and this is going to sound really kind of corny and cheesy so please bear with me — I believe that this country’s given me a lot. I believe that our country is definitely not perfect but I believe that we have a great many more opportunities than individuals in other countries. So that’s one of the reasons I joined. I didn’t join for money, and I didn’t join because it was the cool thing to do, especially at the time that I joined. I just believe that this country gave me an opportunity to further my education. This country’s given me the opportunity to really build upon what I want to do as a person whether it’s education, whether it’s business, whatever, and I felt that the way I could give back was to join the military.
KM: What has your time in the military taught you?
MS: Don’t take life for granted and live a life of no regrets. When you’re overseas a lot of times people think it’s the big things, but it’s really the little things that you miss: lying on your couch and just watching TV or being able to just jump into your car and drive to Safeway and pick up a bag of Doritos or something. It’s little things like that.
KM: What was your reaction when you were called up for duty the second time?
MS: The funny thing is that I volunteered. I volunteered the first time mainly because I wanted to see what it was. It’s just like anybody else who does something over and over and over, you train and you train — you want to see what happens, you want to actually do it. The second time I volunteered because my unit had lost a number of soldiers and I went to go to replace those soldiers. I had much more of a reality check because I wasn’t going as an entire unit. I was going to replace individuals who had been killed or wounded.
KM: Would you be willing to serve overseas again?
MS: Currently my unit is deployed and if I weren’t in the ROTC I would be there with them. That was one of the biggest sticking issues when I was looking at becoming a cadet because my unit was training up to go overseas. If I wasn’t a student, I’d be there right now. I could have volunteered to go but I was already too far into the whole grad school thing.

KM: What’s the greatest challenge you’ve had to face during your time in the military?

MS: I have had two main struggles: one practical and one internal. First, I’m not a very good shot, and it has taken me years and years of shooting M-16s and M-4s to actually feel confident within that area. Second, how do I balance learning things in the classroom about our military, our government, and our politics and still be able to do my job as a member of the military? There are a lot of things about the government that I don’t agree with, but I swore to uphold and protect the Constitution, the commander in chief, and the citizens.
KM: Did you ever feel that your faith or morals were challenged?
MS: If I spoke in my military environment the way that I speak here [at the University], people would think I’m crazy. If I spoke here the way that I speak in my military life, people would probably think that, or anybody in the military would think, “what a racist, sexist, whatever,” which is far from the case. It is also a part of a culture that is cultivated and there are times when I will speak out in that environment. I believe the military is making strides to move away from that culture that has been set way back then, but it’s still a culture that you got to be aware of what you say.
KM: What was the transition from military to school life like?
MS: That has been an interesting transition because in the military it’s very ordered and very disciplined. It’s this, this, this, and this. Student – it’s like whee! And it’s hard being a student because I mean I’m just like you guys. I don’t want to do homework. I want to go and play on my XBox 360 and, you know, lounge around and watch movies. But there’s another element of being in ROTC that if I don’t do what I need to do academically, then my ROTC goals will not happen.
KM: What do you think are common misconceptions about ROTC members?
MS: That anyone who is involved with the military is just a dumb grunt. Supposedly we aren’t very smart. And it always comes up, “Have you ever shot anybody? Did you ever kill anyone?” Just the assumption that I shot someone or killed someone kind of makes me wonder about the mentality of the people who ask. Why are they asking? Why do they want to know that? By asking that veteran about his/her experiences you’re taking that person back to that situation and that might not be where that person wants to go.
KM: How do you feel ROTC students are viewed here at the University of Oregon?
MS: I would like to think that the University population thinks of them as students who are hardworking, don’t give up, who will put others before themselves and who are academically strong. Also, that ROTC members are open-minded, and that they are willing to listen to both sides of an argument. I would hope that they would see them as an active, vibrant part of this community. One thing to remember is that the ROTC is a group of individuals who are not robotic. We have opinions. We do get hurt. There is still a human wrapped up in that camouflage.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Nick Cote

Michael Smith, ROTC