CHS seniors explore ROTC, military options

Mitch Lipe

Air Force Academy

“I like all the opportunities offered through the Air Force Academy. One really good thing is it’s completely free, but you do have to serve time in the military to pay for college. But I kind of like how that worked because after I’m done with college, I’m going to immediately get a job. It’s a well-respected school, and I just liked all the opportunities they offered, like parachuting and flying gliders – it just sounded really cool.

“I actually started thinking about going to the Air Force Academy really late. I found out about it my senior year, so I didn’t really know about it until they contacted me about track, and that’s when I started looking into it and found out it was a really cool school.

“It definitely was tough, applying to the air force academy, because I had to get a lot of letters of recommendation, to apply to senators and congressmen and women to get an appointment to the air force academy, which is needed for every single person if you’re going to go to the air force academy. So that was really tough. Each senator and congresswoman had their own application to fill out of medical information, school information, and then on top of all of that, I had to fill out an application specifically for the air force academy which was very long and rigorous process, but overall, I definitely think it was worth it, to go through all of that.

“It’s a lot different because along with academics, I’m going to have to deal with the military aspect, which is rigorous and strict, and you get a lot of freedoms taken away, but I think it’s worth it in the long run.

“If you go to a military academy, you don’t necessarily have to serve in the military for the rest of your life. You can serve five years after you finish college, and then you can leave the military and you have a great set-up for the rest of your life. You have job experience in the military, and you have a top-notch education.”

Alex Feys

Army ROTC at American University

“I really had a respect for military careers in general, and I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, so that seemed like that would really fit well with me, just all of the opportunities that the army would give, and just having service for my country.

“One of the big benefits for me as an undergraduate is that they would pay for my full tuition, so that’s really a big benefit. Also, just the career in the government has a lot of benefits, with the healthcare, living abroad, and serving the country. There’s a lot of financial benefits (too).

“(The application) actually wasn’t too long. I started over the summer, and I completed three essays, sent in my transcript and grades. I had to do a physical fitness test which consisted of a one-mile run, a timed one-minute pushups and a timed one-minute situps. I also had to interview with the lieutenant colonel military science professor downtown.

“I would have a three-hour commitment for physical training each week. So that would be three one-hour sessions in the mornings from 6:30 am to 7:30 am, I believe, at American. I haven’t planned the schedule completely. And then there’s a one-hour military science course that I will take once a week, so it’s a four-hour commitment each week.

“I would likely take an education delay as I go to medical school. I would be entered into eight years of service, so that would be four years of ready-reserve, which I would stay here, but if they need me I would be deployed. And then four years of active duty, I would serve abroad.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for people who want to get into military service but aren’t quite ready for the military to be their complete college experience. I want more of a typical undergraduate experience, so I chose that instead of applying to the academies. It’s somewhere in the middle, and I’ll still have a guaranteed career after college.”

Joseph Lecher

Naval Academy

“Besides the academics they have, it’s a prestigious college to go to, and I think later in life that will benefit me, having that kind of name stuck with me. Also, it helps grow my leadership abilities, and I think that’s important, especially if I want to be an officer and lead other people. And then I feel like it would teach me better life lessons than going to a typical college.

“It’s more comparable almost to high school, where it’s really structured. You have set classes, set class times, and you can’t miss classes like you can in normal college. There’s also set workouts. You have to wake up really early, like 5:30 to start morning pt. Then, you have to start and line up for formation before every meal. So, the entire brigade, or basically the entire Naval Academy, lines up and forms lines and all march in to eat together. So it’s a lot more rigid than the freedom of a normal college.

“The application process is really long. It starts junior year. You begin talking to your Blue and Gold officer who is a regional person for Indiana, so for us it’s the Carmel, Fishers (and) Zionsville area. You begin doing that; you have an interview with them. And then they’ll see your interview and they’ll see what they think and send that to the academy. And that’s part one. And then, obviously there’s an online application where you do the typical filling out your name, date of birth, everything like that. And then once you’re halfway done with that, you get a notification that the DODMRB wants to test you, and that’s the Department of Defense Medical Review Board. They just do physicals to make sure that you’re healthy. And then after that you have to do pullups, pushups, run, things like that, to show how physically fit you are relative to your peers. And once you finish all of that and you’re qualified through all of that, then you have to apply for an interview through either one of the senators or the congresswoman, and if you get selected to do an interview then you have to do well enough in your interview to get a nomination from one of them. If you’re qualified through the academy physically, like you’re healthy and everything, and you also get a nomination from the senator or congresswoman, then you are technically fully qualified and then the academy now has to decide out of all the kids who are fully qualified who they want.

“I think the military academies and going a ROTC route are kind of overlooked. The benefits you get of going to one; not only do they pay for your college but you’ll also get a guaranteed job upon graduation. And you’re not just enlisted—you’ll also be able to lead and do other things in the field. You’ll get a lot more experience that can help you later in life. And then obviously the benefits of being a veteran are pretty great, like healthcare and everything. So I think that more people should look into it as an option, especially the academies, because saying that you went to the naval academy or west point comes off very prestigiously for businesses that are looking to hire.

“Once you graduate from either ROTC or from an academy, you have to serve a minimum five years to pay back your free college. And they guarantee you a job in the navy somewhere. Specifically for the navy, you can do SEALS, you can do submarines, surface workers, you can fly planes, you can become an intelligence officer, and you’re guaranteed to get one of those jobs. And the jobs starting salary is usually around 70 or 80 grand, which is pretty good for just out of college.”