NROTC

NROTC is an organization that could be defined as the best and worst thing. The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program has allowed me to go to college for free, well at least there is no monetary cost. Beyond the sexy uniform we have to wear once a week, we also have to wake up at 5 in the morning three to five days a week, work at every home FSU football game, and devote the next eight years of our lives to the United States navy or Marine Corps.

Even though there are some draw backs to being in NROTC, if it weren't for this program I would not be at FSU. I think that is the case for the majority of the Midshipmen. While it is noble of us to serve our country if we really wanted to do only that we could have enlisted and skipped the college part. NROTC is a program designed to introduce the military life to you before they send you to "The Fleet". We take classes on things like Sea Power and Maritime Affairs, Amphibious Warfare, and Naval Weapons Systems. During out summers we go to active duty status and we do O.J.T. (on the job training). For four weeks we learn about the different jobs the Navy or Marine Corps has to offer us. We learn about how to do the job we choose, and we meet other Midshipmen from around the country. 

Probably the best part of NROTC is knowing that no matter how difficult it gets for you, someone else is experiencing the exact same thing. At any one moment in the day another Midshipmen is in another class, maybe even your class, and they are feeling the sleepiness of having just worked out for an hour and a half after having stayed up to finish a paper until 2 in the morning. This is sometimes Hell, but at least its a Hell that more than one can enjoy. As a freshman in the program I had to complete New Midshipman Orientation the week before the fall classes started. During that week I made mistakes, I made enemies, but most importantly I made friends. From the hardships we face together bonds are formed. Two of my best friends are in the program, and I don't even know how I could wake up at 5 every morning if they weren't going to be there to make me laugh.

NROTC is a world changing program that could be Hell or it could be a God given gift. I'm not sure which one it will be for me yet, but I am sure that I have experienced both ends of it and I am still in the program. I do enjoy the things we do, just not so much the waking up early and life sacrificing part. When it comes down to it Midshipmen in the NROTC program are dedicated and motivated in everything they do.