I, of small strength, stature, and courage, have always been a little intimidated by the ROTC men and women that I see walking around campus. Uniform-clad down to their boots and backpacks, they appear ready to defend Wake Forest in the face of any attack. I think full-on camo will usually give you that impression.
And it’s not entirely a wrong one. These cadets really are preparing to defend this school and this country. After four years of PT at 6 a.m. three days a week, weekly leadership labs, and summer boot camps, they are trained and ready to take on a life in the military. And when it’s all said and done, graduating ROTC members will have signed 8-year contracts (four years active duty) with the United States Army that may lead them overseas for battle or stateside to work in critical military jobs.
But right now, even with their busy lives behind the scenes, they are also everyday students enjoying college, involved in things like fraternity or sorority life, student government, intramurals, and campus ministries. And senior cadets TJ Mallozzi and Logan Burnett will be eager to tell you that beyond the army fatigues, ROTC is first and foremost preparing them to be leaders in the real world.
TJ, who is from a small town in Florida, arrived at Wake with barely a glimpse of ROTC on his radar. He spent only one semester on campus in his first year, as he choose to travel abroad to Venice, Italy in the spring at Casa Artom. Clearly one for new experiences, TJ returned to Wake as a sophomore and decided to try out a few ROTC classes just to see if he would like it.
It didn’t take much time for TJ to realize he had found his niche, but looming over his trial-period was the fact that he would have to sign a contract by the beginning of junior year if he wanted to stay in the program. It would mean signing onto a new future and a new college experience, which is enough to scare anyone straight out of their camo.
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But when the time came to put pen to paper, TJ’s decision was an easy one. After participating, and excelling, in a boot camp that summer, he was eager to start his army life.
“I realized that it was real world stuff, not just theoretical. And the most appealing part was being able to serve my country … and have a job after graduation,” he explained. “There are a lot of misconceptions – ‘Oh they are going to go fight and kill people,’ but it’s not all that. It’s a giant stepping stone regardless.”
Logan arrived from Birmingham, Alabama, and much like T.J., he had little idea of the ROTC program when he began his freshman year. Admittedly, he didn’t even know it existed at Wake.
That all changed when he became close with his hall RA, who was also an ROTC cadet. He invited Logan to sit in on a few classes with him, and by the end of his first college semester Logan, a former Eagle Scout and athlete, knew that ROTC was a perfect fit. He signed on that spring and has been actively pursuing military opportunities ever since. And by opportunities, I mean crazy opportunities – like riding elephants during a trip to India where he studied culture and language with fellow cadets from N.C. State. Or attending a camp at Ft. Benning Georgia where he learned how to properly exit a high-performance aircraft in flight. Logan started out with a fear of heights, and now he even jumps for fun.
“The training was so good that it becomes not a scary thing to do, but really a process that just kind of happens,” he explained. “And this last summer I was able to get my 6th jump with an aircraft crew from New Zealand.”
It was experiences like these, and the leadership Logan showed in ROTC, that landed him the highest position offered to a senior cadet in the program, Battalion Commander. This position is most equivalent to the president in other organizations, and it means that Logan is responsible for everything that happens in the battalion regarding cadets.
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“Everything they do right I’m very thankful for, but if anything goes wrong I’ll catch the flak for it,” he said with a laugh.
It sounds like a strict and time-consuming organization to be a part of, but both TJ and Logan say that even with the extensive commitment, ROTC has benefited them beyond what they could have experienced in college classes alone.
“In our opinion, the time-consuming part is beneficial—it teaches you practical experiences and lessons and leadership, being professional, stuff that applies after college,” TJ said. “A test gives you a lot of knowledge, but sometimes you wonder why you are even taking a class.”
“It’s not as intimidating as it might seem,” Logan added. “It’s a lot of fun, and the people make the experience—the people in ROTC make it.”
Logan and TJ both point to Ranger Challenge, an event they were co-captains for, as one of the best parts of ROTC. In the challenge, battalions from different schools navigate their way through a course that includes crossing rivers, building a bridge out of single rope, and many other obstacles. It’s a chance for the battalion to be cooperative and competitive, but also to have some fun.
“Someone got chased by a turkey once, and I think someone got stuck in a beaver dam.” TJ explained as both he and Logan burst out laughing.
“And there was that time I fell in a creek,” TJ said as Logan broke out into another round of laughs.
“What? I was bleeding!”
Intimidating military men soon enough, but right now TJ and Logan are cadets enjoying a balance of college life and leadership. And of course, the occasional jump out of a high-speed aircraft.
*Photography by Karleigh Ash