“I’m dedicated to schooling and getting a higher education, but I also am dedicated to serving my country,” sophomore Campus Celebrity, Alyssa Bush said.
She smiled gently as she was sporting her army pants, combat boots, no makeup and a slick chignon. Her versatile personality and warmth began to show through her uniform in the first few moments of her interview. In the beginning, before attending college, Bush had initially intended to go into nursing with ROTC, and almost wasn’t able to attend Ohio University because it’s Nursing program is currently un-accredited. As soon as she changed her major to Early Childhood Education, however, she was in at her top choice university at no cost. She received news that she was awarded a full scholarship to attend OU through ROTC.
Bush said she was thrilled and felt so blessed to be able to attend school without post grad loans and financial debts to her family. She always wanted to attend college and receive a degree, so direct enlistment was never an option. The interest was in military, however, grew within her during her early years.
In high school Bush had been exposed to recruiters for the Army, had always played sports, developed commitment to physical well being and had other inspirations to consider joining up.
“I always loved war movies, specifically Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan,” Bush said. “Something about them was so interesting to me.”
Bush agrees that she considers herself patriotic. She looks forward to what ROTC will provide for her in the future.
“I can leave college as an officer, which is really cool,” Bush said. “I’ll start off as a second lieutenant. I hope to work towards getting into Military Intelligence.”
Military Intelligence (MI), as described in an ROTC pamphlet, knows the enemy inside and out. Those working in MI work with high-tech equipment in areas such as communications, all-source intelligence analysis, computer warfare, digital imagery and satellite data. It includes areas of specialization such as counterintelligence, human intelligence and others.
The pamphlet explains, “MI officers are always out front, providing essential intelligence and, in many cases, saving Soldiers who are fighting on the front lines.”
Last year Bush was interested in working in Military Police. “That’s where women get to sorta be on the front lines, at least on the bases,” Bush said.
However, Bush said she wants a safer job and her parents, who are highly supportive of her pursuits in the Army, discouraged dangerous involvement while on duty.
“Honestly, I’m tough. But I don’t think I’m tough enough for Military Police,” Bush said. “Plus, my Dad simply said ‘no, my baby’s not carrying a gun for her life.”
Bush says that she’s been learning steadily since freshman year, but knew very little about ROTC when she received her scholarship and enrolled in the program. She believes that everything will fall into place for her in the future; her current focus is on managing her ROTC schedule, maintaining a good GPA, building her physical strength and getting involved elsewhere on campus.
Her typical week consists of three days of Physical Training (PT), starting at 6:15 a.m., which includes extensive running and muscle failure. Then she participates in remedial twice a week, which is training for physical testing to reach the set expectations by the US Army and OU’s ROTC Battalion. Bush is currently in remedial and working toward her goal of 70 percent of the set expectations, which now means pushing her 25 push-up limit and working toward other physical goals. Then there’s Wednesday’s lab and her Military Science course. In lab, they work on leadership and group unity projects, as well as a practice known as stx lanes.
“The whole Battalion goes up to The Ridges and practices field training stuff, like squad movement and recon,” Bush said. “We practice moving to a position, surveying enemy forces and attacking or overtaking their position.”
In Military Science she has learned everything from land navigation to how to present a briefing, or military presentation. The entire course is based on leadership skill development and knowing detailed information about the Army. When she’s not training she’s focusing on her Early Childhood Education studies.
“I go from Army to kids and it’s really interesting,” Bush said.
She also spends her time volunteering at the Child Development Center (CDC), where she works with children. Bush hopes to, someday, become reserve and teach on bases to elementary school children where Army families live. She wants her military pursuits and love for children and education to correlate throughout her life, as well as to keep a constant affiliation with the US Army.
“I have a lot of variety in my interests and schedule I guess,” Bush said. She shifted in her chair and was clearly trying not to boast or seem self-centered, of which the opposite was made evident throughout the interview. She potentially hadn’t ever talked about herself this much.
After some time, Bush explained that she was also involved in Circle K club last year and joined a campus women’s fraternity, Alpha Omicron Pi, where she now lives. Bush also recently got a job with OU Event Services. She said her busy schedule keeps her motivated because she tends to procrastinate.
“ROTC provides me with all of my brothers and my sorority provides me with sisters,” Bush said.
It’s obvious that she has a girly side. The way she spoke, laughed and used her hands in conversation exhibited an air of calm femininity, the kind not stereotypically associated with a soldier. When asked about the relationship between women and men in her ROTC program, however, Bush became a little tense. According to Bush, she felt uncomfortable last year and was uneasy about being a woman in an organization predominantly populated by men. Over the past year, however, she sees the men in the program as loyal brothers.
“They protect us (women),” Bush said. “They grow to know our strengths and weaknesses and either support or try to help us. Sometimes it’s competitive, but most of the time everyone wants everyone else to excel. We push each other.”
Women can’t work in certain infantry, as they require frontline jobs.
“There’s a barrier between men and women,” Bush said. “The military is a man’s job, so there’s still so much we can’t do. Personally I don’t want to be on the front lines, but I could see certain women, in my ROTC program, that could potentially be good enough to do it. I hope the ruling gets changed.”
Last year, according to Bush, the person that held the highest Physical Training record was a woman. A man, who came in second, wasn’t thrilled.
“I was like ‘you need to suck it up and work harder,’ because she’s working so hard,” Bush said. “It’s hard to just be seen, to be heard, as a woman in ROTC sometimes.”
Bush believes ROTC has given her physical exhaustion and frequent sore muscles, but also great leadership qualities. She now views herself in a higher light and with better self-esteem and confidence. She says the Army has given her a higher sense of purpose and better understanding of responsibility. Bush feels she is making her family proud.
“I’m not better than anyone else,” Bush said. “But I’m put on almost an upper level as I will, someday, serve American civilians. It makes me feel, especially as a woman, really good.”