Name: Brendan Elliott
Major: Industrial Design with a minor in Military Science
Year: Senior
Age: 22
Hometown: Brevard, NC
Campus Involvement: ROTC, National Society of Perishing Rifles, Industrial Designers Society of America
Have you ever seen those beatiful humans walking around campus on Thursdays in Army uniforms? Well, they’re dressed for field training in ROTC, one of their many requirements for the military science program. ROTC,or Reserve Officers Training Corps, is a four year leadership program which allows students to commission as officers in the United States Military. Appalachian State hosts Army specific ROTC.
Other requirements include 6 a.m. physical training five days a week, planning and leading events, ROTC specific classes, attending a month long summer training camp in Fort Knox, military extracurricular clubs, and weekend training events.
In their third year of ROTC, cadets sign a contract to commit to active service to the military. Between their thrid and fouth year, they compete with cadets all across the nation through testing, physical fitness, GPA, and involvement to get the job of their choice. This can be a stressful time for them, as they’re unsure of what they will be doing and have high hopes for their getting their top choices.
Thankfully, for cadet Brendan Elliott, he recieved his first choice of Active Duty Aviation. After graduation he will commission as an Officer and shortly after head to Fort Rucker, Alabama. There he will go through flight school to be trained to fly a helicopter for the military.