What if your Monday morning involved an hour of long runs, short-distance sprints, pushups, and pull-ups — all while wearing a 20-pound weighted vest? On a crisp November morning at 6 a.m., campus was still asleep while cadets in Princeton’s Army Reserve were preparing to do exactly that.
In addition to the extra Military Science Courses and Leadership Labs that do not count for academic credit, these practices, which take place three times a week, are another element of ROTC which goes unseen by many students.
On Monday, Nov. 10, I had the opportunity to join the Army ROTC morning training and take a peek into their lifestyle. By the time I arrived outside of Jadwin Gymnasium at 6:20 a.m., a group of Army ROTC students had already congregated in uniform. Some were lightly stretching, while others stood tall and firm, their eyes facing the direction of the gym, their hands clasped behind their backs.
The objective of today’s workout: prepare for the Ranger Challenge, an annual competition for ROTC teams from universities all along the east coast. This year, the competition took place on Nov. 15. Princeton did not place in the top five.
The challenge involves completing a 12-mile run while carrying a 35–40 pound rucksack.
Cadet Brian Zhou ’26 greeted me with a handshake. “So will you be joining the workout today?” he asked. I was both slightly taken aback and mildly humored by his serious expression. “No,” I smiled. “I will just be observing.”
Practice began at 6:30 a.m. sharp. The team huddled in a circle, listening attentively as one cadet explained the instructions. Had I opted to join the workout, I would have begun second-guessing myself right then.
To begin, they ran a lap around the track field. Just as I raised my phone to catch an action shot as they ran past me, one cadet said, “Make sure to get my good side.”
Pushups into pullups.
Jamie Creasi / The Daily Princetonian
On top of their uniform, the cadets wore a 20-pound vest as they ran the 400-meter lap around the track. They kept the vest on as they ran short-distance sprints, adding another heavy weight to their hands or even carrying a fellow cadet on their back. They also kept the vest on during “pushups-into-pullups,” where they lay flat on the ground for a pushup, then launch into a full jump up to the lateral bars for a pullup, then repeat. Wet mud stained the cadets’ uniforms after this exercise (“That area is always particularly muddy,” Zhou noted), but they didn’t seem to notice as they ran back onto the track for another two rounds.
When anyone fell behind during the short-distance sprints, the rest of the team would patiently wait at the finish line, shouting words of encouragement. After carrying another teammate and setting them back down on the ground, one cadet would give the other a firm pat on the shoulder. Once the workout was complete, they all shared breakfast together.
Short distance sprints, carrying weights and fellow cadets.
Jamie Creasi / The Daily Princetonian
Outside of academics and training, Army ROTC students are also athletes, musicians, and artists. Sophia Kurisu ’28, a Computer Science major, is also on the Varsity soccer team.
“I’m not really a sit-around kind of person. I like a really good challenge, mentally, academically, physically,” she said.
After discovering the possibility of joining Army ROTC during her soccer recruitment process, she felt that being a part of both aligned best with her personality and goals.
Ella Miner ’28, who is studying Politics with a minor in History and Practice of Diplomacy, is also on the club sailing team, as well as Women in Economics and Policy and the USG Academics Committee.
“I think everyone’s busy here, so I’m not an anomaly,” Miner said.
ROTC is a college-based program which trains students to become officers in the U.S. Armed Forces. It has existed at Princeton since 1919, providing students a two to four year full scholarship alongside four years of armed forces training. Princeton also has Air Force and Navy ROTC. Students may recognize Army ROTC students walking to lecture, distinguished by their tan and olive green camo uniform that they wear every Wednesday. The attire is intended to promote visibility, hopefully prompting the question, “Why are you wearing a uniform?”
Every year, new cadets are sworn in in a ceremony on Veteran’s Day. “The oath that you’re about to hear goes back to about 1787 and the founding of the Constitution of the United States,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jared Nichols, Director of the Army Officer Education Program, standing before the University chapel.
“We are one of the few nations of the world that really takes that oath to a document, not to a person, that we take that oath to an idea, and that idea is the foundational document that found our country, our form of government, and also grants us our rights and freedoms that we all well and faithfully enjoy,” he said.
Nichols turned around to face the new cadets of Army ROTC, instructing everyone to raise their right hands. They repeated after him, swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against foreign and domestic enemies, swearing to obey the President of the United States.
At the Veteran’s Day ceremony, Miner recalled how she stood in the same chapel one year ago, taking her oath of office. “It’s just very exciting, especially to be in this beautiful chapel with people you’ve gotten so close with over the course of just a couple of months,” she said. “I remember that’s how I was feeling last year, because ROTC really becomes your second family.”
Miner came from a military family: Her grandfather was in the Army, and her aunt was in the Army Corps of Engineers. “I think it’s important to engage in public service in some capacity. My path happens to be the Army, and I’m just very grateful to have the opportunity to serve my country. They don’t really ask that much of me,” she said. “I really do believe in the Army’s core values of selfless service and duty to your country.”
On the same November morning, Paras Dodd ’29 took his oath of office. Also from a military family, he aspires to continue the family legacy through the Army. Moreover, after spending last year in India through the Bridge Year program, he recognized that, in contrast to the large amount of office work he did abroad, he wished to be more physically active post-grad.
Being a part of Army ROTC has given Dodd motivation for many of his classes. “Arabic, for example, would be maybe more difficult if I didn’t imagine myself possibly being deployed in the Middle East in the future, or at least working in that area,” he said.
And for the Army ROTC training itself, Dodd is motivated by the future where the training becomes real.
“There are already hundreds of thousands of men and women already doing what I’m doing in training, but doing the real thing,” Dodd said. “Ultimately, we’re signing up for all of the men and women [who are] putting their lives in our hands.”
After graduating, ROTC cadets will enlist in the U.S. Army, where they will receive further training before being assigned to a unit.
“We need to push through now, so that when the time for action actually comes, we are prepared and ready to do the job we signed up for,” Dodd said.
Jamie Creasi is a contributing Features writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
USG presidential candidates discuss transparency, advocacy at debate
Oliver WuQuentin Colόn Roosevelt ’27 and Aum Dhruv ’27, the presidential candidates in the upcoming USG election, discussed dining, transparency, and student engagement, among other issues at a debate on Friday.
Quentin Colόn Roosevelt ’27 and Aum Dhruv ’27, the presidential candidates in the upcoming USG election, discussed dining, transparency, and student engagement, among other issues at a debate on Friday.
Davis International Center Education Week hosts events to celebrate international community
Daphne LewisThe Davis International Center hosted International Education Week from Nov. 17 to Friday.
The Davis International Center hosted International Education Week from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21.
With term over, Phil Murphy closes time on Princeton’s Board of Trustees
Sena Chang and Luke GrippoThe Daily Princetonian sat down with Governor Phil Murphy for a look at his relationship with Princeton University over his eight years as Governor.
The Daily Princetonian sat down with Governor Phil Murphy for a look at his relationship with Princeton University over his eight years as Governor.