It’s 6 a.m. in late August, and the sun is rising over the Vanderbilt track. The newest recruits to Vanderbilt’s Army ROTC program, clad in matching shorts and T-shirts, are assembled at one end of the track, flanked by upperclassmen holding clipboards and wearing fatigues tucked into high-laced boots. The new students, alert with anticipation, wait their turn in line. Each has two minutes to complete a certain number of push-ups, then sit-ups, to be followed by a timed, two-mile run. The upperclassmen – seasoned ROTC cadets – record their times and cheer them on.
This isn’t boot camp, but it is an orientation. These 20 young men and women are taking their first Army Physical Fitness Test, which they will repeat for practice once a month and must pass once every semester to maintain their ROTC scholarship eligibility. The early-morning workout is something they must get used to as well. Army ROTC meets three times a week in the pre-dawn hours for physical training.
This is the scene that comes to mind when one thinks of ROTC – uniformed students performing coordinated physical tasks. But Vanderbilt’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps – which includes undergraduate and graduate students preparing for required four- or five-year stretches in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Air Force – is much more.