Graduating college students exchange books for military combat

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Months after Andrew Vincent walks off the stage this May, proudly clutching a University of California diploma, he expects to go into combat.\nThe 22-year-old says he's ready to fight for his country.\n"I don't think about the danger," said the midshipman in the UC Berkeley Reserve Officer Training Corps.\nVincent and others in the ROTC graduation class of 2004 realize they have an obligation to fulfill, one that could plunk them down on the volatile front lines in Iraq or Afghanistan.\n"Many of these graduates will be, within the year of commissioning, assigned to operations," said Capt. L.H. Rosenberg, commanding officer of the UC Berkeley Naval ROTC program. "They almost all will be sent to active duty."\nIn June, Vincent will return to his San Diego hometown where he'll be assigned to a ship until September.\nThere he and a high school buddy will undergo six months of intense training to achieve a boyhood dream, joining the fierce Navy Seals.\nHe knows that by reaching this goal he places his life in the crosshairs.\n"I figure that somebody has to be out there and it might as well be the best trained, the most capable," he said during a break from instruction and practice on campus.\n"Hopefully, I will, one day, be the most trained and the most capable. I look forward to it and I don't fear it either."\nTo be the best, he's building a durable, perfectly conditioned athletic body, one that requires rigorous twice-a-day workouts.\nHe complements the brawn with a disciplined and focused mind.\nThe Cal ROTC program numbers 130, and includes the Army, the Navy, the Marines and Air Force. The naval program attracts the most students, about 60 enlistees. Nearly a quarter enrolled are women.\nThe Navy program draws students from Stanford, UC-Davis and the Cal Maritime Academy. The Air Force and Army branches have students from Saint Mary's College and Sonoma State.\nFor six hours every Thursday, ROTC students gather at Cal for drills and classroom instruction.\nThey say ROTC meets several needs, paying a hefty slab of higher education costs, preparing them to serve their country and instantly giving them a job when they graduate.\nNationwide, some 5,000 students apply annually for the Navy college program. Between 1,300 and 1,400 enter the program. The scholarship committee looks for well-rounded applicants, equally adept as athletes and as students.\nInterest in the program rose just after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Rosenberg.\nRising college costs and an indecisive economy make the scholarships and promise of immediate employment enticing, he said.\nCombat duty comes with the benefits. Despite the climbing body count in Iraq and Afghanistan and news of soldiers being killed, these servicemen and servicewomen say they're prepared.\nMidshipman Jack Brethauer of Seattle graduates in May and will go to San Diego in late June.\nThe 22-year-old said mom worries about her son's safety.\n"It's natural for her," he said. "My mom still thinks I'm 8 years old," he said. "She still makes sure that I take a jacket out with me."\n"I don't think about it at all. I'm excited for the opportunity to get out there and serve. We wouldn't be here if we weren't willing to accept the policies that were called for and enforced."\nAndrew Vincent's father, a Vietnam War pilot, understands his commitment, he said.\nNo one has dropped out of the program recently out of fear for their safety, Rosenberg said.\nAlthough he hasn't heard anyone express concern about the Iraq war he suspects the barrage of media reports about local casualties are on students' minds.\n"I don't think it changes the feeling of commitment students have," he said. "I think, like any bright engaged group, they are probably asking questions."\nROTC students preoccupy themselves with typical college concerns, such as where's the party on the weekend and prepping for exams, he said.\nVincent tends to block out the media images of families mourning fallen loved ones. He said it doesn't change his resolve.\n"I really don't have an answer. Maybe it's one of those denial things, where it's just like, you know, that won't happen to me. But then if it happens, it happens. I guess I don't really let it bother me."\nHis purpose remains as strong and unyielding as concrete.\n"The United States is great because whatever you want to do, you're guaranteed the opportunity to pursue the American dream. It's not guaranteed that you'll achieve it.\n"But if your American dream is to burn the flag and talk bad about the United States then we'll respect that.\n"So I'm defending those people as well as those people who plant the flag on their front lawn"