ROTC gains a slight increase of new members despite fluctuating economy

While students across the country search for ways to pay for college in the midst of economic turmoil, more and more are looking to the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

“Historically, when the economy isn’t going very well, the military tends to do better,” Major Todd Tinius said.

However, as far as IU ROTC is concerned, it’s still business as usual.

“For us, it’s not that marked of a difference,” Tinius said. “We’re not bringing in any more in the last six months than we were before. However, we might not be the right analytical card to look at because we’ve always been doing well. If I was going to speculate, I’d say (the economy) does have an impact (on recruiting). I’m sure it’s going to make some people’s minds up for them.”

Of The 272 ROTC programs in the nation, IU’s was ranked No. 1 in 2007. In the past few years, Tinius said IU’s recruitment has been going well compared to other colleges. From a group of 85 cadets in 2005, he said the program has grown to 130 cadets, bringing in 42 new cadets over the past two years. But this growth took place before the economic downfall.

Certain aspects of the program have had increased interest, possibly due to the economy.

A program called Leader Training Course, where a college sophomore who has missed out on ROTC the previous year can take an intensive 28-day course in the summer to catch up and be on track for graduation within the program, has increased in prospective students.

There are now about 13 members of the IU community who might participate in the program, compared to an average of three or four in the past.

But there might be other reasons interest in the program has increased.

“I did something differently this year than I did in the past,” Tinius said. “I did a mass hard mailing and a mass e-mailing whereas I used to only do a mass e-mailing.”

Despite the fiscal advantages offered by the program, IU ROTC is home to some members who joined for more than just financial reasons.

“I wanted to maximize my potential,” senior A.J. Moir said. “I figured that if I’m able to, I should do it because I could be useful. It’s a nice bonus, but money didn’t have any influence on my decision.”

Other students joined ROTC to pursue a career in the military.

“I already did four years active duty,” senior Brett Kirby said, “and I wanted to become an officer.”

The fact that people still enlist, even in war time, surprises Tinius, he said.

“It just amazes me that we’re in a protracted war and we continue to find people willing to serve despite that,” he said. “When you’re in a war, it’s really hard to recruit.

Nobody wants to mess with it. But we’ve done pretty well at IU.”