ROTC senior cadets rank in top 1 percent

The atmosphere at Cook Hall tingled with composed anticipation as 28 of the 30 Army ROTC senior cadets gathered for their branch ceremony, on Monday.

The cadets anxiously awaited their specific branch assignment, signifying where they would serve as officers in the U.S. Army after graduation.

“We have chosen a place where many Hoosiers have allowed their dreams to come true,” Lt. Col. Michael Ogden, director of military science and commander of IU Army ROTC, said as he addressed the crowd of family, friends and veterans.

Surrounding the perimeter of the upper deck, each cadet was positioned behind the banner of a distinguished IU alumnus athlete.

“They have said ‘no job too difficult, no place too far, I am a warrior Hoosier,’” Ogden said. “Ten years of war have not deterred them from taking on this task. I’ve tested them, and I’m here to tell you that you can trust them.”

Each man descended the stairs, purpose in each step they took.

The salute.

“Hoosiers, sir!”

The handshake, the envelope, the congratulatory pat on the back. The about-face.

“Infantry.”

“Med Services.”

“Artillery.”

Each cadet called out the branch of service their enveloped revealed, holding back the urge to smile.

A resounding “Hooah!” followed.

But for two senior cadets, Alex Clem and John Brogan, the honor extended even
further.

In August, the two made IU ROTC history, ranking in the top 1 percent of senior cadets in the nation on the National Order of Merit list, an honor no other IU Army ROTC cadet had received.

Cadets across the nation were evaluated on their academic grade point average, their performance both at the summer Leadership Development and Assessment Course and in Army ROTC.

Clem and Brogan finished 15th and 17th, respectively, out of 5,650 cadets across the country.

As the proximity of their individual rankings reflect, the two cadets have much in common. They both are majoring in the sciences, carry above a 3.8 GPA and plan to attend medical school and pursue the Army Medical Corps. They encompass what the army defines as "scholar athlete leader," Ogden said.

“Another hallmark of just how special these two young men are,” Ogden said. “To maintain the degree of academic performance required to succeed in the pre-medicine curriculum and focus and learn to the degree necessary to learn the art of military science and leadership combined is a tremendously difficult endeavor to undertake. And those two mastered both of them.”

Although both cadets are humble with their recognition, the paths that led them to IU ROTC and the roads they plan to travel as officers in the Army define their individuality.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I had not done ROTC,” Clem said. “Having the camaraderie and all that, I love it. I wouldn’t change it.”

But ROTC was not in his original plan. Clem contemplated enlisting directly out of high school and delaying college, but ultimately decided to enroll at IU and study biology.
“During freshman orientation, I saw the Army ROTC booth and realized I can do both,” he said. “It seemed like a great thing to be a part of and I really like.”

He joined Army ROTC and enjoyed the structure so much, he also enlisted in the National Guard. He spent the summer after his freshman year at basic training, qualifying him to be part of the simultaneous membership program.

At the branch ceremony, Clem’s envelope read Medical Services. He has been accepted to the IU School of Medicine and will attend in the fall 2012. Because of the extra time he committed during his summers, Clem is only required to serve three years of active duty once he completes medical school and his residency.

But he is applying for the Health Professions Scholarships, which would pay for medical school and require him to serve an additional four years of active duty. Clem would serve as an army doctor.

 Senior Cadet Brogan said he plans to attend medical school and later serve as a doctor in the Army as well, but he chose to serve his four years active duty first. His envelope read “infantry.”   

After those four years, he will spend his four inactive years going to medical school and then will return to the Army as a doctor.

He didn’t always want to be a doctor. Brogan went to Iowa State University his freshman year. He was an engineering major and was involved with ROTC.

After a summer internship in engineering, he knew it wasn’t what he was passionate about. And an untimely canoeing adventure that left him in the hospital for a couple days helped him discover that passion.

The fact that a microscopic bacteria could bring him down fascinated him, so he transferred to IU to study microbiology and continued in ROTC.

“It was something I always wanted to do, plus I felt like I kind of owed it to my country,” Brogan said. “I wanted to feel like I did something. Some people climb mountains. This is my mountain.”

Clem and Brogan agreed on something that concerns them both. They said they think their top 1 percent ranking is a great honor, but it doesn’t prove anything yet.

“It’s kind of hard because it’s almost like it’s not real. I feel like I worked hard, but now that it’s happened, it’s like I did that, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to be a good officer,” Clem said. “It’s almost like not feeling worthy. It’s really cool, and it’s a great honor, but it’s not like I have really done anything in the real army yet.”

Brogan agreed there are still tests he hasn’t faced yet.

“I feel like I don’t deserve it,” Brogan said. “I feel there are people who are much better than me, but I guess I can’t really argue with it.”

But Ogden, who also ranked in the top 1 percent when he was a senior cadet in Army ROTC at Ball State University, said the two are as worthy as any.

“The two of them exemplify that scholar athlete leader combination that it takes to be an army officer, to lead our nation’s sons and daughters into some of the most difficult and challenging circumstances our country can face and send them to solve the world’s problems at a moment’s notice,” Ogden said. “And it certainly takes mental toughness and the mental agility to lead our soldiers and to find the best solutions to those problems, whatever that may be.”

Although having cadets in the top 1 percent is a first for IU Army ROTC, the program has always had a presence nationwide, Ogden said.

“In that top 10 percent category we finished second in the nation only to University of Hawaii,” Ogden said. “We had more cadets in the top 10 percent than 276 other schools in the country, which is probably the record I am most proud of because that is the one everybody is aiming for.”