Army ROTC commissions 8 new lieutenants

Concluding the weekend of graduating commencements, pictures and tears, was one more ceremony, presented by the IU Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

It was an intimate gathering with just eight seniors, family and friends, and fellow military personnel.

Similar to their colleagues of IU, these men and women will leave IU as students, but will emerge into society as lieutenants for the United States Military. 

Lieutenant Sara Wilson is among this small group of individuals. Beginning her training as an acive duty nurse in Texas, Wilson said she is honored to be a part of such a great program and group of people.

“We are very close and work well as a team,” she said. “We respect each other. It is like being part of a family here.”

The rest of the “family” included Angela Bowman, Nicholas Dutton, Benjamin Krebs, Alexander Pappas, William Thomas, Spencer Tigges and Joshua Whisler.
These students were honored in in the Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union Sunday.

The ceremony began with the introduction from Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Hoch, professor of military of science, welcoming the loved ones of the graduates and presenting the Colors and the singing of the National Anthem.

An invocation was said by David White of Campus Crusade Ministries.

Hoch also presented to the audience the guest speaker, Brigadier General Ivan Denton, who, after graduating high school in 1982 in Paoli, Ind., served as an infantryman in the Indiana Army National Guard.

While still enlisted with the Guard, he joined the IU ROTC program.

Denton graduated from IU in 1986 with a commission as an infantry officer, a distinguished military degree, and the George C. Marshall Leadership Award.
He served four years in the Korean demilitarized zone before leaving to continue his work for INARNG and is currently serving as the National Guard Bureau’s director of manpower and personnel.

Denton spoke of the importance of the preparation of the commissionees during the next 18 to 24 months.

He also issued advice for the young militants, about being a successful leader and how to balance life with the responsibilities with which they will soon be entrusted.
“You come to the army to make an impact, to lead,” he said. “And I challenge you to be the best leader you can be.”

But of course, he said, there are no perfect leaders.

“You have standards in which you will instill on others,” Hoch said. “But they must first be met by you.”

Denton then addressed the parents and loved ones of the graduates, reminding them of the oath their children are going to make.

“Your child will be endowed with an extreme amount of power,” he said. “They will have decisions to make or don’t make that can get someone killed.”

These decisions are what White helps with during the four years of the cadet program.
White, who has worked with the ROTC program for the past three years, said as the chaplain for the program, he cares for the spiritual well-being of the cadets.

He serves as liason between  cadets and religious advisers found on campus.

“I help the cadets deal with tough issues and the stress of life, or with college,” he said. “I help them get through things. Life at home doesn’t stop. Things are always going to be hard.”

The choice these eight seniors made to go into the military life was a hard one as well.
LTC Hoch said less than one percent of the U.S. population is enlisted in the military.

Addressing the parents of the students, he said they are now the parents of a person in the military, a group of people that deal with issues only they can understand.

“What you see on the news will impact their lives,” Hoch said. “You will watch the news and have concerns that only other army families will feel.”

Yet, Wilson’s parents said they are excited and proud of the decision she made as a senior in high school.

“Not having any military people in the immediate family, it was a good learning experience for us,” Sara’s mother Cathy Wilson said. “Sara had a lot of support in the program that led to her success and graduation.”

Despite the different paths on which the eight lieutenants will embark, Denton said to remember to have fun being a lieutenant and preparing for leadership.

“For goodness sakes, it is not the destination. It is the trip,” he said. “And for goodness sakes, enjoy that trip.”