BU Today: What did you learn in your four years with ROTC that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise?

Barto: I was surprised and pleased to learn more about the interpersonal side of things through ROTC. You think about learning these tangible [military] skills, but you don’t realize just the situations that you face and people that you meet that you wouldn’t have met in a regular class—having difficult conversations with people. A great example is two weeks ago: I was in a battalion leadership position, in charge of 75-ish midshipmen [from area universities]. There was a fierce divide between the river—MIT and Harvard midshipmen a certain way, and the BU, BC midshipmen treating the program a certain way—not respecting each other’s differences, in race, politics, issues of believing that certain schools are better or worse than others. 

I had to pull together a group of 75 college students, get up in front of them and basically lead an hour-long lecture on the issues and how we were going to remedy it. You’re thrust into an executive-level position dealing with command, climate, and culture as a 22-year-old. It’s a microcosm of the United States: the military is striving to be exceptional, but you’re going to face the same problems that broader society faces. The stakes are higher for a military organization when it comes to those issues. So at the first sign of any differences, you have to nip it in the bud. When I talk about courage, you have to be the one to have that extremely difficult conversation with 75 people, preach to them about the importance of the unity and success of our battalion together. 

It’s like the aircraft carrier. I’d never been on an aircraft carrier, much less driven an aircraft carrier. So I didn’t know any of the skills when I got up there, but what I knew was how to be calm under pressure, how to be confident, decisive. ROTC lends itself to that follow-on training.

Kern: I had the opportunity to attend the US Army Air Assault School. I learned “sling load operations”: you see giant water buffaloes or artillery cannons and how you’re able to sling them onto a helicopter. The culmination of that training was rappelling out of a helicopter, which is a pretty unique experience. I’m a political science major, and I’m able to do this crazy stuff. 

Another excellent opportunity—Peter had the same one—we had the opportunity to intern with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., working on nuclear security. But we also had an opportunity to play a lot of beach volleyball and golf, too. We’re developing war games that operational leaders could play to learn about nuclear weapons. We were there with West Point cadets, Naval Academy midshipmen, and cadets and midshipmen from colleges all across the country. Very exciting. You’re able to put together a comprehensive war game to train senior officers. We had people from the State Department that teach at the Naval Postgraduate School. We had a representative from the CIA come and talk with us for a little bit. 

ROTC didn’t teach me an ounce about flying a helicopter, but it taught me the foundations of how to be a soldier, how to be a follower, how to be a leader. 

McCabe: I got a lot of practice in leadership, public speaking, time management, and peer relationship–building that I would not have received as a regular student. I also met some of my greatest friends and mentors through the program. They have absolutely pushed my life in a better direction.

BU Today: How might incoming students decide whether ROTC is right for them or not?

McCabe: You get out of it what you put into it. You’ll stay up late, wake up early for PT [physical training], and do things that your classmates are not doing. If you want an opportunity to live a different lifestyle and the chance for meaningful work, then the military could be for you.

Air Force ROTC doesn’t do as specific training because jobs at your technical school after you commission teach you the required knowledge . There is a general focus on leadership and self-development, from your peers up to the detachment level, whether it’s drill, leadership problem-solving, planning training for younger cadets, or physical fitness. There are opportunities for additional training for interested cadets. I was fortunate to go to Air Assault School, where they teach you how to rappel out of helicopters, which was pretty fun—that’s an Army school, and not required for Air Force cadets. 

Barto: For the Navy, if you’re in high school and you’re thinking of ROTC, they give you a taste the summer before [freshman year at college]. Mine was during COVID. We had a two-week quarantine period before the training even started; you were living in these barracks, just not seeing the light of day, just eating meals delivered to you. We lost a lot of people [due] to the mental elements. 

To show up on those early mornings, and then still go to that 8 am [class] after you’ve already worked out for an hour, is going to take a concerted effort to buy into [the idea] that you can make it through your day. We lost at least five [BU ROTC students] after our freshman year, either for medical reasons or because the program wasn’t what they thought it was going to be. 

The other thing is discerning, if you want to do ROTC, why come to BU? The support that we receive is uniquely done at BU. [BU is a host campus, where ROTC students from other greater Boston universities train and study.] For example, we get a room and board stipend through BU. 

President [Melissa] Gilliam is coming to our commissioning. 

Kern: A lot of institutions can be really good in one aspect. Maybe they have great academic rigor, but the military side is lacking. BU blends all to create the best possible officer. If you’re serious about ROTC and being a military officer, you should be very serious about BU.

If you’re thinking about joining ROTC, you’re already on the right track. A part of the mission appeals to you. Then you [must] have the discipline and the work ethic, because that’s really all it takes—the commitment to show up as the best person that you can be for the battalion.