The average day of a cadet
A normal day for a scholarship or contracted ROTC cadet begins with physical training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. PT, as it is called, is held from 6-7 a.m. at the Schuldes Sports Center on campus. The PT sessions, which are planned and executed by the juniors, focus on push-ups, sit-ups and a 2 mile run.
These three events must be passed by all soldiers. Passing for an 18-21 year old male is 42 push-ups, 53 sit-ups and 2 miles in 15:54. For a woman in the same age group, the minimum passing score is 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups and 18:54 for the run. The PT tests are given twice per school year, usually in December and May.
Following PT, cadets are released for the day. They go back to whichever college housing unit they live in and prepare for the rest of their day. Aside from PT in the morning, cadets are no different than any other student on campus. Cadets do not wear uniforms to their regular classes.
All students in the program are required to attend leadership labs on Thursday afternoon as well as military science classes. They are required to wear the Army battle dress uniform to lab if they have one issued to them or appropriate civilian attire that can get dirty. These labs are also planned and executed by the juniors and focus on various leadership and common military tasks such as first aid, basic rifle marksmanship, battle drills and land navigation, to name a few. The day and time of the military science class varies. Usually this class is offered on Tuesday afternoons from 1-3 p.m., but may vary.
For a scholarship or contracted cadet, or a student that chooses to take part in PT, ROTC will only take about 7 hours of their time each week. Without PT, a student in the program will contribute 4 hours of time, which is no more than they would be required to give to any other class on campus.
Many cadets in the ROTC program participate in College athletics as well. We routinely have football players, soccer players, hockey players and baseball players in our program. For these students and cadets, the ROTC will work with that student and coach to ensure ROTC does not interfere with practices and games.
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