Navy ROTC graduation caps years of work

At 1500 hours on a Wednesday afternoon last month, the synchronized marching and patriotic music of a military parade reverberated in the Palestra.

Some 70 Philadelphia-area college students, dressed in full Navy uniform and with their swords at their sides, demonstrated their drill technique during the Penn Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps' annual Spring Review ceremony.

Students received awards for their achievements this year, and Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) told the unit that they were "the future of America."

These students have spent the last few years learning to balance the demands of an intense military preparation and a college career.

Giving back to their country, they say, makes it all worth it.

Driven by strong feelings of patriotism and a sense of outrage, College senior Andrew Petry decided on Sept. 12, 2001, that he wanted a career in the U.S. military.

He entered Penn the following fall as a member of the University's NROTC program.

At last week's ceremony, he was honored for four years of hard work with an award from the Navy League of the United States -- the Maurer Sword Award.

Over the past four years, Petry has endured bi-weekly 6 a.m. physical training sessions and taken a total of eight classes for which he will not receive college credit.

But after he graduates next month, Petry will go on to lead 50 service members as a first lieutenant aboard a Navy ship.

Every year, the Penn NROTC -- a consortium program between Penn, Drexel and Temple universities that began in the 1940s -- graduates a number of commissioned Navy and Marine Corps officers.

The program currently has 72 total members, 23 of whom are Penn students, according to College junior Katie Burkhart, who will lead the group next semester as battalion commander.

Members of the Penn NROTC -- called "midshipmen" -- prepare intensely for these careers, both academically and physically.

Each member must take an NROTC-run naval-science class, such as naval history or marine navigation, each semester. The College of Arts and Sciences does not give credit for these classes, so the midshipmen must take them on top of their regular courses.

In addition, all midshipmen -- even those majoring in the humanities -- must take two semesters each of calculus and physics.

The physical preparation is equally demanding.

On top of their required bi-weekly morning training sessions, most midshipmen work out on their own each day in order to meet physical fitness standards.

Despite their rigorous schedules, NROTC members say the experience is generally rewarding.

And, for many, it's a stepping-stone to living a childhood dream.

College sophomore and NROTC member Ezra Cohen said he knew from a very young age that he wanted to be in the Navy.

Cohen said it was very important to him to be able to give back to something he has benefitted from -- in this case, the national security that has kept generations of his family safe.

Still, the life of a midshipman can be very difficult.

They are held to extremely high standards of behavior and appearance; all male members are required to be clean-shaven and well groomed. Members must also take drug tests every semester, according to Burkhart.

But despite the large role that the NROTC plays in their lives, members say that they are also just regular college students.

Many still manage to participate in other activities, including sports teams and fraternities or sororities.

Engineering sophomore Michael Glynn, who is on the lacrosse team, said he chose to attend a university with an NROTC unit rather than a naval academy because he wanted the traditional college experience.

Occasionally, some members say, they sense resentment from their non-NROTC peers, especially on Wednesdays, when they must wear their full uniforms all day long.

Petry said that sometimes "people don't like what you represent when you wear the uniform."

A few years ago, he said, someone spit at him when he was walking in uniform.

Not all members say they have sensed such hostility, however.

Burkhart said she generally receives positive responses when she tells people she is in a military program.

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