Many Iowa State students have been walking around campus in uniform this fall.

Lt. Stan Carpenter of the ISU Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program, said there are two ways students become involved in the program.

“Number one, students can enter Iowa State as freshmen already awarded the ROTC scholarship,” he said. “They are then automatically enrolled in the program.”

“The other way students become involved in the program is if they are just interested in the Defense Department,” Carpenter said. “They decide to take the [freshman one credit hour] class to see if they like it. Then they can decide to continue in the program and try to qualify for the scholarship.”

Carpenter said there are 271 Army ROTC programs in the country which award a total of $65 million dollars in scholarship money each year.

The ISU program has 157 students enrolled, 88 of whom are freshmen.

“The scholarships that students receive cover all tuition and fees for the student’s college career,” Carpenter said. “In addition, they receive $450 per year to be spent on books, and a tax-free stipend of $150 a month for 10 months a year to use as needed. One-third of the students in ROTC receive this scholarship.”

Those students who did not join with a scholarship can still qualify for the last two years of the program by earning a 2.0 GPA, meeting medical requirements and having credit for the first 2 years of classes.

Carpenter said credit can be earned by completing the classes, attending a basic camp in Ft. Knox Kentucky, completing basic training or completing three years in their high school junior ROTC.

Freshmen in the Army ROTC program must take a one semester hour class dealing with an introduction to the Army, instruction of rank, and an overview of the Defense Department, the lieutenant explained.

During their sophomore, junior and senior years, Army ROTC students take classes pertaining to leadership skills, map reading skills, small unit tactical operations, leadership ethics, military justice and other classes which prepare students for active or reserve duty.

These upper-level students take two and three credits of ROTC classes per semester.

In addition to ROTC classes, Carpenter said cadets must attend physical training classes to work on conditioning and strength training.

ROTC is not all work, he said. Each year, the Army ROTC cadets have a military ball in conjunction with the Navy and the Air Force ROTC programs.

“This year, the Army ROTC cadets are involved with helping the Ames Police Department patrolling the streets Halloween night. The cadets also volunteer to sell concessions during home football games to raise money for their activities,” Carpenter said.

After their sophomore year, cadets are required to attend a 5-week summer camp in Fort Louis, Wash., similar to a boot camp.

Then, Army cadets are either ‘commissioned’ to become an officer in active duty, or they may choose to enter the reserves when they complete their educations, the lieutenant said.

The reserves allow cadets to enter the civilian world and get a civilian job while still committing themselves to the Army one weekend out of every month.

One-third of the cadets enter the reserves, he said.

Chris Davis, captain in the Air Force ROTC program, said in some ways, the Air Force’s program is similar to the Army’s program.

They use similar class requirements, also hold a four- to six-week summer boot camp after the cadets’ sophomore year, have a required workout schedule, a one-hour leadership lab per week and a similar scholarship program.

“The scholarship is pretty competitive. It’s based on grades, leadership and athletic fitness,” he said.

Andrew Thoreson, a junior in civil engineering and Air Force ROTC public affairs officer, said he got involved in the ROTC program because his dad was in the Air Force.

The Air Force ROTC program is involved in many community service projects, Davis said.

To earn money for their social activities, such as the military ball, the cadets “do parking for the DPS and hold concession stands at Veishea,” Davis said.

After graduation, the cadets are automatically commissioned to the rank of second lieutenant in the Air Force.

They have a four-year obligation to the Air Force after graduation or, if selected as a pilot or a navigator, a six- to eight-year obligation, he said.

“It’s kind of a two-way street. You fill out a sheet saying your top career choices and where in the country you’d like to be stationed. Then the Air Force looks at what you want and what they need, and give you your assignment,” Thoreson said.