As the war in Iraq declines in popularity, so have Army ROTC recruitment numbers at Penn State, according to at least one Penn State ROTC official.
Army ROTC Maj. William Lloyd said that the fear of being sent into the Iraqi war zone has been largely to blame for the recent lack of interest in the training programs at Penn State and on other college campuses around the country.
Numbers remain well below the elevated levels after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when a surge of patriotism brought an increase in interest in the armed forces.
This fall, 220 cadets have joined the Army ROTC, up from 2004's 200 cadets, but lower than 2003's class of 270.
Nationwide, there were 26,575 college students enrolled in Army ROTC programs in the 2004 academic year, versus 28,729 in 2003 and 30,824 in 2002, according to Paul N. Kotakis at US Army Cadet Command Headquarters in Fort Monroe, Va.
"It's not so much the students," said Lloyd, assistant professor of military science and recruiting officer for Penn State's Army ROTC. "I have seen parental influencing and I think that plays a big part too."
Heightened recruitment efforts this past summer have helped to stem the steady decline, he said.
To raise awareness of ROTC programs and to highlight their various benefits, the military has advertised both nationwide and locally.
At Penn State, ROTC officials set up information tables at the HUB-Robeson Center and in Thomas during First-Year Testing and Counseling and Advising Program, the university's counseling program for first-year students.
The Army ROTC recruitment cadre and cadets remained on campus for 48 days over the summer, missing only one day because of out-of-state program obligations, Lloyd said.
"We're targeting accepted freshmen at Penn State," he said.
Accepted freshmen can sign up for a nonobligatory introductory Army, Air Force, or Navy three-credit course, after which they can decide whether to continue in their selected program toward becoming a commissioned officer in the Reserves for eight years or enlist to serve four years of active duty.
Once they do decide to sign up, recruits usually stay, said Maj. John Barlett of Air Force ROTC.
"We have a fairly impressive retention rate in the program with nearly 85 percent of our cadets staying in from start to finish," Barlett said. "Yes, we'll always have some that decide the Air Force is not right for them, but we always seem to have someone waiting at the door to come in as well."
The Air Force ROTC at Penn State also experienced a decline in participation levels since 2002. After having 225 cadets enrolled in 2002, that number fell to 208 in 2003 and flattened to 187 cadets in 2004 and 182 this fall semester, Bartlett said.
For Lenard Tol (junior-nursing) of the Army ROTC, enrolling in the program has been beneficial.
"The Marines and Army are having a hard time recruiting students, so they're giving out more money," said Tol, who said he receives $20,000 a year for tuition and fees, $900 a year for books and a stipend of $350 a month in the ROTC program.
Under his program, Tol is "non-deployable," meaning he can finish his college degree before serving in the Army.
But, he said, the ROTC program has given him more than just monetary benefits.
"It gets you up in the morning," he said. "It focuses you and forces you to manage time really well."
