Not many people show their appreciation for someone by waking them up before dawn, but that is exactly what every branch of the Auburn ROTC program did for Auburn University president Jay Gogue Friday morning.
"All the branches went on a run together around campus (Friday) morning," said Matt Denham, sophomore in aviation management. "We went up past president Gogue's house doing our cadence and woke him up. I don't really know how much he appreciated it, but it was fun."
Gogue's 6 a.m. wake up was part of the ROTC President's Day activities. The day's events also consisted of an awards ceremony and parade on the intramural fields.
"We did what's called a pass and review," said Christopher Bevelle, junior in industrial and systems engineering. "Since President Gogue is not a member of the military, a full parade would have been unnecessary."
What was necessary was the fly-over of two A10 aircraft, courtesy of Moody Air Force Bases's Aerial Demo Team East.
Awards were passed out for various ROTC accomplishments, including the Nichols Award, which is given to the top cadet in each branch of ROTC and awards for each of the ROTC branches support organizations such as Silver Wings for the Air Force, the Mariners for the Navy and the Cadets for the Army.
This year's Commanders' Cup was given to the Cadets for the Army.
Bevelle said even though the Commander's Cup is not the highest honor in ROTC, it is one of the most sought after.
The Commander's Cup is the award given to the ROTC branch with the best overall intramural teams performance.
Each branch of ROTC competes against each other all year long in events such as football, basketball and a 5K run.
Bevelle said the interaction between the different ROTC installations at events like the intramural competitions and the President's Parade keep the ROTC program interesting and enjoyable.
"In ROTC you don't get to work with other branches very often," Bevelle said. "But you may end up working with those people later on in the military or if you switch programs, so the interaction helps. Plus, being able to work with the other branches works well for morale and things like that so it's a good program to have."
Gogue closed the ceremony with a brief speech thanking the cadets for their sacrifices and discussing the new military technology Auburn is developing.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you're doing here and with your lives," Gogue said.
Even though Gogue honored the cadets, Bevelle said the day was about showing thanks for President Gogue.
"It's just a way of honoring our special guest, through the President's Day program and our service," Bevelle said. "I definitely enjoyed it. It was a good time.
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