They take classes, play sports and watch TV; they also fly planes and fire weapons. The men and women of the Auburn Reserve Officers’ Training Corps are no different than any other college student, except they are not only earning a degree but also training to serve their country.
“It’s just like regular college,” said John Calhan, 22, a senior in marketing and Army ROTC cadet. “It’s just that you have a little bit extra on your plate as far as academics go and also extracurricular activities.”
Calhan will graduate in December, along with 12 other ROTC members from the different branches of the military. After graduation the members will move on to more specialized training.
Calhan was raised in Owings, Md., 35 miles southeast of Washington.
“I had no urge to go to school in Maryland,” Calhan said. “I’d lived there my whole life, so I just picked Auburn. I love the South so I plan on staying here.”
He said he always wanted to be in the Army as far back as he can remember. His grandfather was in the Air Force and was a big influence in his life.
“It was just my grandfather, I really look up to him so that’s the reason I wanted to go into the military,” Calhan said. “I dressed up as an army man when I was a little kid for Halloween. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
When Calhan isn’t doing anything with the ROTC he’s just a regular guy.
“Basically I just hang out with my friends and go to football games,” Calhan said. “I played intramural softball and football. I do everything else the college kids do, it’s just that certain weekends during most of the away games I’ve got to go do my training.”
Daniel Nesmith, 30, a senior in political science and Navy ROTC MIDN, joined the Navy after graduating from Clay County High School in 1995. He went through a number of different jobs, including two overseas tours in Italy where he met his wife Simona, before entering the ROTC program at Auburn.
“When I’m not at school or doing my military duties I’m trying to spend time with my family,” Nesmith said.
Another December graduate Davis Ulm, 21, senior in marketing and Air Force ROTC Cadet, was a “military brat” and grew up with his dad in the Air Force.
“I come from a long line of people in different branches of the service,” Ulm said. “I’ve wanted to be a pilot all my life.”
In his free time Ulm likes to spend time outdoors, playing sports, hanging out with friends and riding his motorcycle.
“I hunt and fish,” Ulm said. “I went hunting a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday we were fishing in a creek and we decided to go fly. So, we just hopped in an airplane and flew around.”
Chester Johnson, 30, NROTC MIDN, is graduating in December with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He and his wife celebrated their five-year anniversary in October and they have a 3-year-old son.
“He’s 3 years old and he can sing the Auburn fight song,” Johnson said. “He’s probably one of the biggest Auburn fans on campus, and he’s a lot of fun.”
Johnson joined the Navy in August 1997. Like Calhan, Johnson’s grandfather was in the military, but he said there was never any pressure from his family to join.
“My parents were worried when I finally made the decision, but since my joining the navy they’ve gotten a newfound patriotism,” Johnson said. “Whereas, once before they would watch the news and nonchalantly blow off anything regarding the military, now they are more focused and more into it.”
Johnson said he spends most of his time outside class and ROTC with his family.
“We try to get as much family time in as we can, because I know here I have more of an opportunity to get that in,” Johnson said. “Once I get back into the fleet my time’s going to be limited, I don’t know how much I’m going to get to spend with them.”
Calhan said once he graduates he will be stationed in Birmingham until he goes to flight school in approximately two years.
“I’ll actually start going to what we call drill, which is basically one weekend a month you go to your unit and you go and do your army stuff,” Calhan said. “During the rest of the time of the month you have a regular civilian job. Once I start flying I’ll have to go to drill probably pretty much every weekend.”
As of right now Calhan said he plans on putting in his 20 years and retiring so he can go on to do something else.
Although he has a while to go before he completes his training, Calhan said he wants to go overseas.
“I know there’s a part of everybody that doesn’t want to be away from their families, but my big thing is that I want to go over there so my kids don’t have to and all my friends don’t have to 10 years or 20 years down the road,” Calhan said.
When Nesmith graduates he will move to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., to study Arabic for 1 1/2 years.
He said being at Auburn in the NROTC is different than being in the Navy outside the school setting.
“Here at Auburn, being at school, I only put on the uniform one day a week, but I’m a sailor 24 hours a day,” Nesmith said. “However, my interactions and dealings are just like anyone else.”
Ulm has three months off after graduation, which he plans to use surfing the coasts of the U.S., Central America, Australia, Japan, Europe and Africa. He too plans to stay in the service for 20 years and retire.
“At 41 I can be fully retired and never have to work again,” Ulm said. “I could go back to building boards on the beach and living the good life.”
Johnson will be in the Naval Flight Officer Program for two years in Pensacola, Fla., after graduation. After his training is complete he said he and his wife would like to go to Jacksonville, Fla., to spend the rest of his career.
One other thing these men have in common is they encourage anyone interested in learning more about the military to speak to one of the recruitment officers in the Nichols Center on campus or to take some of the elective courses offered through Auburn by the different military branches.
“I think people are apprehensive, because they see us walking around in uniforms and shaved heads and think that we are just robots,” Calhan said. “The only thing they see about the army is what they see on TV or in movies, and it’s not really like that. It’s a regular job, it’s just some people carry guns.”
