Ranks of ODU's Army ROTC swell to largest in its history

NORFOLK

They may be coming for the money. They may be coming for the experience. They may be coming for the camaraderie.

But they're coming.

Old Dominion University has seen its Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps double over the past four years, to 180 students.

This is the biggest group in the program's 39-year history; the largest in its brigade, which includes Virginia and North Carolina; and the sixth-largest of the 262 programs in the nation.

By comparison, the Hampton Roads Naval ROTC, which includes three local schools - Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Hampton universities - currently has 186 members.

"The Army's where it's at nowadays," Maj. Joel Eberly, the program's executive officer, crowed Thursday.

Patriotism is what brings in a lot of students, he said. Also the Army, which bears much of the brunt in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, is growing.

As a result, it can offer cadets an increasing number of career fields and scholarships. Nurses, for example, are in high demand and are treated well, Eberly said. The program now averages 15 at any given time.

The group is a mix of college freshmen and students who served active duty enlisted or in the National Guard before going to college. Thirty percent are women.

About half the cadets plan to go into the National Guard upon graduation, Eberly said, and the other half will go initially on active duty. They'll have four-to eight-year commitments, depending on their scholarship, which most will fill with a mix of active duty and reserve service.

Lt. Col. Bill Brown, who oversees ODU's program, said it has started to perpetuate itself, in that many cadets are joining because others have promoted the program. This in turn builds more excitement, which attracts still more people and so on.

This, Eberly added, coupled with some aggressive marketing, is paying off.

"It's kind of like a football team. We've got a little dynasty going on," he said, adding that he'd like the program to get to No. 2 by the time he leaves for North Carolina after this semester.

"That's my goal before I roll."

On Thursday afternoon, the cadets marched up 45th Street to Norfolk Karate Academy, where William Odom, a retired Army colonel, instructed them in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as part of their physical training.

Chris Valdez, a Virginia Beach sophomore studying business administration, said he has two uncles in the Army Reserve, as well as a cousin who's currently serving as a medic in Iraq.

They told him that ROTC would help pay for college and, after he investigated, he liked what he saw. He's already in the National Guard and trains with them monthly at the armory on Virginia Beach Boulevard.

He's leaning toward field artillery and knows he stands a good chance of going to Iraq.

"It's what you join up for," he said. "It's what you want to do for your country."

Stephanie Corsaro, a freshman from Keansburg, N.J., said she joined ROTC for the scholarships and leadership training.

She's considering becoming a physician's assistant and likes that the program would allow her to pursue a military and civilian career simultaneously.

She, too, has considered being sent to the Middle East.

"A first, I thought I'd never want to go," she said. "But now I know people over there. It's different now."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com