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As a freshman in Ohio State’s Naval ROTC program, Roger DeLeon was lumped in with officer candidates who wanted to fly jets, operate submarines and even storm beaches.
This year, in a restructured program, DeLeon is surrounded by men and women who want to do what he wants to do: serve on a battleship or destroyer.
OSU’s Naval ROTC program is at the forefront of a new style of training for these soon-to-be commissioned officers.
“Now we can all focus on exactly what we want to do,” DeLeon said. “We can take a real interest in our training and have a sense of pride.”
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The goals of the new program are to give trainees more practical experience that will approximate what they could face once they are officers or are in combat situations and to assess the leadership abilities of the 120 students.
“The overall level of knowledge that they are receiving in their specific warfare area has increased tremendously,” said Kyle Copeland, a senior in aviation management.
Copeland, the student commander of Task Group Buckeye, said that the new structure will allow the students to receive more in-depth training and will give them an edge over ROTC students at other colleges.
“As a guy in aviation, I don’t really need to learn a lot about riffles … Even though the extra knowledge doesn’t hurt, I have to learn what is going to benefit my career,” Copeland said.
The battalion style of training that was used offered students leadership opportunities but did not set them up for their futures in the Navy or Marines, he said.
“There really wasn’t much separation in the training,” Copeland said.
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The new program allows freshmen in the program to spend a full quarter in each of the three divisions of the Task Group before deciding on what they want to focus on, Copeland said.
The three groups include the marine company, the aviation department and the surface warfare and submarine department.
“We are constantly progressing in this program,” DeLeon said. “Now I can learn about the specific differences in the ships that I will be dealing with.”
Capt. Shane Rosenthal, marine officer instructor, agrees that the changes in training will benefit everyone. “This system streamlines training for the students,” Rosenthal said.
“Our efficiency is much better and students seem to really enjoy it,” he said. Even though the change was initially met with some resistance, Copeland, DeLeon and Rosenthal agree that the benefits outweigh the challenges.
“How many people can say that they had the opportunity to learn and interact with high-ranking officers before even entering the Navy,” DeLeon said.
Nicole Staples can be reached at [email protected].
