Attendees of Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony in Hendricks Chapel might notice a change in the way the word “veteran” is used. 

Organizers of the ceremony have made a deliberate effort this year to emphasize recognition of those currently serving in the military, said Eileen Jevis, manager of public relations at University College, who is in charge of organizing the ceremony. The participation of representatives from Syracuse University’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs takes another group into consideration on Veterans Day as well.

“These are all people who will become veterans and who have a desire to serve their nation,” said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bianchi of SU’s Army ROTC program. That’s pretty significant, he added, when less than 1 percent of the country currently serves.

SU’s Army ROTC program has been training the next generation of military leaders since 1918, said Bianchi, who teaches military science to this year’s approximately 100 cadets. These cadets — about one-third of who come from nearby colleges such as Le Moyne College, Utica College, Morrisville State College and the State University of New York at Oswego — graduate with a commission as second lieutenants in the Army. 

About 5,000 Army cadets are commissioned from 273 Army ROTC programs across the country each year, Bianchi said. They join the approximately 70,000 people who enlist in the Army annually.

With a strong emphasis on leadership in a program that features a largely student-oriented chain of command, Bianchi said, the program attracts a disciplined and self-motivated group of students.

“The population of students that we have as cadets as a whole is top-notch,” he said. And through a weekly class, physical training and practical exercises, he said, cadets’ path from their freshman year to graduation as strong military and community leaders is clearly visible.

Cadet Dennis Bitetti, a senior and cadet in the program, said the Army ROTC’s significant scholarship opportunities allowed him to attend SU. Bianchi said this is a fairly common motivation to join ROTC, with about 77 percent of Bitetti’s graduating class on scholarship through the program. Bitetti joined the program right out of his Rochester-area high school, and said he spends about 10 or 11 hours each week in classes or training through ROTC.

Training is three days a week — Monday, Wednesday and Thursday — and begins with physical training exercises led by junior students, whose leadership skills are evaluated throughout the year on a ranking system that influences their post-graduation assignments. This begins at 6:30 a.m.

Or actually closer to 6:15 a.m. “Everything is always 10 minutes early,” Bitetti said, adding with a laugh, “If you’re five minutes early, you’re still late.”

But as soon as the hour of physical training is up, he said, the uniform comes off and he prepares for his day as a policy studies major — no different than any other student on campus.

It isn’t until Friday that ROTC dominates his schedule, he said, with a roughly two-hour military science class starting at 8 a.m. Bianchi, who teaches the class, said he covers topics such as leadership, time management and public speaking.

Next on a cadet’s Friday comes leadership lab, or what cadets commonly call “lab.” But instead of the extended chemistry class Bitetti said people sometimes imagine when he mentions “lab,” a cadet’s afternoon involves applying practical skills at Skytop field in the woods beyond the green space used for Juice Jam concerts.

This could involve squads of cadets working together on a mock mission or individual activities such as compass navigation exercises. Lab can last until 3 or 4 p.m., Bitetti said, adding that cold and wet weather — such as this Friday’s snowy conditions — can make for an unpleasant experience.

“Dry and cold is okay,” he said. “Wet and cold is bad.”

But that Friday morning found Bitetti and several uniformed cadets warm and dry inside Hendricks, refining crisp transitions and perfecting word choice for Monday’s ceremony.

“Everything in the Army has a rehearsal,” Bianchi said, waiting for his cue to walk down the center aisle.

“Sometimes even the rehearsals have a rehearsal,” Bitetti quipped from beside him.

But getting it right is important given the significance of the day, said ceremony organizer Jevis, who has been adjusting and updating the pages-long script each year for the last four years. She said Richard Thompson, chairman of SU’s Board of Trustees and a Vietnam War veteran, will provide new insight as this year’s keynote speaker.

SU will recognize veterans on Monday in more ways than past years, she said. The 11 a.m. ceremony will be preceded by a six-hour reading on the chapel steps of the names of the 6,700 service men and women who have died since 9/11 and followed by a luncheon in Schine Student Center’s Panasci Lounge. In addition, the SU community is invited to participate in a 2.2-mile Warrior Run at 6 a.m. and a Red Cross blood drive at University Place and Crouse Avenue between noon and 5 p.m.

Liz Elliott, an Army ROTC cadet with a strong military tradition in her family — her father, uncle and grandfather have served in the military and her triplet brother is in ROTC at George Washington University — said she recognized the importance of Veterans Day. Her own four years of experience at SU put the day particularly in perspective, she said.

“You just kind of think about past and future,” said the senior public health major, noting as an example the advances in technology that have changed the military through the years. “You just have to think about their courage and bravery and what it took for those soldiers to do what they did,” she continued. “It kind of makes doing all of this worth it.” 

This week will bring the future to mind in more ways than one for many ROTC students: Elliott, like Bitetti and the rest of their graduating class, is waiting to receive her own post-graduation military assignment in the upcoming days.

Published on November 11, 2013 at 1:21 am