Photo courtesy of Sid Hays
Sid Hays, kneeling on the left, with the rest of his ROTC class.

First graduating class to sign up during Iraq War

by KATE WINSTON

In a tidy white button-up shirt, striped tie and neat hair, Sid Hays, 21, stands out among his fellow students at American University, but not as much as he does on Thursdays, he said. His companions have been spit on or called “baby killers” and he has been asked to leave the Georgetown campus when he is recruiting, he said.

Yet, Hays says he is proud to be in the military and to wear his uniform once a week. The AU senior joined ROTC in 2003 and says that it was the most important decision of his college career.

“A lot of people say they changed after 9/11 and they didn’t; they are going on with their lives,” he says, adding that his ROTC class is different. “We are the first group of people who signed up knowing there was a war going on. I think that says something.”

Family ties
It is tradition for a new officer to receive his first salute from a non-commissioned officer, Hays said. He hopes the first salute he receives is from his brother, Garrett. Although they are identical twins, they had different reasons for joining the military, he said.

Garrett joined the Air Force directly out of high school. Sid realized he also wanted to join the Army when he attended Garrett’s basic training graduation in San Antonio, Texas. “My friends still can’t believe it,” he said.

Two of Sid’s grandfathers and one of his grandmothers served in World War II.

Garrett is in Iraq now and will go back in 2008, so it is likely that the brothers will be there at the same time. “I know my mom is scared to death,” Hays said. “She said that she won’t sleep at all for the four months we are both in Iraq.”

Hays plans to try to manage the fear, he said. “Of course I’m afraid, but knowing that I have those men and women next to me makes it more bearable. It’s a family, that’s how I see it. These people would give their lives for that family. I would.”

New kind of war, same old politics
Hays is not always well-received when he recruits for the ROTC program, he said. Most of the hostility he and his fellow members receive is a result of a lack of understanding, he said.

Military members take a vow to the constitution, not the president, and people don’t realize that unpopular military policy can be traced back to Congress, he said. “More than likely, some law they pass is why things are the way they are in the military,” he said.

Since there is no ROTC program at American, students must attend the Georgetown or Howard program. The members at American would like ROTC to be recognized as a club, but they have had no luck, Hays said. The administration gives them a different reason every year, he said.

First it was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Now they reject it on the grounds that it is an organization that is not a part of the university, he said. “It is not any different from a fraternity — they are not part of the university,” Hays said.

Life after graduation
At AU, Hays is studying International Relations with a focus on African Development. After he graduates from the program, he will be a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. He chose the Army because the branch allows the most career latitude.

Hays will be in the army for at least six years after he graduates, but he says he will decide within the first couple of years whether he wants to make a career out of it.

But in the meantime, the ROTC has provided some unexpected benefits. When he was recently rear-ended on the New Jersey turnpike, he didn’t panic. “I just found myself very calm and what to do just came instantly to me. A lot of people that I’ve found that have done ROTC, or have been in the military, don’t panic as easily as a lot of people do.”

How it works
-ROTC is a leadership development program on college campuses.
-Members commit to physical training three mornings a week.
-Members also undergo post-graduation training.
-Students are not required to commit to the program until their junior year.
-Contracts include four years of active duty and two years of ready reserve, or six years of national guard duty and two years ready reserve. The contract depends on the scholarship received.
-Benefits include two, three or four years of full tuition scholarship, a living stipend and a book stipend.