“Give it a shot and see if you like it or not.”

With those words, or something to that effect, Scott Woodward accepted his father’s advice and took a shot at qualifying for the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program at SUNY Brockport.

“When I went to college, I competed for one of the two-year ROTC scholarships between my sophomore and junior year,” said Woodward, (photo at right), a 1989 graduate of Batavia High School. “I was interested in ROTC, but it was never pushed on me.

“My dad asked me to give it a shot and see if you like it or not. I ended up getting the scholarship and, from there, it just kind of came naturally to me, and I did pretty well at it.”

Eunice Bellinger, Ed.D, recently returned from a four-day excursion to Fort Knox near Louisville, Ky, where she joined 80 other college administrators for the annual Army ROTC Leader's Training Course.

Professors, deans, administrators and faculty members who traveled from colleges and universities across the nation were arranged into platoons. They were provided Army uniforms, taught marching techniques and given a taste of the physical and mental demands of an ROTC cadet.

They were exposed to tactical problem solving and team-building with their platoons and even had to eat M.R.E.'s (Meals Ready to Eat) just like real cadets.

Along with rappelling, the educators also got to test their physical endurance at the obstacle course and rock wall at the Forest Hills climbing complex, and worked on team-building at the teamwork development course and stream-crossing. The stream-crossing featured single- and double-rope crossing techniques, which the platoons used to race against each other.

"The stream-crossing was a really big deal to me," Bellinger said. "I can't swim!"

College administrators climbed walls, participated in a high ropes course, sat in on leadership lectures, attended a semi-formal event and "graduated" from the program in a ceremony on the last day.

"Overall, it was a great experience. The ROTC program has wonderful scholarship opportunities for students looking to serve their country and further their education. I'm looking forward to next year's training course in Seattle!"

Bellinger is no stranger to military life. She was born at West Point Military Academy and has taught U.S. military personnel through the University of Maryland's European Division while living and teaching in Kuwait in the 1990s.

This firsthand experience for college educators was designed to develop advocates for the Army ROTC program. Genesee Community College now has a new ROTC office in its Career Center at the Batavia Campus, which is managed under the direction of SUNY Brockport's ROTC program.

Starting this fall, SUNY Brockport ROTC students will have the opportunity to take four classes at Genesee's Batavia campus. All four classes are offered on Fridays and are leadership focused. Fall classes include Leadership and Personal Development (MSC 101), Military Fitness and Conditioning (MSC 103), Military Conditioning Lab (MSC 104) and Innovative Tactical Leadership (MSC 201).

For further information about the ROTC programs offered at Genesee, please contact Major Daniel Fletcher at 585-395-2769 or e-mail: <http://dfletche@brockport.edu>.

The ROTC Leader's Training Course website is: <http://leadertrainingcourse.com/>.