SFA students Sabol and Reeves sign ROTC contracts

Two women in ROTC have made the decision to sign a contract this academic year. Freshmen Kaitlyn Sabol, a nursing major, and Lori Reeves, a biology major, both appreciate the camaraderie ROTC offers. They signed their contracts on Dec. 12. 

“My dad was a Marine and he inspired me to want to be a part of something bigger,” Reeves said. Balancing multi-day PT (physical training) with school is a challenge Reeves has had to face. Eventually, she hopes to be a civil affairs officer. 

“I think the challenging part will be earning trust and respect from the males,” Reeves said of her future as an officer in the US Army.

“We are all like one unit to me,” Sabol said. “It’s pretty cool when you see eight guys turning around and running with one guy who is passing the finish line.” She said that she does not feel disadvantaged being a woman, and appreciates being treated equally. 

ROTC has contracted over a dozen cadets this academic year. In order to sign a contract, cadets must complete a handful of basic requirements. They must have at least a 2.0 GPA, pass an Army Physical Fitness Test and pass a Department of Defense medical physical. 

“Signing a contract does not mean (cadets) are in the army,” Kyle Locke, enrollment advisor and recruiting operations officer for SFA’s military science department, said. “(Cadets) will not start their military obligation until they graduate.” The contract is basically like a promissory note, telling the department that you will stick with this and finish it. 

When a cadet signs their contract they also take a modified oath showing their intent to join the military upon graduation. It is not the oath of office; cadets will take that oath when they commission into the US Army. 

“We are not doing the basic training,” Locke said. “(Cadets) are still college students. At any point they can say ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’” Anyone can participate in ROTC during their freshman and sophomore years. However, cadets must sign a contract to continue with the program after that, Locke explained. 

There is more expected from contracted cadets than from non-contracted cadets “because they have shown us they want to continue” Locke said. Cadets showing they have the drive to finish are expected to step up, show up to every event and be on time and in the correct uniform, Locke explained. 

“Without looking at any hard numbers, to me it seems that we have more females at least interested in the program,” Locke said. “When I was a cadet here in the mid 2000’s there were not nearly as many. About 25 percent of cadets are female.” Locke graduated from SFA in 2007 and was in ROTC. He served in the Texas Army National Guard for 11 years as a military police officer and has worked at SFA since 2010.

For more information about ROTC at SFA visit www.sfasu.edu/rotc or like SFASU Army ROTC on Facebook.