ROTC training goes along swimmingly

A cadre of men and women wearing woodland camouflage invaded Trees Hall at 5 a.m. yesterday…. A cadre of men and women wearing woodland camouflage invaded Trees Hall at 5 a.m. yesterday. Some were carrying M-16 assault rifles, and most were in full battle gear.

All they wanted was to use the swimming pool.

The M-16s were dummies, and most of the group wore bathing suits under their U.S. Army uniforms. They had woken up early for an annual training exercise with Pitt’s Reserve Officer Training Corps. ROTC students from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University gathered around Trees Hall’s pool for exercises testing their swimming abilities.

ROTC freshmen and sophomores — called MS-1s and MS-2s — were just practicing, but juniors — known as MS-3s — were being evaluated by instructors before going to a mandatory summer camp. A few seniors — MS-4s — were evaluated if they had not gone to camp.

“This is when we find out if anyone has problems with water or swimming,” Cadet Capt. Chris Sood said. “Some are combat exercises, and the others are endurance tests.”

The six stations around the pool included tests on swimming back and forth for 10 minutes, getting pushed into the water and removing gear before surfacing, and jumping off the diving board while blindfolded and holding an M-16.

“The hardest one is probably swimming across the pool with all of your [camouflage uniform] on, with gear strapped on, holding a rifle,” said Maj. Ronald Bonomo, a Pitt ROTC instructor. “That’s one where the instructor might go in with the life preserver.”

During the exercise, some soldiers had difficulty crossing the pool with only one available arm. Some required instructors to assist them, and most of the others emerged breathing heavily. Soldiers who had difficulties completing the assessments were marked with orange ribbons.

After completing all six stations, soldiers changed out of their soaking uniforms, just as the outside sky began to light up.

According to Bonomo, most Pitt ROTC graduates serve in posts around the world, and exercises like yesterday’s are a part of training that gives physical and mental focus to participants.

“We were deficient in our performance for one reason this year,” Bonomo said. “Usually, we have coffee and doughnuts.”