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UPDATED: Sept. 28, 2020 at 7:25 p.m.

Francis Wiggin planned on attending a monthlong training session in Fort Knox, Kentucky, this semester as an incoming senior cadet in Syracuse University’s ROTC program.

But after the coronavirus pandemic led to the session’s cancellation, Wiggin began to worry that losing the opportunity would put him and other upperclassmen at a disadvantage as they start their military careers.

Wiggin isn’t alone in his concerns. Cadets in both SU’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs said they have adapted to training in smaller groups, taking classes in a hybrid format and missing out on summer opportunities. While these changes haven’t impacted the ROTC curriculum or basic training, students and professors in the program said these challenges have equipped cadets with the skills and training to begin their military careers.

“As I tell the cadets all the time, anytime we’re faced with challenges, we always look at those as opportunities,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Gotie, professor of military science and department chair of the ROTC program. “The opportunities that COVID is presenting us is allowing our leadership skills, I believe, to be that much better.”

Public health guidelines have also affected ROTC’s 6 a.m. physical training sessions. Cadets must now work out in masks, in smaller groups and six feet apart, Gotie said.

Cadets must exercise in groups of 10, or a “squad bubble,” said Felicia Showers, a senior and a cadet battalion command sergeant major in the ROTC program.

Showers is in charge of enforcing coronavirus mitigation measures in the ROTC program. Cadets, both those studying in person and remotely, use an app to track their workouts.

Gotie said there are fewer than five cadets in the program who are taking classes remotely. As a professor, she said the curriculum has not changed much and she has been able to adapt to the hybrid format.

In addition to SU’s standard COVID-19 testing, cadets participate in pooled saliva testing once a week and receive a results update twice a day.

Three cadets enrolled in the Army ROTC program hosted by SU have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the semester, said Kathleen Edwards, a public affairs officer in the ROTC program, in a statement. SU students who came in direct contact with the three cadets completed a two-week quarantine, and those who saw the cadets but were determined not to be direct contacts were required to show proof of two negative tests before leaving quarantine.

Working out in a mask has been challenging, especially in hot weather, Showers said. As a leader of her battalion, she encourages cadets to hydrate and take off their masks if necessary when they are at a safe distance from one another.

While cadets can’t work out as one unit this semester, the reorganization of physical training has provided additional leadership opportunities for senior cadets, who coordinate workouts, Gotie said.

“We’ve had to rely heavily on our senior cadets to really fill those leadership roles that they have not necessarily had the opportunity to really exercise in the past as much,” she said.

Upperclassmen cadets worried that missing summer opportunities put them at a disadvantage as they start their military careers. Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer

In place of the Fort Knox training, SU’s ROTC program worked with other universities to conduct a 10-day training session at Fort Drum in upstate New York before the start of the semester, Wiggin said.

Training at Fort Drum, in addition to leading morning physical training sessions and mentorship programs for freshmen, has eased Wiggin’s concerns about not receiving enough leadership training this year.

ROTC offers cadets the opportunity to join several clubs, including hiking, land navigation and running clubs, so cadets can socialize with one another. Wiggin participates in multiple clubs where he can interact with underclassmen on a more personal level.

“For this semester, I think we’ve had more experience and more opportunities to step up and take charge and develop our leadership capabilities because of COVID,” he said.

Lt. Colonel Travis Sheets, a professor of aerospace science in the Air Force ROTC program, said that Air Force ROTC cadets have experienced the same changes as the Army ROTC program, with smaller training groups and hybrid courses. The program resumed summer training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama over the summer but with fewer cadets.

“COVID is really forcing all of us to think about things in a new way and what opportunities are available for us to still educate, train and develop future leaders with the tools that we have available,” Sheets said.

Showers said she and a few other leaders conduct a coronavirus safety brief during ROTC’s three-hour Friday labs.

While the COVID-19 safety protocols have been effective at SU, Showers said one of the main risks for the program has been allowing cadets from other universities, such as Le Moyne College’s, to train on the SU campus.

“For (ROTC), it just adds another layer of risk that we have to be cognizant of,” Gotie said. “We adapt, and we overcome, and we get the job done.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated that no students in SU’s ROTC program tested positive for the coronavirus. Three cadets enrolled in the Army ROTC program hosted by SU have tested positive. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 27, 2020 at 10:08 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21