ROTC female enrollment numbers grow
Duncan recruits students for organization
JoLynn Elkins
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: News
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"I guess when I was a little girl I wanted to be in the military. It's something I've always wanted to do," Cadet Mackenzie Duncan said.
According to Lt. Col. Robert Levis, Professor of Military Science of Tarleton ROTC, female enrollment was only 15 percent of the total number of cadets three years ago.
This year, female enrollment is up to 23 percent, with 40 percent of the freshman cadets being women. Levis asserts this increase is due to the clarification of misconceptions about ROTC.
One of the biggest myths is that to be a woman in ROTC, you must forgo the frillier and softer parts of what it is to be a woman. Not so in the opinion of Duncan.
"When you enlist, they don't ask you to check your femininity at the door and say 'OK, you aren't a girl anymore, you are a robot'…you can still get dolled up and get giddy. They want you to keep your independent thinking," Duncan said.
Levis claims that a female cadet won't lose her femininity.
"You don't have to be G.I. Jane and shave your head…you can have relationships and even get married and have kids," Levis said.
Levis also claims that having friendly, visible women in ROTC has done much to change the conception of women cadets. This is beneficial because other students can see that ROTC is "mainstream, not a bunch of rejects, [we even] have cadets [who play] sports on campus," Levis said.
He admits that it can be hard for a woman to join when they think they may be the only woman in a class of 20 male cadets.
"The more female faces there are, the more women feel comfortable [joining ROTC]," Levis said.
Levis named Chai Read-Walsh asone such friendly, visible face on campus.
Read-Walsh has lately garnered the prestigious position of being the second female battalion leader of the Texan Battalion. The last female battalion leader graduated over 10 years ago. Read-Walsh has also been proving that female cadets can perform on the same level as male cadets. Levis commended Read-Walsh on her excellent performance at the summer Leader Development and Assessment Course.
"[Read-Walsh] had the best all-around camp and leadership scores. Had more 'E's than anyone else…she was the top graduate from Stephenville," Levis said. The highest grade any cadet can receive at LDAC is an 'E' for "exceeds."
Another reason Levis cites for the female enrollment increase is that as women join ROTC, they bring their friends with them.
"Mackenzie Duncan has been a great recruiter," Levis said.
"I encourage anybody to come out and try the ROTC. They aren't asking you to go to Iraq tomorrow. Its good leadership training…you can only benefit….it teaches you to live to a higher standard in and out of uniform," Duncan said.
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