---
title: "What It Takes: Army ROTC"
date: 2024-02-16T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/what-it-takes-army-rotc"
section: Articles
---
# What It Takes: Army ROTC

*February 16, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> From Practicing Ambushes to Pulling a 90-Pound Sled, UMD Cadets Learn to Lead

*Testudo Sunrise SC 09182019 1638 2 1920x1080 — ROTC cadets run laps around McKeldin Mall during sunrise. Balancing three-day-a-week physical training, labs and off-site field exercises with college classes sets students up to become military officers after graduation.*

Thirty-five-pound rucksack in tow, Anna Wietrecki ’24 briefly reconsidered her life plans as she trudged past giggling students wandering back from the bars at 3 a.m.—while she was about to start a 12-mile “ruck march” (a heavily-loaded run-walk) from Reckord Armory.

But the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadet’s bleary eyes brightened at the sight of her fellow cadets, and their encouragement and camaraderie fueled her steps. By the time the sun rose, she was ready for class, and soon she blended among tens of thousands of other University of Maryland students streaming across McKeldin Mall.

Physical tests are just one of the many components of the ROTC programs at UMD, which include three branches with nearly 300 total students, all based in the Armory: the [Army](https://armyrotc.umd.edu/), [Air Force](https://afrotc.umd.edu/) and [Navy](https://navalrotc.umd.edu/). While each program has specific requirements, all include military classes, tactical training and leadership development, as well as off-site preparation at local bases.

Military classes have been offered since UMD was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856, as part of its land-grant mission. (Back then, all students were called cadets.) In 1916, the national ROTC program was established, and since then, colleges across the country have trained students to become future military leaders—the majority of newly commissioned military officers come from ROTC.

Terrence McCall, a recruiter who has been with the [UMD Army ROTC](https://armyrotc.umd.edu/) program for two decades, and Wietrecki share why an English major can be a good fit for the Army, what it takes to plan a training ambush in the woods of College Park and the challenges of finding a camouflaged stick amid hills and brush and wild animals—in the dark.


*Cadet Anna Wietrecki in uniform — Cadet Anna Wietrecki*


*uniformed cadets taking notes in the grass — Cadets learn about claymores, sending reports and grenades during a Thursday lab session.*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [ROTC](https://today.umd.edu/topic/rotc), [What It Takes](https://today.umd.edu/topic/what-it-takes), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)


**Units:** [Office of Undergraduate Studies](https://today.umd.edu/topic/office-undergraduate-studies)