By Nick Matson

Ball State University

NORWICH – It is that time of the year when college students are getting ready to head back to school. Some have spent their summer working. Others are taking summer classes. Still others are traveling across the country. Then there are those college kids spending their summer in Ft. Knox, Kentucky preparing to join the military.

Cadet Larry Waters, from Norwich, is one such college student attending Leaders Training Course, or LTC, an intense 30 days of physical and mental training. He is studying mechanical engineering technology at Indiana State University but is also a part of ROTC. The reason for joining was quite simple.

“My dad was a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army and I used to dress up in his uniform and play army in the back woods,” Waters said. “So I think that had a little bit to do with it.”

Waters’ parents say they fully support his decision to join the Army and “are proud that Larry has decided to pursue ROTC.” It was something Waters was interested in coming out of high school. But he didn’t join the ROTC right away.

“I hadn’t seriously considered it until I decided to transfer from Rose-Hulman to Indiana State University and was wondering what I wanted to do, and it clicked,” Waters said. “Why not do ROTC and join the Army?”

When it ultimately came down to Waters’ decision to join ROTC, it was something he wanted to do and something he knew he would enjoy. Several of his fraternity brothers at Rose-Hulman were in ROTC and one of them introduced Waters to the recruiter on campus. The recruiter told him that if he was going to join, he needed to attend LTC this summer as part of the process.

The LTC program is for students about to enter their junior year who are interested in joining ROTC but may not have enough time to finish the program. LTC takes two years of information and training and condenses it into about 30 days.

For Waters, ROTC is a fairly new endeavor.

“I’ve been planning on doing ROTC since January of this year,” Waters said. “I came in with some expectations, but I wasn’t quite sure what to think. There are some people here who have no clue.”

Even though this is a new adventure for Waters, he has used the knowledge and information gained over the past six months to help out other cadets who may be even newer to the ROTC process. 2nd Lt. Tyler Anderson, Waters’ squad tactical officer leader, said that one of Waters’ strongest traits is his willingness to help other cadets.

“He knows a lot of his stuff and is willing to help anyone in his squad,” Anderson said. “One of the military values that Cadet Waters shows is never leave a comrade behind, and it is by Waters’ willingness to share his knowledge with the other cadets that exhibits this value.”

When it comes to sharing his knowledge, Waters is more than glad to help. “They are learning to walk and I am at a running pace,” he said.