During this year's Commencement exercises, three members of the graduating class of 2006 will wear United States Marine Corps uniforms along with their traditional caps and gowns. Immediately following Commencement, these three graduates will be commissioned as officers in the USMC.
These students have spent the past few summers at Officer Candidates School as part of the Platoon Leader Class. After graduation, as their classmates embark on post-graduation trips or new jobs, they will begin their training in Quantico, Va. In total, four members of the class of 2006 are joining the Marines, but one will be commissioned in a separate ceremony, according to USMC Officer Selection Officer Captain A.J. Fielder.
Fielder said the significant number of Brown students choosing to serve in the Marine Corps does not surprise him. "The environment up there (at Brown) emphasizes social responsibility and a commitment to improving the world," he said. "There is no single way that can be done, it's all personality-driven. When you have a group of people who are exceptionally bright and motivated they realize that the Marine Corps is a good way to do that."
But despite their shared plans for next year, the stories, motivations and objectives of Brown's future Marines vary widely. For some, it is about serving their country in a time of war, while others view it as a prime job opportunity. For others still, joining the Marines is an adventure.
Evan Pettyjohn '06, who will be commissioned following graduation, said he wanted to enlist when the war in Iraq began three years ago, but he was too young at the time. A strong supporter of U.S. foreign policy, Pettyjohn said he "didn't want to be the guy who (supports the war) from the couch."
An economics concentrator from New York, Pettyjohn grew up in an Army family and said he believes serving one's nation is not only admirable but a part of fulfilling one's civic duty. "If I spent four years living it up at college, can't I give four years back to my country?" he said. "It's a privilege and honor to lead Marines. ... It's not a sacrifice, it's a privilege."
Though Pettyjohn and the other seniors due to be commissioned have already completed Officer Candidates School, around one-third of those attending don't graduate from the intensive program - they either leave of their own accord or flunk out.
The school's purpose is to weed out those less capable of operating under physical and mental stress in situations which simulate combat. In addition to 13-mile night runs in boots and gear on two hours of sleep before a full day, some candidates may be told to write 300-word essays on the spot during the night. They are forced to write in pen so the slightest mistake requires starting all over again. According to Pettyjohn, the work isn't hard, but fighting to stay awake in dark, air-conditioned classrooms while sleep-deprived poses a real challenge.
Though these trying situations lead many who enroll in OCS to quit, Pettyjohn said, "The people I met at Officer Candidate School were some of the best people I've ever met, just high caliber people."
Pettyjohn said his Brown education served him well at OCS and will continue to do so in the Marines. "Brown teaches you to think creatively," he said, adding that Brown's liberal arts offerings would make a future Marine "not just an officer but a gentleman," an imperative for the Corps.
Political beliefs may have motivated Pettyjohn's decision to join the Marines, but they factored less in the decision of Ashley Noreuil '06 to pursue the opportunity. An e-mail from the selection officer first sparked the applied mathematics and economics concentrator's interest, and soon she decided to pursue what "was a good paying (summer) job, would get me in shape, allow me to try out the armed services and had no commitment."
In Noreuil's Iowa hometown, "the military is considered an opportunity for those who graduate high school and have no other opportunities," she said.
A registered Democrat, Noreuil said she walks around with a Marine Corps backpack. To her surprise, she has never been harassed at Brown because of it. "(I've) never even had any comments on the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," she said. "Students here are good at separating individuals in the (armed services) from the services' policies."
Graduates of Reserve Officer Training Corps programs or the United States Naval Academy may have an advantage in the first few months of training because they are more familiar with the military environment, Noreuil said. "If I were from the South, sir (and) ma'am would come a lot easier," she said. "I can pick up the technical stuff, where to pin your rank on your uniform, but the atmosphere stuff will be harder, like when it's okay to be 'smoking and joking' as they call it."
Another Brown student due to be commissioned after graduation, Matt Goracy '06, said he considered the Naval Academy before coming to Brown but wasn't ready to make the service commitment the institution required. A recruiter in the University post office first got him interested in joining the Marines. Goracy had no previous knowledge about the Marines training, but he figured being a Marine was halfway to becoming a Navy Seal, his original ambition.
Like Noreuil, Goracy was attracted to the Marines training program's lack of commitment. A varsity swimmer for the Bears, Goracy said Brown prepared him for the Marine Corps by forcing him to defend his conservative views, but he said classmates never challenged his decision to join. In fact, he spent more time defending Brown to his OCS classmates, who frequently asked how he tolerated such a liberal hotspot, Goracy said.
In addition to Pettyjohn, Noreuil and Goracy - all of whom hope to specialize in intelligence once in the Marines - Billy Wilson '06 will also be commissioned this year in a separate ceremony.
Another senior, Christopher Rigali '06, was ambivalent about joining the Marines, but he finally decided to postpone plans to attend law school in order to join. Looking at his other options, Rigali said, "I didn't find anywhere else I feel I can use my natural abilities as effectively. ... I feel like if I don't do it, I might regret it."
As a moderate Democrat, Rigali said he has "had an internal struggle about not wanting to sacrifice yourself to something you're not fully committed to - the war in Iraq - but wanting to give yourself to an organization and mission you believe in." Though sometimes a reason to serve, Rigali said personal political beliefs were rarely discussed by students in the Marines training program.
Neither did politics motivate Christopher Pollak '07, who also attended OCS and will be commissioned after he graduates in just over a year. Describing himself as a "southern Republican conservative," Pollak grew up near the Parris Island Marines base in Beaufort, S.C., and said he has always wanted to join the Marines.
"(You) get paid to play with toys and blow stuff up," he said. After graduating from boarding school in Massachusetts, Pollak said he considered the Naval Academy but chose to attend Brown because he wanted to experience a more typical college life and to row for the men's crew team. "Annapolis would have driven me nuts. ... Brown is the opposite end of Annapolis or the Marines, which makes a nice balance, it allows me to see both sides," he said.
Rather than specializing in intelligence like the other future Brunonian Marines, Pollak wants to fly helicopters or serve as a combat engineer. According to Pollak, combat engineers build bridges and are the "military bomb squad."
Already in shape after the spring crew season, Pollak said he loved the OCS experience because "getting paid to be there, working out, playing in the woods (was) better than a summer job or an internship or sitting in a classroom." Learning about military history, fighting tactics and weapons, Pollak said, was "much more interesting than sitting in Econ 11 or really any class here."
