Military students discuss balancing act

 The United States Army and Navy use college programs such as the Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Green to Gold programs to help active and non-active service members receive a higher education.
Many consider serving in the military to be a big challenge. Cadet Dougquaylas Johnson, current Army ROTC Cadet Lieutenant Colonel, describes his transition from student to 2nd lieutenant as "resembling college students going into the real world, but there are lives at stake."
However, earning a college degree comes with challenges of a different kind for prior military service members.
Monte Cornelius, current cadet command sergeant major and former sergeant first class, states that studying is the biggest trial he faces as a college student.
He said, "While in the Army when you get off work you are off, but in college you have to get used to doing stuff after work."
Though some service members use college simply as a means to further their education, others have bigger goals in mind.
Cornelius said, "I wanted to be an officer and the best way to get that level of education was to go to college, and concentrate."
The Reserved Officer Training Corps is an asset that prepares prior and non-prior military cadets for life as an officer for their preferred military branch.
For some the hardest part of being a military student is not transitioning from solider to student, but changing from a student to a solider.
Johnson believes "many cadets fear they are not ready for the large spectrum of the military."
Whether striving to be Army Strong, a Navy global force for good, or aim high with the Air force, military students are the future defenders of American freedom.