“Every student has their own unique experience,” said Joseph Hasper, an official of Shippensburg Unversity’s ROTC, explaining cadets can be good mentors. “I want them to share that with their [mentee].”

The SU ROTC program hosted its annual “Cadet for A Day” program on Thursday, which provided high school students the opportunity to shadow SU ROTC members and participate in activities like rock climbing.

“Cadet for A Day” is a recruitment program that aims to give prospective ROTC cadets a look into the life of a college cadet.

From attending classes, to eating at Reisner Dining Hall, the mentees experienced every facet of daily life at SU.

“I want to instill a sense of duty for the uniform and for the military,” Cadet Ethan Diefenbach said.

Cadets like Diefenbach wanted to ensure that their mentees received representative examples of daily life as an ROTC cadet at SU.

“It might not be as glamorous or prestigious as West Point, but that’s not what matters. What matters is that they understand the military’s values,” Diefenbach said.

For high school student John Harshberger, acknowledging these values comes easy.

“My family is a military family, so I want to be a part of that,” Harshberger said. “When I first thought about it, I just wanted to do it to save money, but wouldn’t join [ROTC] if I can’t see what it’s like.”

Hasper says this year’s “Cadet for A Day” program was the biggest he had ever seen. After receiving about 70 registrations, Hasper had to deny applicants.

Hasper said the program usually has about 20 attendants. Of the usual 20 that attend the “Cadet for A Day” program, five or six actually enroll in the ROTC at SU, Hasper said.

“We want them to join [ROTC] here,” Hasper said. “But we are all team players, so if they decide to enroll somewhere else that’s not the worst thing in the world.”

While SU’s Raider Battalion hosts the event every year, this year’s cadets wanted to show prospective ROTC members how exciting the program can be.

“We have never done anything like this before,” said Collin Brackin, an SU ROTC member, who addressed the crowd of SU students and “Cadet for A Day” attendees.

The Raider Battalion coordinated and executed an air-to-ground combat demonstration, which featured SU ROTC members, a Blackhawk helicopter and two Stryker armored vehicles.

ROTC members and SU students gathered around the football’s practice field behind Seth Grove Stadium and watched as dozens of Raider Battalion members executed a 20-minute combat exercise.

Raider Battalion members addressed audience members during the combat exercise as the action unfolded behind them.

A Blackhawk helicopter filled with Raider Battalion members landed near the center of the practice field. After it landed, ROTC members moved in formation toward the baseball field, occasionally stopping to secure their position.

The day ended in the Ceddia Union Building, where the prospective ROTC members received information on SU’s admissions process.

Anyone interested in enrolling in SU’s ROTC program can find information online at ship.edu/ROTC.

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