Close-knit ROTC cadets commissioned as officers

Photo by Billy Liggett
BUIES CREEK — Though they ranged in experience from seasoned war veteran to recent high school graduate when they entered Campbell’s renowned ROTC program, the seven senior cadets who received their commission as second lieutenants Friday each said they couldn’t have done it without the support of their peers.
Christian Andrades, Christopher Cleare, Rasheedah Freeman, Matthew Gooch, Noah Hancock, Natali Juaurez and Lenna Rodriguez made up the small but close-knit graduating class who took their oaths and gave their first salute as a U.S. Army officer in Scott Concert Hall Friday morning. All seven will enter into active duty following graduation this weekend, serving in branches such as medical services, military intelligence, field artillery and others.
“We were a small group who had a lot of work to do to get here,” Cleare told the crowd on hand after receiving his salute. “Despite our size, we came together, worked together and accomplished all tasks assigned.”
The ceremony marked a new beginning for Gooch, a Green Beret and Iraq War veteran who enrolled at Campbell in his early 30s to become a commissioned officer and set forth on a career in the medical field.
“I’m pretty excited about today,” Gooch said. “I’ve had 16 years in the Army … I think it’s safe to call it a career at this point.”
Gooch was ranked sixth in the nation this academic year out of 5,617 Army ROTC seniors in the national Order of Merit List, which takes into account grade point average, performance in the Army physical fitness test, leadership roles in the cadet’s program and his or her performance at the Leader Development and Assessment Course.
“I have no doubt that 25 years from now, it will be Brig. Gen. Matthew Gooch telling new second lieutenants what to do,” said Professor of Military Science LTC Brian Scott, who read Gooch his oath Friday.
Freeman called her ROTC experience “challenging and rewarding.” She enlisted in the Army after high school and after two years of service, enrolled at Campbell under the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Scholarship.
Juarez, a Los Angeles native who’s working toward a career in dentistry, fought back tears after her pinning as she thanked family members in attendance. Andrades talked about how he entered the Army six years ago with very little command of the English language and the hard work it took to become an officer, and Hancock credited his classmates and his fiance, “who makes me a better man and inspires me toward greatness.”
The final oath was received by Rodriguez, who said being part of Friday’s service was “an honor.”
“I’ve been in the Army for 10 years now,” she said, “And I never imagined I’d be standing here today. It’s been a great journey, and I can’t believe it’s ending.”
The graduates were provided advice by the program’s speaker, Brig. Gen. Steven T. Eveker, a 1986 Campbell ROTC graduate who’s now the commanding general for Deployment Support Command in Birmingham, Ala. and the deputy commander for Mobilization for the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
Eveker challenged the group to “be” many things, from confident, humble and decisive to passionate, funny and considerate.
“Above all else, be a leader,” he said. “It’s the most important thing you can be for the Army and for yourself as an individual. Be the leader you wish you had.”