Posted: Dec. 30, 2009 |(0) Comments

Jim Rohde will remember 2009 as the year he celebrated three graduations: from college, from Army basic training and from officer candidate training.

On Dec. 10, the Wauwatosa resident, 22, achieved the rank of second lieutenant and started his career as a field artillery officer with the U.S. Army. He will spend most of 2010 undergoing leadership and artillery training at Fort Sill, Okla., but he also expects to head overseas to Afghanistan.

"When you enlist, it's pretty well understood you're going to be deployed," he said. "I just see it as something that's part of the job."

A surprise decision

For his parents, Greg and Mary Pat, this year has been a whirlwind, especially because they didn't foresee their son enlisting.

"I was surprised, but he said to me, 'Dad, I don't want someone else to fight for me,' " Greg said.

Jim majored in political science at St. Norbert College. Last winter, with thoughts of graduation looming, he started exploring his options.

"Someday I'm hoping to go into politics, but for now I am interested in service to my country," he said.

He believed the timing was right. He is young and fit, and does not have a job or wife and children to worry about. And, his college degree made him eligible to become an officer.

A month after college graduation, he was off to boot camp. Then, in September he entered officer candidate training, an experience he called the "most transformative 12 weeks of my life."

Much harder than basic training, about 25 percent of the 170 program participants didn't make it through. Officer candidates must pass physical, written and strategic evaluations on a daily basis. Participants are constantly under scrutiny to see if they can motivate others, provide a good example for troops and be a leader in battle.

"They want to see, how do you react? Can you handle the mental stress?" Jim said.

As much as Jim's decision was a surprise to his parents, Mary Pat said she can see the job as a good fit for her son. Even in childhood he was interested in the military and knew how to perform all the ceremonial steps used by the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"He's always been very patriotic," she said. "He loves the history of the U.S. and the political process."

Plus, Army service will help Jim pay off his student loans and give him an income.

"Many of his friends are having trouble finding jobs," Mary Pat said. "Finding a job is difficult for many college graduates right now."

Experience brings changes

Jim knows this past year has caused him to change. He feels motivated to work as hard as possible and expects the same from others. In the military, he has learned there is "no problem too difficult to solve and no room for excuses."

"There's never room for excuses."

His parents have seen a more mature man return for the holidays.

"He walks with his shoulders up straight," Greg said. "You can tell there's been a change inside."

Greg and Mary Pat support their son's decision, but his enlistment in the Army during wartime makes them apprehensive as well.

"We're very proud, but very scared," Greg said.

His mother agrees.

"He talks about (deployment) in a very matter-of-fact way, but for a mom that's not easy to hear," she said. "We keep hoping we'll have a peaceful world by then."