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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
May 21, 2012 - 6:52:41 PM |
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Tomahawk Soldier trades in battlefield for college classroom
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| Elizabethtown, Ky., native, Pfc. Joshua Ruth, an infantryman with 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, communicates with the driver and vehicle commander while he pulls rear security during a clearing operation in the Iraqi capital%u2019s Ghazaliyah neighborhood while the remaining members of his squad conduct searches of nearby houses March 24. Ruth plans to return to a college classroom when he departs the combat zone in hopes of becoming an Army officer in the Green to Gold program. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs) |
Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq – Transitioning from fighting on the battlefields of the war-torn Iraqi capital to reading the pages of heavy textbooks in a college classroom is a change of scenery one Soldier is about to make.
As Pfc. Joshua Ruth, an infantryman with 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, nears the end of his first deployment, he gets ready to go back to school through the Army’s “Green to Gold” program.
The program is designed to allow qualified and inspired young enlisted Soldiers, like Ruth, to return to college, receive their baccalaureate degree and earn a commission as an Army officer.
With some college under his belt, Ruth planned on going back to school to finish what he started, but during his latter days of student life he was in search of a change of pace.
The Elizabethtown, Ky., native found his higher calling and signed up to become a Soldier a couple days after Christmas 2005. Even with a brief stint in the Army, he has heard of the many opportunities the Army offers its Soldiers.
“When I heard about the Green to Gold program, I thought it was a good idea to take what enlisted guys learn and apply them as officers like the basics of working with a team, with a squad, with a platoon,” Ruth said.
In addition to the living the enlisted life, he also has something not most college Army cadets have – combat experience.
He said he thinks having a deployment to add to his repertoire and all the experiences being on the ground will make him, or any cadet, a more rounded Soldier.
“It’s good to have a deployment under your belt. (Ruth) will have experienced things first hand and the things he has experienced will help him in the future,” said Pfc. Brandon Kroger, an infantryman in his squad.
But to get back into a college seat, there are some requirements Soldiers must meet.
A Soldier must be active duty for at least two years, as well as three months for every one month of specialized training, and be under the age of 27 on June 30 the year of their commission. An extension of up to three years can be given, based on years of service.
The Soldier must have a General Technical score of at least 110, have a minimum American College Test score of 19 or Standard Aptitude Test score of 920 for a three or four-year scholarship, have a cumulative high school or college grade point average of 2.5 and be a high school graduate or equivalent,
In addition to scholastic requirements, all Soldiers have to maintain physical fitness standards. The Green to Gold candidates must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test and meet height and weight requirements according to AR 600-9.
If Soldiers meet the standards, they must also obtain letters of recommendation from their school of choice offering the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and a letter from the professor of military science of that Army ROTC battalion.
Candidates must also provide a favorable national agency check, go through a Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board, which deems Soldiers physical capable of the tasks ahead, and he or she must be eligible to reenlist.
Soldiers wanting to go Green to Gold cannot have either Uniform Code of Military Justice or civil convictions, nor have any such actions pending, or been convicted of a domestic violence crime or be a conscientious objector.
Although the requirements seem many, some of them are wavierable. Two requirements which can be waived are the requirement to have no more than three dependents, including a spouse, and not be a single parent.
Ruth said if he is accepted into the program, all the hurdles he had to jump through to get his packet turned in will be well worth the effort.
“For the most part, it’s been me running around getting stuff done. It’s definitely more difficult to get stuff done here than it would have been in the rear,” Ruth said. “Here, everyone is really busy and you’re constantly running around doing missions and going in and out of the wire.”
For this young trooper, becoming an officer is all about the responsibility that comes with it.
“I want to lead men into combat. It would be a pretty amazing thing. I want that responsibility,” said Ruth. “I had good examples of what leadership should be, which has made me want to be a good leader for other Soldiers.
“(I want to be) someone who’s willing to stand up for the guys they’re responsible for, that looks out for them, teaches them.“
Kroger said Ruth has the assertiveness and confidence it takes to take charge of other Soldiers and get the job done.
After graduating from school, Ruth will put on the gold bars of a second lieutenant and finish out his Army career as an officer.
“I think I’ll like it,” he said. “If I enjoy what I am doing and enjoy the life that I have, I am probably going to be a lifer, do my twenty years as an officer and retire.”
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