Letters to the Editor

9/28/11 7:00pm

To the Editor:

With a great regard for Bianca and much respect for her future plans with the Marines, I'm dissapointed to read, ‘Student works to become Marine (Sep. 23),' as it so minimizes other students on campus pursuing the same commission with other services — Navy, Air Force, and Army. Rice has a close connection with every branch of the armed force's ROTC programs — all of which also offer avenus for OCS or OTS (Officer Training School) as other branches call it. Why not take this great opportunity to better inform the Rice community by featuring several Rice students seeking to serve their country — all also struggling to balance busy academic schedules with early morning PT and a rigorous training environment? It is refreshing to find a piece on a subject seldom discussed at Rice, millitary service, however unfortunately, the article portrays her as the ‘most special' and the marines as the ‘most elite'. The article could have been a much stronger piece about a community of students all working towards a common goal, that of entering and serving in the U.S. Military during a time of great international instability and insecurity — literally a time of war in which everyone of us is knowingly dedicating our lives to our nation. It just seems like no one bothered to do the research and look up other Rice students who will join Bianca — also the scant list of alumni who have gone through OCS is glaringly incomplete, and that is knowledge I've gained only through my personal interactions over four years here as a student. It is a great shame because each service and every officer commissioning program really deserve the same recognition and respect, we are one force, and I know Bianca would agree.

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