MAJOR PHILIP ROMANELLI

My name is Philip Romanelli. I'm a consultant for RGS Associates in the Washington, D.C. area. I'm also a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

I joined ROTC when I was 18. I wanted to enroll in Army ROTC for a variety of reasons. There's a chance to service your country in a very direct and immediate way.

The nice thing about Army ROTC?the way it is at most universities and colleges?is that there is a continuum of how active you want to be.

While I was a cadet and while I was in Army ROTC at Princeton, I had the opportunity to go to Airborne School. It was an exceptionally interesting and worthwhile experience.

I think that Army ROTC and the Army Reserve in general has given me a lot more confidence. I've developed a rigorous way of thinking that I think the Army tends to inculcate in people, and that's been invaluable in my civilian career.

For those of us who did go into Army ROTC and those of us who remain as Army Reserve Soldiers, I think all of us feel as though we would have missed out a great part of our college experience had we not been Cadets.