For my last blog, I am going to describe the different extracurricular clubs offered at Penn State for Army ROTC. I am not a member of all of these clubs so I will just describe them as best as I can.

Tactics Club

Tactics Club allows cadets to get extra practice with the practical exercises that soldiers do in the Army. They meet once a week at 0530 on Tuesdays and do things like squad attacks, reconnaissance, and more. They do a lot of the same things that all cadets do in the standard leadership lab, however they go more in depth and sometimes practice being the enemy forces as well. I know tactics also practices weapons procedures like how to assemble/disassemble and fire them. Overall, tactics is useful for those who struggle with these kinds of things or just want extra practice to reinforce them. These concepts are important to know as cadets progress in the program and start becoming the leaders in practicing these exercises.

Ranger Challenge

Ranger Challenge is the club for the high speed cadets. Those looking for more of a physical challenge join Ranger. They usually have their own PT sessions and just go harder than the standard. You can find them doing several mile runs or rucks, Murph workouts, or any other kind of difficult physical work. In the winter, Ranger does a thing called Arctic Challenge where cadets do things in the snow like pulling weighted sleds or rucking around on snowshoes. There are competitions held for Ranger team and they compete with other schools’ teams. Our Ranger team is very good, winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places at the most recent Arctic Challenge competition.

Lion’s Guard

Lion’s Guard is a drill and ceremony club. Rather than focusing on the physical aspects of the Army, Lion’s Guard is more about the traditional/ceremonious part. There is a lot of emphasis on color guards, which are used for formal events. If you’ve ever seen a PSU football game, there is always a color guard that walks out onto the field during the playing of the national anthem. This club is useful for anyone who wants to get more practice in their drill and ceremony as well as take on leadership roles by commanding color guards. The club got its name from a tradition done for decades by PSU Army ROTC: one year, students from Syracuse University vandalized the Lion Shrine before the big Syracuse vs. PSU Homecoming game. Ever since, cadets guard the lion during Homecoming weekend and it’s one of the most important things that the club does.

Cadet Recruiting Team

Cadet Recruiting Team aka CRT does exactly what it sounds like. They are involved in publicizing ROTC and getting new people to join the program. You will often see these cadets at club fairs; they describe what ROTC is all about and the potential benefits you can obtain by joining. Members of CRT often also give presentations at their hometown high schools over winter break to inform younger people and get them interested. Penn State ROTC also has two shadow day events every year where seniors in high school can tag along with a CRT member for a day and see what the ROTC life is like. CRT provides a very valuable aspect to our program and does a lot to get more people interested in all it has to offer.

Running Club

Running Club gets together once a week and goes on group runs around campus. They also run a few organized races together every semester. Not much more to say about this one, but still a very good club!

Kaizen

Kaizen is Army ROTC’s THON Org. Just like any other THON org, they do lots of fundraising for their THON family, the Goldsmiths. One unique thing that Kaizen has done the past few years is the 24-hour Ruck for A Cure, where cadets take shifts to ruck around Beaver Stadium for a whole day straight. In 2018, a total of over 1,000 miles was rucked for the cure. It’s a very cool way to raise money for THON in a was that’s unique to what we do in ROTC.

 

Overall, Army ROTC has a very good selection of clubs that cover a diverse area of topics. Anyone in ROTC is likely to find a club that they enjoy. Participating in these clubs also gives you OML points, which are important in allowing you to choose your preferred branch, location, etc. when it comes time to commission. I really enjoy the clubs I’m in and it helps keep your knowledge sharp on these important aspects and skills of the Army.