Senior honored with ROTC award

by Hillary Copsey
Staff Writer

When Ohio University senior cadet Dave Widder heard he had received the George C. Marshall Award in recognition of his excellence in OU's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, he wasn't exactly thrilled.

"I think at first he was kind of approaching it as more of a duty position," said Douglas Orr, OU professor of military science.

But after attending the seminar held for all the award winners April 17-20 and meeting high-ranking officials like Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army General Eric Shinseki, Widder decided the honor might not be so bad after all.

"Once you start seeing all these people – high brass – it kind of sinks in that maybe I do deserve this," Widder said. "They took the time – whether they had it or not – to talk to you and make you feel important."

The Marshall award marked Widder as the best of the 15 senior cadets at OU. Every university in the country with an ROTC program grants the award to its program's best senior.

"I was looking for the most well-rounded senior cadet. Dave does well in academics, physical training and above all, has a great attitude," Orr said.

This year the award-winning seniors traveled to Lexington, Va., and made lifetime career connections during four days on the campuses of Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute.

For Widder, these connections began two years ago when he decided to join OU's Army ROTC program. Widder said he had always thought about joining the armed forces, but after attending a basic training camp the summer before his junior year, he knew he had to join the ROTC program.

"The atmosphere at camp was what I wanted to be – where I wanted to go," Widder said. "Army life just appealed to me."

At the camp, Widder learned basic squad tactics, field craft and weapons maintenance. He said the camp taught the same things as a boot camp would to those going straight into the army. But because ROTC has different goals than a traditional boot camp, those things were taught in different ways.

"ROTC produces officers, not soldiers; so, most of the training is toward leading, not doing," Widder said.

And leading by example is where Widder excels, Orr said.

OU senior cadet Dana Krull has worked with Widder for two years and said he agrees with Orr. He said Widder is a good leader because he also knows how to follow.

"Dave doesn't ask you to do anything he wouldn't do himself," Krull said. "I work under him now and don't mind taking orders from him because I know he'd do it for me.

Widder said he does not mind spending extra time on the program. He has even done extra physical training with cadets.

"If someone has the initiative to do extra (physical training), they can have an hour of my day," he said.

What can be hard, Widder said, is keeping everyone happy and teaching people of varying cultures and backgrounds to work together.

"We have guys who have always hunted and been out-of-doors, and then we also have a lot who grew up in a city where they hardly saw even a tree. With so many different levels of experience, it takes some effort to work as a group," Widder said.

After he graduates this spring with a degree in economics, Widder will spend his four-year commitment to the U.S. Army in Hawaii, serving the first two years of his four-year stint as a lieutenant in the infantry where he can put his leadership skills into practice.

Until then, Widder will spend the remainder of the year as a continuing member of the group "waking the dorms up at 6 a.m. by running around campus," he said.

Though a good portion of his last two college years was spent getting up as early as some students get to sleep, Widder said he does not regret a second. His experience has taught him a lot about leadership, confidence and personal responsibility.

"It takes more time than other things, but you can think of it as an investment in yourself," he said.