ROTC recruiters move to active duty

Marshall University's ROTC said goodbye to two of its recruiters this week.

Lt. Chris Shaffer, 28, from Sissonville, W.Va., and Lt. Lance Garnett, 26, from St. Albans, W.Va., both graduated from Marshall then decided to continue their careers as recruiting officers until time for active duty.

Shaffer is heading to Fort Sill in Oklahoma for the next six months.

At Fort Sill, Shaffer said he will concentrate on job-specific training and going into artillery.

"This is the last stop before our job begins," Shaffer said. "Once I finish training, I will be sent wherever my unit is active."

 Shaffer said he and his wife are expecting a baby in April.

"I'll get to leave for four days when she is born," he said. "Once the baby is old enough to travel, my wife will fly out, and they will live with me."

Garnett is training in aviation at Fort Rucker in Alabama. He plans to be there for a year.

"We pick our specialty, but the Army makes the orders and sends us wherever," Garnett said.

Neither of the recruiting officers have had any experience in the specialty they are going into.

"We go in knowing what we want to do and become an expert in the next six months to a year," Garnett said.

Shaffer said he plans to be in artillery for four years then go to branch detail and eventually end up in military intelligence.

Garnett said his plan is to learn the basics of aviation, train on a specific type of helicopter and then go into active duty wherever his unit is deployed.

"I could do a tour overseas or anywhere," he said. "It just depends where they send me."
Garnett said there are usually two different ways a person enters the Army.

"You can enlist and go in as a private, and this starts you out in a specific job," he said. "Or you can go through ROTC and earn a college degree and come out with a middle ranking."

Both Shaffer and Garnett went through ROTC and came out as an officer.

"Having that title right out of college gives you a lot of responsibility at a young age," Shaffer said.

Garnett said the cadets choose their branches of specialty at the beginning of their senior year.

"Once you choose, you usually get the branch you want," Garnett said.

Garnett said a person could choose between many specialties. Including infantry, military intelligence, armor, aviation, supply or military police.

"When an officer graduates from college, they can choose to go into active duty or do something like what we do," Shaffer said.

Both officers said Marshall ROTC was the right choice for them.

"The ROTC here works on developing leadership, and that is key when you go into your unit and have people looking to you for direction," Shaffer said.

Capt. Mike Armstrong, recruiting and operations officer for Marshall, said he is excited for both Shaffer and Garnett to start their new careers.

"They are embarking on their career path," he said. "It is going to be both challenging and exciting for them to get out there."

Armstrong has two recruiter replacements for Shaffer and Garnett. Lt. Kevin Linsenmeyer and Lt. Jubail Akut started their jobs this week.

"Today they are starting to get paid," Armstrong said. "They will receive all the benefits of any other officer at their level."

Both Linsenmeyer and Akut will have a short stay as recruiting officers for Marshall's ROTC.

Armstrong said both will be leaving at the end of May to do what Shaffer and Garnett are doing.

"Linsenmeyer is planning to go to Korea and specialize in the Military Police, and Akut will be at Fort Drum in New York concentrating on the infantry," Armstrong said.

Haley Thaxton can be contacted at thaxton21@marshall.edu.