Freshman Daniel Bozarth is ready for anything.
Bozarth, from Wilkinson, Ind., joined the Army National Guard his junior year of high school. Originally, he joined for college money. That attitude changed after he got involved.
"After I got there, I developed a sense of duty for my country," Bozarth said. "I know that's kind of corny."
He spends one weekend each month and two weekends in the summer training in Greenfield, Ind. Though many National Guard volunteers have been sent to the Middle East, he has yet to be activated.
"When I signed, I was told I could not go active as long as I was enrolled as a full-time college student," he said. "I know people at Purdue with the same contract that got called up."
Bozarth said the National Guard asked for volunteers before activating people.
For Bozarth, the situation in Iraq is a waiting game. Meanwhile, he is focusing on classes and college life. He is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
He said his family was nervous that he would volunteer to leave college.
"I don't think I'd really volunteer for anything right now," Bozarth said. "I've got a girl I'm real serious about, and I'd like to see her again."
However, he said he will not abandon the sense of duty that brought him to the National Guard.
"I signed a contract, and (the National Guard) invested a lot of money and time in me," Bozarth said. "If they want me to go I won't fight it. I'll go."
PROFESSIONAL MOTIVATION
Like many people who enroll in some form of military service, Bozarth said he has considered making his military experience into a career.
"I thought I could do this for a living, and I started looking at different options," Bozarth said.
Though not every volunteer becomes a military professional, those who have pursued careers said the experiences are rewarding.
Andrew Gothreau, assistant director of human resources, training and development at Ball State, spent 27 years in the Army.
"I consider it a privilege the fact that I made a career of it and stayed in by choice," Gothreau said.
Gothreau said he is supportive of all the volunteers willing to join the armed forces.
"For anyone who wants to go volunteer and help defend the country, I applaud them," Gothreau said.
Gothreau graduated from West Point in 1963. He also graduated from the U.S. Army War College and spent four years of training in the Army Foreign Area program. There, he had four years of training in Russian and studied Russia for a year. He earned his master's degree from Indiana University as part of the program. Two years at the U.S. Army Russian Institute made him "some sort of authority on what was the Soviet Union," Gothreau said.
For three months in the summer of 1988, Gothreau participated in inspections in Russia as part of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, verifying what intermediate range missiles the Soviets had at the time. He said the actions were similar to what was going on in Iraq before the beginning of the war.
Robert Pritchard, a professor of journalism, had a different reason to join the military.
He wanted to fly airplanes since he was 8 years old.
"I wanted to be the best, and I thought that if you wanted to land an airplane on 14,000 feet of an Air Force base runway, that was fine," Pritchard said.
But the enticement of landing an airplane on an aircraft carrier with a 50-foot landing area coaxed Pritchard into the Navy. He graduated from college May 25, 1974. By June 25, 1974, he was in aviation officer candidate school in Pensacola, Fla.
Pritchard said he grew up in a strict and orderly household, something he said helped him in his training.
He spent four years in the Navy, half in training. He was grounded after training because of sinus problems.
Pritchard wanted to stay in the military, so he began to work public relations for the Navy, a job that he said helped him become the professor he is today.
"I really feel like the Navy is not just the best in aviation, but the best in public relations too," Pritchard said. "So to be able to use that 23 years of experience is really important to me."
He said the Navy helped him more than in his career.
"I think I got a huge sense of what it means to be part of a team," he said. "I had a sense of being able to serve my country and that service was appreciated."
OPPOSITION AND UNDERSTANDING
Pritchard said this appreciation was not universal.
"In 1974 the military was not a popular place to be," Pritchard said. "There were war protesters throwing blood at hard working service members going into the Pentagon trying to do their jobs.
"A few friends were spat on as they walked in uniform."
When Gothreau attended graduate school at Indiana University in 1969-1970, he said thousands of students protested the war in Vietnam and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
Gothreau attended a protest out of curiosity.
"I got involved to see what was going on," Gothreau said.
Bozarth said he hopes people protesting understand the circumstances behind the war.
"I understand people have their opinions," Bozarth said. "If people are going to protest the war, they need to support the soldiers going to war," he said.
In light of recent and current protests, Pritchard said a majority of the college-aged generation has a better handle on the situation in Iraq.
"I think your generation has definitely approached questions you have in a much more mature manner than the people of my generation," Pritchard said. "The fact that your generation is interested in hearing and analyzing both sides is absolutely critical."
He did say, however, that people will have different views depending on their upbringing.
Pritchard said the response is more inclusive about a world view.
"9/11 was a wake up call for a lot of (people)," Pritchard said. "If there is some good to have come from that tragedy, it was that we need an enhanced world view."
Pritchard said the tragedy taught Americans that what else is going on in the world is critical.
"We also shouldn't let that world view handcuff us from what we know is the right thing to do," Pritchard said.
CHANGING TIMES
Gothreau said he thought there was more support for action on Iraq before the war than in previous conflicts.
"I think the threat from Iraq is a whole lot clearer than it was in Vietnam," Gothreau said. "More people believe Saddam Hussein and Iraq pose a threat with their weapons of mass destruction."
He added that though his military background has affected him, he does not see a large difference between himself and those without military experience. He said if he was confronted with a protester, he would question their reasons for protesting.
"I would obviously try to correct anything that was not true if I felt they did not have the facts right," Gothreau said.
Gothreau said people must take into consideration how the situation differs from previous conflicts.
He said in the situation with the Soviet Union, the United States knew of the Soviet's capabilities and the threat was fairly clear.
Gothreau said there was not all that much initial opposition to the Vietnam War, but after being involved for a number of years, some resentment emerged after Vietnam veterans returned.
"The situation today is a whole lot different than it was back in the 60s when I got involved," he said.
Gothreau said currently, the United States is involved in a "much more ambiguous situation."
With al-Qaida and other terrorist groups throughout the world, Gothreau said the United States had not combated similar threats before.
Gothreau said Vietnam veterans were not treated with what he thought was proper respect for their duty, and the current military has more support.
Pritchard agreed.
"The American people are supportive in my experience," Pritchard said. "In my personal contacts with people they understand the options.
"I don't think anybody likes the options but there are obligations to being a world leader," he said.
Pritchard said conflicts with Iraq and Saddam Hussein are not easy problems to solve.
"[Hussein] doesn't listen to reason and that has been amply demonstrated over the past decade," Pritchard said. "The hard question is where you draw the line and say enough is enough."
Bozarth, Gothreau and Pritchard said their military experiences have helped them remain confident in U.S. capabilities.
"I am confident because I know the quality of the people we have, the quality of equipment we have and the quality of leadership," Pritchard said.
The people Bozarth knows who are enlisted support the president's decisions to attack Iraq, he said. Bozarth said he sees the United States as a world protector, a role that the United States has come into and will continue to play.
SUPPORT AND CONFIDENCE
Pritchard said his Navy experience helped him understand the processes and steps the United States must go through to solve the conflict.
"The beauty of living in a democracy is the ability to question," Pritchard said. "Having served for 27 years, I can assure you that the government's decisions are well-considered, based upon a wealth of evidence and an incredible amount of consultation."
Pritchard said people should trust in the government they have elected with a watchful eye.
"It is important to trust the government we have elected," Pritchard said. "It should not be a blind trust; but rather than have the assumption the government is corrupt, start with the assumption that the government is all about democracy."
The three men all see Saddam as a clear threat.
"He is a threat, not just to the U.S., but all over the world," Pritchard said. "The president is responsible for the national security interest of the country. I totally believe he is fulfilling the oath of office that he took to protect and defend the constitution of the U.S. against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Gothreau said he has no doubt in the United States intelligence.
"There is no question in my mind (Saddam) has weapons," Gothreau said. Therefore, Gothreau said he is supportive of actions to disarm Saddam.
The disarmament will take the efforts of many men and women of the United States armed forces, a process that Gothreau said is clearly orchestrated.
As far as manpower, Gothreau said there is a standard reinforcement schedule set up. Gothreau said there are many calculations involved in deciding the number of men and women to be sent to Iraq. The goal, he said, is to make sure the United States has superiority. Gothreau said he is convinced the U.S. has superiority, taking firepower into consideration.
Gothreau said the type of weapons are similar to those used in previous wars, but their precision is much more precise than it was in the past.
Pritchard said planning for military action did not come without intense consideration.
"I think if you look at the totality of the effort the administration has made, they really have exercised an incredible amount of diplomacy over an extended period of time," Pritchard said.
Gothreau said the United States is planning a short war. Gothreau said in a short war, military action would last months as opposed to years. The rebuilding and restructuring of Iraq will take longer, he said.
Until the United States and allied forces end armed attacks, the nation will wait to see what the future holds for the Middle East.
In the meantime, Bozarth said he will remain in the National Guard and continue his training, as well as his college career, until he gets further notice. He said that does not mean he is not concerned for his safety.
"A lot of it is the same concern we all have," Bozarth said. "I hope I come back, and I hope I don't get shot."
Bozarth said though he may get sent to the Middle East, he will continue his service.
"I pretty much wouldn't be human if I wasn't (afraid)," Bozarth said. "I'm I afraid I couldn't come back and finish what I started."
Pritchard said the sense of duty lasts throughout one's military career.
"Every time a service member gets promoted they renew their oath of office," Pritchard said. "Those words really have meaning."
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