The Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps prepares students for potential careers in the military through its qualified staff and cadre-to-cadet mentorship. 

Charles Morris, a senior majoring in general studies and double minoring in psychology and military science, is a cadet sergeant major for ROTC. 

“I’m a direct right-hand advisor to the battalion commander, who’s the number one man of charge for ROTC,” he said. “I basically oversee operations at the individual cadet level. I’m making sure that information is getting disseminated and pushed out to cadets. I’m making sure that uniform standards, fitness standards and grooming standards are all upheld. I’m making sure that cadets are well disciplined, and they are understanding what the Army values are and providing them guidance and mentorship for whatever questions they have.”

Morris was first contracted at ROTC in September 2023.

After graduating high school in 2018, Morris attended the University of Central Florida, earning an Associate of Arts degree in two years. 

He said he took a break from school when COVID-19 hit and, in late 2022, decided to move back home to Arkansas.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the army, and with guidance from military mentors and my father, who also served in the military, they steered me towards that officer path,” he said. “Just through weighing my options and looking at the numbers financially and the opportunities for your overall military career, I went ahead and chose ROTC.”

“I applied to the University of Central Arkansas and then got in contact with the ROTC department through Miss Roslyn Tillman and expressed interest in joining ROTC and getting the two-year ROTC scholarship,” he said. “All I had to do was take an ACFT [Army Combat Fitness Test] in March of 2023, which is basically a fitness evaluation test.”

He then attended Cadet Center Training basic camp, a requirement for students without prior ROTC credits before their junior year.

”The most rewarding experience outside of extracurricular schooling that you can get through the US Army would be the mentorship,” Morris said. “We have an excellent cadre. We have Colonel [Charles] Jones, who is very experienced and very well decorated throughout his military career. He has a lot of good advice to offer cadets, as well as Master Sergeant Jesus Mesa, who deployed at the 82nd Airborne. He’s a free-fall master and is a jumpmaster. He’s a ranger qualified. Both of them have an open-door policy. You can just walk in at any time if you need anything. If you have questions about anything, they’re happy to assist you in whatever matters.”

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Jones, the chair and a professor of military service, said what makes UCA ROTC unique from other programs is that the majority of cadets who are serving will be commissioned as officers into the Arkansas National Guard.

“I’m actively learning more about how the National Guard trains and operates so that our cadre and staff can best mentor and prepare our cadets for commissioning as officers into the National Guard,” he said. “One of the initiatives we’re implementing is a codified and formalized cadre-to-cadet and cadet-to-cadet mentorship program in order to counsel, advise and assist our cadets, both academically and professionally, through their progression in ROTC. We’re building and piloting this program over the academic year and hoping to build upon it in the future.”

Jones graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and was commissioned as an Active Duty Engineer Officer in the Army.

“I have served in various leadership and staff positions, conducting operations ranging from combat engineering, military bridging, construction project management and logistics,” he said.

“I have been assigned to organizations within both the operational Army and Special Operations to include assignments with the 1st Cavalry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment and 5th Special Forces Group.”

Before joining UCA this academic year, Jones spent the last three years overseeing training and operations management for senior ROTC programs on the West Coast.

He said he served as an assistant professor of military science at Hampton University in Virginia and as the Operations Officer for the 8th Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Jones said, “Witnessing how ROTC programs within the 8th Brigade planned, prepared and executed training events for their respective programs, and assisting these 30 programs with annual summer training requirements, allows me to discuss training and leadership development opportunities with our team in order to provide the best experiences for our cadets.”  

Carter Lemley, a senior majoring in geography, is a cadet battalion commander for ROTC.

“I am responsible for everything the battalion does or fails to do,” he said. “I make major decisions on the direction of the program and work with my staff to make sure that plans are carried out successfully.

Lemley wanted to join the military since he was in the eighth grade.

“I read a lot of books on military history, including ‘Citizen Soldiers’ by Stephen Ambrose and ‘The Longest Day’ by Cornelius Ryan. My role models were soldiers, and I wanted to be like them,” he said. “ROTC offers a path to officership that allows me to pursue a degree at a university in my home state.”

After graduating, he said he wants to become a field artillery officer.

“The most challenging aspect of ROTC is its emphasis on leadership,” he said. “It’s easy to be a member of an organization, but it’s incredibly hard to be a leader at times. Leaders don’t get to check out when things are hard. They have to be actively engaged.”

Lemley said, “Don’t do it for the money. We are training to be leaders. The lives of others will be in our hands. The scholarships are amazing, but our soldiers deserve leaders that are in it for the right reasons. If you want to join, go all in. Volunteer for tasks and be ready to lead. Being a cadet is not easy, but it’s simple. Show up at the right time, at the right place, with the right equipment, with the right attitude.”

Morris said an ROTC student living on campus typically wakes up at 5 a.m. for physical training from 6 to 7 a.m., followed by an after-action review. 

After training, cadets return to their dorms to shower and prepare for their classes.

Afternoons are reserved for additional ROTC activities, including training sessions, meetings or Q&A sessions with cadre. 

“If you’re considering joining ROTC, understand that you are not guaranteed the specific job you want in the army,” he said. “However, if you put in the effort, and you put in the time, and you take care of what you are able to control yourself, as in you control what is controllable, you are going to put yourself in an amazing position to get whatever job you want. 

“On top of that, you’re going to be a cut above the average adult in the United States. Your problem-solving abilities are going to improve your leadership. You’re going to learn management principles, and you are going to be a physically fit human being capable of accomplishing whatever goals you set for yourself in the future,” he said.