Exploration 1-observations
I had the opportunity to observe ROTC in their Thursday lab class for two hours. I went with my roommate to the office early so they could pack up for the trip to table rock. The first thing I noticed were all the curious eyes on me. I could tell they were all wondering who I was and what I was doing there. I was completely intimidated by being in the presence of all these military men and women, however everybody was welcoming and friendly. The lab class I observed is like a role play of scenarios that might occur in war such as ambushes, shootings and it teaches them to practice all the tactics they have learned. I honestly did not think that this was going to be very interesting at first because I wasn’t quite sure beforehand what was going to be going on that day. I was really shocked when I enjoyed the entire time I spent with the group. I loved the energy and excitement that surrounded the atmosphere and how fast-paced it was. They are divided into three different groups and each group is watched by an evaluator. They were kind enough to allow me to follow an evaluator and get really close-up observations for my fieldnotes. The evaluator I followed was very good at giving me information and answering any questions I had. This was a great experience for me to get to know some people in the community and I made some friends in the process. I also find it interesting the type of social relationship people have with one another. I had some expectations that they might not be very interactive with each other but it was the exact opposite. They have a well balanced community from what I have seen with a mix of seriousness and respect to higher authority to jokes and sarcasm as well. I have found myself even more intrigued by the things I know now about ROTC.