Every friendship is different. They all have those quirks that some might find strange, but to you two, it is just another day of beautiful friendship. When you're best friends with an ROTC cadet, though, things can get a little more interesting.
1. You sometimes lose your first name.
Last names are essential for anyone who is involved in the military. It is not that they forget your name, but purely a natural reaction. At first you might stare back at them in utter confusion, but before you know it, you won’t even think twice about it.
2.They give the confused stare when you DON’T call them by their last name.
There really isn’t any winning with this. In the end, it will always feel as though they’ve got 20 different things to call you, and you’ve got 20 things to call them right back.
3. Going through Terminology 101
What’s the difference between an ASU and ACU again? There is no avoiding the hundreds of different terms they are able to remember with ease, but somehow always go straight over your head. Nonetheless, you try your best to keep up, and their willingness to explain things makes you feel better, even though it may be their hundredth time defining it.
4. The initial crash course.
When you first find out about how your best friend is a cadet; you do what any normal person would do and stay up as late as possible learning everything you can about what they have signed up for. For a while, you will have a new question every day. One day, your friend will look at you and just laugh a little. You will of course think it is directed at you and get offended, but then it hits you; they don’t see what you see. To you, this is a huge deal that you have not been able to wrap your head around. That’s what the questions are for. You are just trying to understand what in the world is going on. To them though, this isn’t some huge deal. It is what it is to them. They choose to become a cadet and for them, it is registered. To you, though, it’s not, and it won’t be until you seem them at their contracting ceremony as they take an oath to serve their country.
5. Uniform Day = No Jaywalking Day
It doesn’t matter how late you are for class, or even if there isn’t a car to be seen for miles. Unless you hear the familiar “Walk sign is on,” you are stuck standing at every red cross walk.
6. They seem to know everyone.
There is no avoiding it. No matter where you go, your cadet is going to run into someone. Eventually you face the facts and ultimately come to the conclusion that ROTC is just one big secret club that everyone seems to be a part of.
7. You can’t even ask who their friends are.
They know everyone, but truth be told, they only know half of them by their last names. All of campus might know their first name, but you can say for sure that your cadet best friend won’t have a clue.
8. Your underclassmen friends can go to you for questions.
You might not actually be a cadet, but you might as well be, because you have the inside scoop for everything. You have broken it down to a science, and with complete confidence can answer any question a younger cadet might have.
9. Their wake-up time makes you cringe.
0500 PT? Yeah, no thanks. I’m going back to bed.
10. You are at every ROTC event.
This is your best friend. They’ve made a decision that most people could never choose. So you are there for everything, which usually ranges from a blood drive to the military ball. Over the course of your friendship, you have realized how humble these cadets really are. They will shrug off some of these major moments in their life, and it’s become your job to remind them it’s OK to be proud. Something they don’t realize is that you know how proud they are, even if they don’t tell you.
Best friends are some of the most important people you will have in your life. When your best friend is an ROTC cadet, you experience a whole new level of loyalty and learn to appreciate their friendship like no other. No matter what, you will always be insanely proud of them, and promise to be by their side through thick and thin.
