Does the colonel know were having a meeting? one cadet asks.

Yeah, but you know how he loves to talk, another replies.

Assembled around the meeting room at 1000 Waterway Boulevard are 10 of the
Military Science 4 cadets of the Capital Warrior Battalion. Combined with the Reserve
Officer Training Corps program, there are more than 100 students from the major colleges
of Marion County, including Franklin College. The MS4s year in their rank indicates how
many years they have participated in ROTC. For the days class work, they will be briefing
Lt. Col. Tim LaBahn, the head of the Indiana Univeristy-Purdue University Indianapolis
Military Science department and officer in charge of the battalion, on the success of this
semesters three-day training period at Camp Atterbury.
One seat to the right of LaBahn is University of Indianapolis senior criminal justice
major Grant Koenig. MS4 Koenig has participated in ROTC since his freshman year. A self
described Army brat, Koenig has always wanted to join the army.
I just kind of always knew I wanted to do it [join the Army], he said. My dad was
in the armyhe was there for 20 years. I just saw him, and he was my role model. He had a
cool job. Everybody elses parents in elementary school, they were boringoffice jobs. My
dad drove tanks.
Koenig has trained to become an infantry officer in the Army and will take command
of an infantry platoon in the Indiana Army National Guard after his graduation.
According to Koenig, participating in Army ROTC does not necessarily mean
commissioning as an officer. Cadets may participate in activities without any commitment
to serve for their first two years. At the end of their sophomore year, they must decide
whether or not they want to contract as an officer.
At an hour when most of their classmates are either still asleep or groggily waking
up, the cadets of the Capital Warrior Battalion are busy at work. Every Monday and
Wednesday at 6:45 a.m., the battalion meets at IUPUI for physical training. On Tuesdays

and Thursdays, the cadets have class from 7 a.m. until 8 a.m. The classes cover things such
as first aid and military tactics.
Some cadets, like UIndy freshman exercise science major Sarah Rose, are just
learning the basics. Rose is currently taking classes like The Role of the Army and Army
Customs and Traditions. While Koenig and his fellow MS4s are briefing Lt. Col. LaBahn,
Cadet Private Rose is guiding her partner to safety in a trust and communication exercise.
While Roses partner made it through the room without setting off any of the
traps the team was one second over-time, and informed by the MS4 running the course
that they would need to repeat it. Rose and her partner, Private Cadet Jennifer Yi from
IUPUI, met through the program.
Rose, like Koenig, said she always had an interest in joining the Army.
When I was in school, all of my projects were about the military or history, she
said. I would love to be in Civil Affairs, which is the liaison between the Army and civilians
we are with.
Rose said she plans to be a career officer. Since she receives a scholarship for ROTC,
she already is contracted as an officer in the Army.
Koenig, who is contracted, said he will wait to see how much he likes his first term of
service before deciding whether or not he will continue a career with the Army.
Despite that, Koenig is excited to begin doing what the Army has trained him to do.
I mean, just the adventure of it being able to be a part of something greater than
myself, Koenig said. Being a part of ROTCs almost been like a four year internship,
because Ive just learned so much. Honestly, if you wanted to sum it up in a few words, I
wanted to do this because I want to live an uncommon life.