The weather isn't what you first expect, John Rutledge maintains about his initial tour in Iraq.

"It snowed when I was there," Rutledge said. "Brent got hailed on."

Rutledge is a senior, a history major and an S-6 in the UW Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) within the Kinnear Husky Battalion unit where he manages communications. His roommate, Brent Hofstetter, is an MS-4, the senior level for an ROTC member taking military science classes. Hofstetter is also a senior and a history major and works with Rutledge, primarily with radios.

"S-6 just means 'shop' - 6," Rutledge said. "It's a weird Army-ism that is used for a support team. There are other shops. The S-4 is supply and the S-1 is personnel."

There's no denying that Hofstetter and Rutledge are proud of their military service. They've got the pictures to prove it. They can also boast of what many people only dream about — they've seen more of the world than most Americans will in a lifetime.

While many of our American soldiers are working with the Iraqi government to stabilize sectarian violence in Iraq, cadets at the UW are preparing for future military careers while obtaining their degrees. Several cadets like Hofstetter and Rutledge have already served in Iraq and are willing to redeploy to ensure the safety of their comrades and the Iraqi people.

Hofstetter was an Arabic linguist for the Marine Corps. After Sept. 11, 2001 he traveled around the globe working as a translator for the U.S. military. Life today is a little less hectic for Hofstetter since he is almost done with school. His current job is teaching land navigation.

"You go out into the woods with a compass and a map," Hofstetter explained. "We use a GPS [global positioning satellite] to plot very specific points; by points, it's a placard on a tree. Through the techniques that we teach, you can find your way to each one. Once or twice a quarter, we take a whole Saturday and we leave somewhere around 6:00 in the morning. We're not usually back until close to midnight."

Origins of ROTC

Historically, the UW ROTC roots reach as far back as 1862, when Congress first endorsed the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Those particular acts of legislation required land-grant colleges to offer military training courses. As a land-grant college, the UW created a military department in the 1870s.

Beginning in 1892, male students were required to participate in military exercises during their first two years of college. President George Whitworth organized the military department, and county commissioners requested 40 firearms to commence training. Male students formed companies and conducted drills on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The title, "Reserve Officers' Training Corps," was not administered until 1916, when it was formally established as an officer-training program. The compulsory basic ROTC requirement continued up to World War II. According to the records of the UW Department of Military Science, school officials removed the compulsory aspect of the military science requirement from their catalog in 1946. In 1948, two-year compulsory basic ROTC was reinstated at the recommendation of the Board of Deans and the University Senate.

However, the UW decided to make the ROTC program completely voluntary in 1961, due to Defense Department policy changes.

Recent Times

In 1989 and 2001, the UW ROTC program expanded to Northwest University and Seattle Pacific University. Today, there are 100 enrolled students supported by nine military cadre members and three civilians.

In 1996, the Solomon Amendment was passed to allow military recruitment at schools that accept grants, including federal research grants. This amendment currently gives the Secretary of Defense the authority to bar federal funds from institutions that enact anti-ROTC policies.

According to the 2006 UW Annual Report of Awards and Expenditures, the UW received more than $700 million in federal funds, nearly 80 percent of its total grant and contract awards. The Department of Defense alone gave the UW more than $41 million for research, training and fellowships.

The UW ROTC program is one of the best in the nation, ranking alongside UCLA and Notre Dame. Lt. Col. Brian Rogers, a professor of military philosophy and theory, believes the program's strong focus on academics and leadership development is a decisive factor. He pointed out that the UW ROTC awarded 14 full-year, merit-based scholarships to incoming freshmen. This year, 20 scholarships will be given.

"This campus produces quality leaders," Rogers said. "Students as a whole at the UW have a better, broader understanding of what's going on in the world. ROTC students have a world-view from being UW students."

Plans for the Future

The UW is one of few colleges in the country that has military bases nearby, where ROTC students can train while taking classes. Hofstetter and Rutledge regularly travel to Fort Lewis with their fellow training officers for routine exercises.

Master Sgt. Corey Sanders, a military science instructor, has known Hofstetter and Rutledge for more than a year.

"They're both pretty highly motivated," Sanders said. "They've been deployed, been in combat. They tend to understand what we're teaching here more so than the cadets who just came in after high school or transferred in later on. They've actually seen the real world of military action."

Rutledge joined the army to train as a combat engineer before attending the UW. The UW was his first and only choice for a college education. He volunteered to serve in Iraq even though he was exempt, and patrolled bases for three months in 2005. However, Rutledge doesn't know if he is willing to make the army a more permanent profession because he is concerned about his fiancé.

"I don't really want to move around a lot, but I got posted in Alaska," Rutledge mused, unsure of which fort to which he'll be assigned. "There are two; one in Fairbanks and one in Anchorage."

Hofstetter had his heart set on going to the UW after high school, but said he joined the military to see the world. He has been to Djibouti, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, East Timor and Australia, among other places.

"The very last deployment I did was Iraq," Hofstetter said. "We were in the desert waiting in Kuwait, during January, February and March of 2003. In March, we invaded with the main invasion force. We were there until late June."

After accomplishing one of his dreams, Hofstetter left the Marine Corps and spent several months backpacking in Europe before returning to school and re-enlisting in the U.S. Army. He is stationed at Fort Lewis and hopes to stay in Washington, where he will marry his fiancé in June.

"[Washington] is my home," Hofstetter said.

When faced with the possibility of returning to Iraq, Hofstetter and Rutledge had friends on their minds.

"If I go, I want to bring the guys back alive," Rutledge said.

Reach reporter Anthony Shelley at anthonyshelly@thedaily.washington.edu.