In this time of war, Americans are showing more support for their soldiers than ever before. Simply type "troop support" in any Internet search engine and you'll find dozens of non-profit organizations that specialize in giving donations to U.S. soldiers.

Celebrities like comedian/actor Robin Williams, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Broncos quarterback John Elway, singers Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson and rapper 50 Cent have all visited war zones to entertain the troops. Last Christmas, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Microsoft joined together to deliver holiday greetings and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment systems to the troops in person.

Even Barbara and Sarah Alshefski, a mother-daughter team from Virginia, showed their support by collecting hundreds of donated cell phones. The cell phones were recycled, raising money for calling cards that were shipped to soldiers overseas.

Support for U.S. soldiers remains strong despite weak support for the war itself. A recent CNN poll of 1,027 individuals by Opinion Research Corporation found that only 35 percent of Americans are confident about the war. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

All of this information isn't new to Shawn Kitchin, a senior ROTC cadet majoring in Law, Societies, and Justice. What comes as a surprise is the possibility that Kitchin may not see combat. It will take months for him to prepare for military duty, even after graduation.

And if Democrats in Congress are successful in pushing their legislation requiring a set withdrawal timeline, Kitchin may not set one foot in Iraq, even though the unit he's assigned to is already there.

Like many cadets in the ROTC, Kitchin has never served in combat, but he knew his future was in the Army a long time ago.

Not Your Typical Cadet

Family history has had a profound effect on Kitchin's decision to prepare for the role of an officer in the Army. Both of Kitchin's grandfathers served in the military during World War II.

"One was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed," Kitchin said. "The other was part of a couple of invasions in the Pacific. I also went to my cousin's commissioning and graduation at the Naval Academy in Annapolis my junior year. It was pretty much at that point that I decided I wanted to be in ROTC."

With that intent, Kitchin applied for Navy and Army scholarships.

"I didn't get either," Kitchin said.

Kitchin believes he didn't qualify because he didn't play sports in high school. Instead of sports, Kitchin held a job as a courtesy clerk for Albertsons. Kitchin maintained a 3.74 GPA while working and attending classes.

The UW wasn't his first choice.

Kitchin applied to the University of Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue. He was accepted into all three schools but didn't win the necessary ROTC scholarships to pay for his education. Not willing to give up, Kitchin started school at the UW.

"I had to prove myself over the first couple of months," Kitchin said. "I took an Army physical fitness test which measures you on push-ups, sit-ups, a two-mile run. I did really well on it. I also came to all of the events."

Kitchin's hard work paid off. He finally won a scholarship. But medical problems kept him from winning the full four-year award.

"I had to have two surgeries in order to stay in [the ROTC program]," Kitchin said. "I had a hole in my septum. The Army wouldn't accept me with it."

Getting Schooled

The summer of his sophomore year, Kitchin traveled to Camp Mackall, N.C., to train in two-week long "Robin Sage" exercises where Special Forces soldiers go through a qualification course. His group helped Special Forces trainees by acting as the main opposition in an imaginary country called Pinewood.

"I'm still friends with a couple of Special Forces guys that I met there," Kitchin said. "A couple of them were at Fort Lewis, but they went to Iraq."

That same summer, Kitchin went to airborne school in Fort Benning, Ga. For three weeks he parachuted out of planes. Several cadets broke their legs while landing.

"We were on our second week of airborne school when [Hurricane Katrina] hit," Kitchin said. "The next weekend we jumped, the winds were still a little off. We had quite a few people get injured."

Last year Kitchin finished air assault school in Fort Campbell, Ky., where he learned how to rappel from hovering helicopters. Kitchin was the distinguished honor grad at air assault school and scored the highest in his class. His excellence in academics never faltered.

He was nominated to be part of a national commissioning ceremony conducted by the president. Kitchin made the top-100 cutoff, but narrowly missed being in the top 50.

Today, Kitchin helps plan training events as the assistant S-3. He also ran a mentorship program for his fellow cadets earlier this year.

Kitchin has been on the Dean's List since his freshman year. He currently holds a 3.83 GPA.

"One of the main focuses of ROTC is to make sure that our grades are up," Kitchin said. "That has a huge impact on what branch [of the Army] we're going into."

Kitchin is currently working with fellow cadet Brett Fuller, a senior majoring in civil engineering, to distribute a UW ROTC newsletter. Right now, they are in the process of finding UW ROTC alumni.

"It's kind of a tricky situation figuring out who we're going to send [the newsletter] to," Fuller said. "I got a list, a hard copy. But nobody had an electronic version. So we were just going to have to type up all 500 names by hand. It was like 20 pages or so."

Fuller stated that there was an attempt to create an alumni association for ROTC two years ago. He and Kitchin are hoping to revive a part of that dream with their upcoming newsletter.

What's Next

When Kitchin commissions into the Army, he will also be the Gold Bar Recruiter, a newly commissioned second lieutenant responsible for training and recruiting duties. Between graduation and his commissioning ceremony, Kitchin will be talking to students interested in the ROTC program.

Recent news of extended tours and troop surges haven't discouraged Kitchin from his future plans.

"I'm going to be in a Stryker unit at Fort Lewis a little after I graduate," Kitchin said. "Once I get done with that I'm thinking about possibly going to law school."

Kitchin mentioned that he might study to become a Judge Advocate General (JAG) if he continues a career in the Army. Outside of the military, Kitchin is looking forward to attending either Harvard University or Columbia University.

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