Being Jewish in the ROTC
Before he graduated Boston University this May, Marty Nosenchuck would awake at 6:45 a.m. three to five days a week for an hour-long Physical Test (PT) of crunches, pushups, and runs. On Thursdays he would attend his Military Science Course in uniform and on weekends he would simulate military operations meant more for Iraq than New England.
Over 30,000 university students nationwide perform these duties as part of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), a program that trains students to become military officers while in college. The ROTC provides scholarships and stipends to university students in exchange for their training and several years of military service following graduation. Although no available record states how many Jews serve in the ROTC, Jews constitute 1.5 to 2 percent of the American military, a number proportional to the country’s Jewish population. Nosenchuck’s relatives, however, see his decision as a bit unorthodox.
“My great-grandmother said to me, ‘You are a nice Jewish boy. You can be a doctor or lawyer.’” Nosenchuck recalled. “‘Why would you join the army?’”
While Jewish and non-Jewish ROTC students tend to join for the same reasons—a sense of patriotic duty, career considerations and the allure of school scholarships—Jewish trainees also face another battle: the need to confront and combat the perception that military life is not conducive to safe, college-bound American Jews.
A Jew in the army?
“I joined the military because I believe in national and community service,” said Matthew Golub, a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the Navy ROTC there. Interested in the military from a young age, Golub considered applying to several military academies but decided that the ROTC would provide a better balance between academics and military service.
“I define this service as something that helps or supports other people, for which you need make some sort of time and lifestyle sacrifice,” he said. “There are a lot of problems in the world and I would be remiss if I didn’t try to alleviate some of them.”
Junior Josh Jacobs, an international studies major at American University who trains in Georgetown University’s Army ROTC, attributed his decision to more practical considerations, noting his support for the current War on Terrorism and his interest in future military related careers. “I am a good American. The republic comes first,” he said.
For William Adelson, a sophomore in the University of Colorado’s Army ROTC, religious identification played a more central role. After visiting a World War II memorial for American soldiers in Normandy, France during high school, Adelson aspired to return these soldiers’ service.
“I desired to serve the United States of America because it’s a country that has been very kind to my family and to my people,” said Adelson, a political science major. “I felt that I owed my service to this country.”
Keeping it Kosher in Uniform
As a student at Hofstra University, Rachael Rubens found her Jewish identity compatible with the ROTC. Because rank was the defining social factor in the military, anti-Semitism was not an issue.
“For ROTC my religion had no impact day to day,” said Rubens, who graduated in 2005. “I can’t say that anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in the military, but I don’t know anyone who has experienced it.”
Similar to Rubens, many Jewish ROTC students report experiencing little anti-Semitism while training. Instead, they often become their peers’ sole source of Jewish knowledge.
“A lot of people just don’t know that much about us,” Adelson said. “Instead of hindering my practice I end up becoming an ambassador for many Jews.”
Such cultural and religious conflicts are not unique to the Jewish community. According to Golub of Penn State, cadets from all minority backgrounds face moments of insensitivity.
“I think that basically innocent ignorance plays a big role,” said Golub. “Many people have not been exposed to other ethnicities and they just don’t know when they are making others uncomfortable.”
ROTC training operations often take place on Saturdays in order to not interfere with weekly class schedules. Manny programs, however, accommodate Jewish practices such as allowing students to wear kippot at meals, receive kosher meals or attend Saturday morning services.
“There haven’t been many restrictions,” said Dylan Neidorff, a 2005 graduate of BU’s ROTC who flew his first airplane as a Bar Mitzvah present. “They don’t mind you taking the time for the holidays as long as you are taking that time to observe and not just as time off.”
Jacobs, from American University, who grew up Reform and recently began attending Chabad services, predicted that religious observance would become difficult as he left the relative ease of ROTC conditions.
“If you were very observant, I can see you how it would be difficult in the military, keeping kosher,” Jacobs said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in the service and the real issues seem to come when you actually get your commission and you can be placed in a more isolating environment.”
As trainees prepare to enter the military, Jewish organizations on campus act as important resources. Jack Morris, a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College in California, is an office candidate in the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class. He has made time between his courses and training to serve as Hillel Social Action Chair and help cook for Friday night dinner.
Another such case is Scott Friedland, a senior at Indiana University who spent a gap year in Israel before college and who joined the ROTC as a junior. Friedland remained committed to his position on the Student Hillel Board while training and plans to serve as Hillel’s vice president next semester.
Michael Lombardi, director of student activities at BU’s Hillel, encourages ROTC students to participate in Jewish life, such as High Holiday services and Birthright trips to Israel.
“For ROTC students their lives were very busy to begin with,” Lombardi said. “We try to accommodate students as best as possible.”
America or Israel?
In addition to questions from fellow cadets, Jewish ROTC students recalled that other American Jews have criticized their decision to join the American military. Friedland and Morris, both known for their Jewish involvement in their college and home communities, noted their friends’ surprise that they joined the American—and not the Israeli—military.
“Aliyah’s not a foreign concept for me,” Morris of Claremont McKenna said. “I love
Israel. I don’t see this as a conflict of interest. But I’m an American Jew, not an Israeli.”
Nick Lawson—a 2007 graduate of BU’s ROTC and a lawyer in the military’s Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps—attributes the perceived lack of Jewish American enthusiasm for military involvement to the relative safety of the US. He added that the characteristic Jewish mother would not be able to handle the stereotypical soldier.
“Obviously the IDF is a different story because they are fighting for a different cause,” Lawson said. “People feel that there’s no such need in America. The typical ‘rank and file Joe,’ as they say in the military, is a lower middle-class white man from rural America. This is kind of an unorthodox approach for a Jew.”
Echoing the sentiments of Nosenchuck’s great-grandmother, Neidorff of BU noted that people often perceive the military as a career of last resort rather than an elective form of service or an addition to a college degree.
“A lot of Jews come from affluent areas and the military isn’t a great place to get rich,” Neidorff said.
Jacobs of American University attributes Jewish ambivalence regarding the military to the statistical tendency of American Jews to support liberal policies.
“I think it has to do with the community as a whole being more Democratic,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s politics, at the end of the day.”
Such attitudes, however, are characteristic of sentiments shared by the larger population—according to Captain Neil Bloch, administrator of JewsinGreen.com, a website that serves as a forum for Jewish American soldiers. He said that American youth have lost the sense of service that was prominent in years past.
“There is a whole generation of people that have been directed inward—what can I do for myself—rather than outward—what you can do for your country, as John F. Kennedy said,” Bloch said. “Jews have served in all American wars. We should have sons and daughters who serve.”
On campus, where Jewish Greek Life, Hillels and Chabads attempt to attract today’s youth, Jews in the ROTC must balance their PTs and GPA with their social and religious life in a unique environment.
“It’s been a challenge because there aren’t that many Jews and the military atmosphere isn’t so conducive to individual practices,” Neidorff said. “At the same time they are very accepting and there are many resources available.”
But in the end, the amity among the cadets creates a military melting pot where a common purpose connects Americans of all descents, Jewish or not.
“My favorite part is definitely the camaraderie with the cadets,” said Jacobs. “You train together, you work together, you hang out together. They are some of the brightest and most dynamic people that I’ve met.
