Some students at the University may have bigger worries than just midterms.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top military commander in Afghanistan, recently urged President Barack Obama to send tens of thousands of additional troops into the war-torn Arab country. Now, some ROTC students at the University are preparing for the possibility of deployment.

Carole House, an international affairs major from Columbus, said she will be deployed upon graduation to wherever the American military presence is strongest at that time. Looking at current events, she believes that presence will most likely be growing in Afghanistan.

“With the world’s political climate now, everyone has the possibility to be deployed,” said Paige Pipes, a criminal justice and sociology major from Dacula. “It doesn’t matter if you’re active duty or Reserves. They fulfill specific needs with specific units. I’m not exactly sure how the system works, but if they need an infantry unit, that unit deployed could be from the Reserves or from active duty.”

Maj. Kevin Fracassa, ROTC Program Coordinator for the University, said students in ROTC are not deployed until after graduation. Their chance of being sent overseas then depends on the area of specialty they have specified previously – such as infantry or National”It’s not an immediacy kind of thing,” Fracassa said.

Staying in contact with University ROTC graduates helps many students prepare for the drastically difficult transition from college life to the combat zone. Both Pipes and House have friends now serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of House’s friends in active duty suffer from mild PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – as a result of living in such a high-stress environment.

“Seeing that in close friends shocked me,” House said. “But it prepared me for the environment that will psychologically affect me. It makes reality sink in.”

Pipes said talking with her deployed friends makes her realize the gravity of the situation in the Middle East and the enormous responsibility she has as a servant of her country.

“They say the experience throws you into adulthood very quickly,” Pipes said. “But they don’t complain about it. The work actually means something. As opposed to working for a firm or a company, you’re working for your country.”

Mentors on and off-campus also help prepare students in ROTC for the responsibilities of war they will eventually have to face in a combat zone. House cited two specifically – her jujitsu master, retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Randy McElwee of Athen’s American Black Belt Academy, and Dr. Patricia Sullivan of the University’s International Affairs Department. House worked with Sullivan more closely as a research assistant, even studying abroad with her in Ecuador.

“She gave me insight about military intervention being able to solve conflict,” House said. “I’m an academic, and she taught me that scholastic aptitude can be applied to military objective.”

Pipes said that mentors within ROTC prepare students for the realities of military life.

“The entire cadre tells stories in the sense of ‘here’s what happened and how I grew from it,’” she said. “It’s one thing to read about stories of leadership in the a classroom and another to hear it firsthand. They prepare you honestly. It’s going to be difficult.”