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Students to deploy in December

By David English

On October 21, 2009

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Over a dozen Norwich University students will be deployed at the end of the fall semester to fulfill their military obligation, according to the school's veterans' advocate.

"Fourteen (students), that we know of, are deploying in the next couple of months," said Joyce Rivers, veterans' advocate at Norwich. "The actual deployment date is early to middle of December."

These students represent most of the military branches and may be gone between 10 and 18 months, Rivers said.

"I'm trying to finish up school and get this semester taken care of," said Justin Macura, a 21-year-old senior criminal justice major from Granville, N.Y. "I'm trying to take care of any issues that are going to take place during deployment."

There is a policy in place that allows students who are being deployed to finish the semester early if they have completed 12 weeks of class. Students who need to finish the semester early may be given a modified final test, project or paper, to compensate for what they will miss in the last few weeks of class, according to Rivers.

The school wants students who are deploying to have a plan to "complete their course requirements in whatever way they can," Rivers said. "We are trying to find ways to allow them to get full credit for the classes they are enrolled in."

Although they will be able to finish out this semester's classes, the students who are deploying will still be missing a few semesters of school, which is going to put them behind on their graduation track.

"I'm going to be behind about a year," said Eric Pan, a 19-year-old sophomore business major from Fresno, Calif. "I'll just come back and start off school a year late, it is just like taking two semesters off."

Part of the new policy put in place with the help of the school's Office of Veteran Affairs is to help out the students with their transition back to the school after their deployment.

"The Veteran Affairs office is working with us to get pre-registered for the semester we return," Pan said.

"Right now we've got a system going on; we're going to figure out all the classes we need to take that semester when we get back," Macura said. "Either my advisor or one of the other professors on campus will enroll me in my classes before I get back."

Pre-registering the students now will make sure they do not get "locked out of classes" when they return, Rivers said. Without pre-registration this could occur because "they are going to miss the actual preregistration period if they are still deployed."

Norwich's National Guard and Reserve Activation policy allows for the Office of Veteran Affairs to register deployed students in absentia during the official pre-registration period. They will be given priority for those classes that they need for degree progression or degree completion.

"Our goal is to not have them lose a year or more of school because of the deployment," Rivers said.

One policy change that is being pushed by the veterans' advocate will allow any student who leaves Norwich for a military obligation to come back and complete their degree, according to Rivers.

"There is a lot going on in the works that have to do with policies and procedures that we're doing for veterans." Rivers said.

"It is a comprehensive and permanent policy that I am calling ‘Challenge and Password,'" Rivers said. "Whether a student leaves Norwich University, goes on active duty and serves for 10 years or for 10 months, the objective is to get them back through the gates and finish what they started."

Students who are deploying also deal with fears as well the things they will miss while they are gone.

"My biggest fear is not being able to see my family again," Pan said. "It's kind of scary and surreal, but (serving in the military) is what I have always wanted to do."

One of the biggest fears for the students is the possibility and danger of losing their lives during their deployment, according to Macura.

"You know, we have the body-armor, we have the training, as they say we have the technology," he said.

It is difficult not being able to tell family members the certain aspects of the deployment process, Macura said. "I try to put everything in a hard-candy shell, which makes them feel better."

"I'm not really worried because I have a lot of support from friends," Pan said. "I think the worst is trying to just talk with my family."

"I wasn't able to tell my family when I was leaving until literally a week before we left," said Eric Boudro, a 24-year-old senior criminal justice major from Windsor, Vt. "We didn't know that until a week before we left."

Boudro gave some advice for all of the students who will be going on their first deployments this winter.

"Keep your head down and do what you have to do," Boudro said, "and you will get through it and you will come back."

The Office for Veteran Affairs is located in the Wise Campus Center in room 219 and is open Monday through Friday.