Tufts was represented in all three branches of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at an annual pass in review ceremony on Apr. 28.
Ten Jumbos were present in the Army unit, four in the Air Force unit and six in the Navy unit for the event, held on Berry Field at MIT.
The review celebrates ROTC cadets' accomplishments of the year and includes a symbolic inspection of the units, conducted by the guests of honor.
According to Captain Robert Holland, who spoke at the event, the "post 9-11 volunteers" gathered on the field represented seven different schools from the New England area. The MIT ROTC program has commissioned over 6,800 officers into active reserve duty.
Tufts has lacked an ROTC program since the Vietnam War, so ROTC Jumbos commute to MIT for the program.
Harvard senior Joseph Payne, of the Navy ROTC, emceed the event.
"What you are about to see is a long-standing tradition which happened before battle, when officers wanted to inspect their troops, or when troops gathered in celebration," Payne explained at the beginning of the review.
He then directed the crowd's attention to two A-10 Warthog Aircrafts flown by pilots from the 104th fighter wing that were approaching for a fly-over.
The keynote speaker at the review was Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who has served in Iraq, Bosnia, and Haiti. Petraeus is also a top graduate of the Army Staff College and Princeton University.
Throughout his speech, Petraeus drew from his extensive military experience. Most notably, he led the first Multi-National Security Transition Command and a NATO training mission in Iraq in 2004.
"It's a particular pleasure to appreciate the seniors on the field and their parents," he began, before speaking on a candid view of war.
"Yes, there are moments of celebration," he said. "But days of combat are tough. Nothing you have ever experienced is harder than losing one of your troopers."
Petraeus took special care to highlight the leadership responsibilities that students would have as officers.
"The troopers you lead will follow your example," he said. "If you make light of adversity, your troopers will too. Your attitude will be echoed and re-echoed. You can be a hero to your troops, or a zero. It's difficult to lead from the rear. You need to lead from the front."
He emphasized the difference between an officer and a solider, saying, "You will be graded on how your platoon does, not how you do."
After his speech, Petraeus, along with Holland and another guest, walked out to each of the units, giving a cursory inspection of each in turn. All of the units then marched around the field, passing by the "reviewing area," where they were applauded by the spectators.
"They just have us march right past the commanding officer and the guest of honor who is there," said Tufts senior Daniel Crenshaw, who is part of the Navy ROTC program.
Now that their training and academic terms are completed, many of the cadets will be going on to active service.
"Ultimately, I will end up doing military intelligence at Fort Campbell, Ky.," said Tufts senior Caroline Kennedy, a cadet in the army ROTC program.
Crenshaw will go to San Diego after graduation to take part in training for the Navy SEAL program.
"I kind of always wanted to go into the SEALS and obviously [to] go to college, and so ROTC was a pretty good path for that," Crenshaw said.
Ten other Tufts seniors will be moving on to positions in their respective units.
