By Joe Castelli
Staff writer
Trudging through the daily monotonies of a traditional nine-to-five civilian lifestyle would never be enough for a certain standout Cadet in Co. E 1/46th Inf.
Cadet Megan Webb tried cheerleading for a year during high school, but she quickly found that that wasn’t her calling. “It was a joke,” she said of her year-long cheering experience. “It was the worst thing I could’ve done in my entire life.
“I wanted to do something where I was actually involved and making a difference.”
Her desire to be challenged and accomplish something greater eventually brought her to the Leader’s Training Course.
“This is what I want to do,” said Cadet Megan Webb, a freshman at the New Mexico Military Institute. “Most people can go out and do day-in and day-out jobs, but I want to do something that’s going to definitely throw me for a spin right now."
She’d always wanted more than a sit-at-your-desk, hands-off education, but the18-year-old had participated in Air Force JROTC for most of her high school career, further piquing her interest in the excitement of the military.
“I heard about this and I was like ‘Oh, dude, this is exactly what I want to do,’ ” said Webb, who hopes to one day instruct JROTC and also fly helicopters. “ I knew that I wanted to do military, but I wasn’t 100 percent set on the Air Force just because I wanted to be more physically challenged.”
The Anchorage, Alaska native has already harnessed a reputation as a hard worker and natural leader in her squad.
Only days into their training at LTC, Cadets and cadre even in separate platoons know Webb by name, affectionately referring to her as “a little firecracker,” among other nicknames.
“Everybody gets along with her real well,” said 2nd Lt. Ryan Clark, the squad tactical officer for Webb’s squad, 4th platoon, 3rd squad. “She’s pretty care-free outside of being a Cadet, but whenever she’s in leadership, it’s like a switch is just thrown – she’s pretty fierce when she’s in position.”
“She’s pretty calm and collected, but if you get on her bad side she has a tendency to just, you know, bam! Right in your face. It’s kind of cool to watch, because she’s just about yay big. She’ll get into a guy’s face like nothing.
“I wouldn’t go against what she says unless you have a good reason to do it.”
Webb, who is currently leaning toward an English major, never saw herself doing anything like this in high school.
“Now that I’m here, it’s so much different than I thought it would be,” she said.
“I love it,” Webb said. “It’s got its highs and lows, but I love it.
“I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.”